HEAC-CCROPP Storybank
Santa Ana Exercise Science
Santa Ana intermediate school promotes physical activity through innovative science curriculum
Pat McCarthy was born and raised in Santa Ana, where he now teaches science at Willard Intermediate School. In a community challenged by soaring rates of childhood obesity, his science lessons go well beyond the typical junior high curriculum as he works with students to better understand and manage their own bodies' physiology to achieve lasting improvements in fitness and health.
Five years ago, when the school's antiquated wood shop and metal shop were being retired, a decision was made to convert the facility into an on-campus fitness center that would help make the school environment more conducive to regular physical activity. With funds from a school bond measure, the physical education department purchased gym equipment, stationary bikes, and wristbands that monitor heart rate.
Todd Harvey, chair of the physical education department, seized the opportunity to shift from a traditional emphasis on sports skills, with the awkward self-consciousness and distaste for physical activity it provokes in many students, to "helping every child, regardless of their athletic ability, recognize the connection between fitness and health and better grades and job skills." Science was a natural arena for that kind of learning, and a dialogue between the two departments—along with support from Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC), a statewide collaborative funded by The California Endowment—led to an innovative curriculum called "Exercise Science" now entering its second year.
"Kids develop their own fitness regime and monitor their own progress," says Harvey. "It's hardcore science. It's not just 'run the lap' like the old days. A scientific formula has to be applied." These include complex formulas for calculating Body Mass Index, heart rate, aerobic capacity, strength, and range of motion. "So ultimately the teacher isn't the bastion of knowledge, but students become independent evaluators of their own fitness and nutrition as a lifelong plan. That doesn't happen overnight."
Armed with clipboards, student rotate though a variety exercise regimes while recording their heart rate along with other workout statistics. Workout venues include a computer-assisted Spin Bike Lab, a Core Training Room, and a Cardio-Strength Room with an array of weight machines and aerobic equipment such as ellipticals and stair-climbers. Students generate an ongoing health portfolio capturing their fitness data and laying out a personalized fitness plan. The school-wide goal at Willard is to have all students active for 60 to 90 minutes per day. Students can meet this goal through active participation in Physical Education class, after-school sports and FitClub, as well as their own personal activities such as bike riding or skateboarding.
"A lot centers around heart rate," McCarthy explains. "Students have to comprehend what it means during resting, exertion, and recovery. And as they track their progress, they learn that it's their own numbers that matter, not comparing with their peers. This leads to a more relaxed, confident approach around physical fitness."
The Willard school has 50 pulse watches, but even with fewer than that, a physical education class can be divided up into smaller teams that rotate through other activities until it's their turn to measure heart rate. "You just want to keep everyone moving," says Harvey. "You never want students just standing around."
Complementing the physical education and science components are nutrition and cooking classes that likewise aim to instill healthy habits for life. "Right now we're working on a unit about reading food labels," says McCarthy, "teaching students how to access FDA web sites to understand the labels so that they can be more knowledgeable about what they eat and what it does to their bodies."
Because students come with a mixed range of skills, including around English proficiency, everything is customized, says Harvey, "to focus on what they can and not what they can't do." With the mile run, for example, the annual California State assessment known as FitnessGram allows for modifications such as finishing the mile by walking rather than running. "That's perfectly appropriate," says Harvey. "It's no different from students with special academic needs—we have to make those accommodations."
"This is the first school to have this kind of collaboration between physical education and science," says Frances Byfield, Ed.D., administrator in charge of the Special Projects Department who coordinates SAUSD's broad array of nutrition and physical fitness efforts. "My goal is sustainability and expanding it to other schools." Plans are underway to hold a series of after-school meetings to help other teachers think about creative ways to link their own curricula—mathematics, English, social studies, etc.—to student health and fitness goals.
Crucial to the success of the Exercise Science curriculum were Willard Intermediate School principal Jeff Bishop, himself a former physical education teacher and sports coach, and Orange County Department of Education's Chris Corliss , who is the physical education coordinator for Orange County schools
For more information:
Frances C. Byfield, Ed.D., Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), (714) 558-5528,
Todd Harvey, Chair, Physical Education Department, (714) 480-4800,
Patrick McCarthy, Science Teacher, (714) 480-4800,
