This year students at Seattle Public Schools are not only learning what they need to do to stay healthy, but also why.

The district has adopted the new physical education program, Five For Life, for students from kindergarten through high school. Utilizing the academic principles of health and fitness, students will learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices that could last a lifetime.

Currently the pilot program is being used in ten different schools including Denny and Madison middle schools and Lafayette Elementary School - though it will likely expand to all Seattle Public Schools by the 2009-2010 school year.

In response to citywide obesity levels and a general decline in physical activities among youth today the district decided to try a new approach for teaching physical education.

With a district wide database, student's performance on different physical tests will be monitored each year so that they, and their parents, can monitor their progress.

Teachers are also being trained to take more time when teaching their students how to do different activities so that they learn them well and can become active participants.

The new curriculum will also include a strong emphasis on nutrition. Roosevelt High School physical education instructor Wendy Arness believes that such knowledge will likely spread from students to their families.

"It's a likely dinner table conversation," added Matt Katinas, another physical education instructor at Roosevelt.

One aspect of the new curriculum is JumpUp, a program that has begun distributing free jump ropes to kindergarten students. By the end of this school year the program will be implemented in all public elementary schools.

"The JumpUp program gives children the chance for fun and fitness at home and at school," said Lori Dunn, Seattle Public School's K-12 Physical Education manager.

Laurie Belford, a physical education instructor at Lafayette Elementary School, has not received jump ropes for her students yet but says that they are very excited.

"It's going to be a great motivator," Belford said.

Lafayette already has an existing jump rope club called The Popcorns, which she says is very popular.

In the long term Dunn hopes that every single school will be actively teaching students to be healthy for a lifetime.

For more information on Seattle Public Schools new physical education programs please visit http://www.seattleschools.org/area/physed/index.dxml.

Rose Egge may be reached at 932.0300 or rosee@robinsonnews.com