Kinesiology professor revolutionizes P.E. in DFW area

Fort Worth, TX

11/13/2007

Over the past six years, Dr. Debbie Rhea, associate professor of kinesiology at TCU, has committed herself and her time to ensuring that K-12 students in Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) have a multitude of options for physical activity in a P.E. setting.

In September, the Dallas Business Journal named Dr. Rhea a Healthcare Hero for 2007 for her commitment to combating obesity in Fort Worth schools.

With the help of Dr. Rhea, FWISD has received and implemented five physical education program grants from the federal government to aid in revamping the district’s physical education program for K-12 students.

The grants have been used to obtain new equipment, train physical education instructors, and develop new activities to keep students stimulated.

Fitness centers, complete with stationary bikes, elliptical machines, weights, aerobic steps, physio balls and an audio system have also been placed in all of the district’s 13 high schools. The fitness centers were implemented with the help of three consecutive grants designated for the high school level, which have contributed just under a million dollars over a three-year period to helping high school students stay active.

According to Dr. Rhea, Fort Worth is one of only two independent school districts in the nation that has received three grants in a row, and with good reason.

Dr. Rhea’s research indicates that Fort Worth, the third largest school district in Texas, has some of the most overweight students in the nation.

In fact on average, 22 percent of elementary students in America are overweight, while 33 percent of African-American students, 24 percent of white students and 32 percent of Hispanic students in FWISD are overweight.

“The statistics are what got us the grants,” Dr. Rhea said. Also, many FWISD schools are lacking funds and are part of Title I, a program that aims to “improve the academic achievement of the disadvantaged,” according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Out of roughly 80,000 students in FWISD schools in 2007, about 55,000 of those were eligible to receive free or reduced meals due to socioeconomic disadvantages.

Generally, lower socioeconomic status, according to Dr. Rhea, is a potential reason students are overweight, as many kids don’t have a place to be physically active outside of school.

On the other hand, Dr. Rhea cites technology as a reason many kids are uninterested in physical activity. “Kids have become so enamored with instant stimulation,” Dr. Rhea said.

Because of a constant need for stimulation that is present in today’s youth, Dr. Rhea had to look for and consider alternative, unique means of getting kids active and staying healthy. One of the most creative and consequently most popular additions to the physical education program is Dance-Dance Revolution, a game that involves participants dancing on a pressure-sensitive mat, while following dance steps on a TV screen.

Also particularly popular are game bikes, exercise bikes with video simulation of bicycle courses, which change when students plug in different game cartridges.

“We’re making systematic change, and we will keep progressing,” Dr. Rhea said. The key, she said, is having a long-term impact on the physical education programs with the grants provided to FWISD.

Currently, Dr. Rhea is working on grant proposals that would bring more funding to FWISD, and she is assisting Belton ISD in obtaining grants for its middle and high school physical education programs.

“My dream is that we’ll continue to see school districts want to make changes,” Dr. Rhea said. In her opinion, high school programs need the most help, as many students at the high school level are rebellious and unmotivated.

With Dr. Rhea’s enthusiasm and dedication to achieve success in physical education programs, it is likely that FWISD and other school districts like Belton will see long-term change—the kind of change that makes Dr. Rhea a hero.