CSUN SWEATS THE SMALL STUFF TO BOOST KIDS' FITNESS LEVELS.

Byline: DENISSE SALAZAR Staff Writer

Just half the children at Liggett Elementary School actually play at recess, and it shows in fitness tests in which an alarming 81.5 percent failed to meet state standards.

It also shows on the bathroom scale, so school officials are looking at ways to battle an epidemic of childhood obesity -- and trying to keep it fun.

``I can't do it no more,'' more than one of the fifth-graders at Liggett cried as they tried to run a mile in preparation for the Fitnessgram, a state fitness test slated for May.

But a team of kinesiology students from California State University, Northridge, motivated the fifth-graders to reach the finish line -- all part of a pilot program that teams CSUN with the Los Angeles Unified School District to help get kids fit.

``I try to get kids ready for the Fitnessgram test, and now I have help,'' said Jackie Plummer, a fifth-grade teacher at Liggett. ``Having CSUN students here is a blessing and a motivator.''

A team approach

The project called CSUN Students Optimizing Students' Fitness was started earlier this month at three campuses -- Ranchito Avenue, Liggett Street and Plummer Street elementary schools -- all serving lower-income communities in Panorama City and North Hills, where kids haven't performed well on fitness tests.

``Our perspective is to present physical activity in a way that is not associated with pain or embarrassment, but is something that is enjoyable and can be done,'' said graduate student Yannick Allain, who is largely responsible for the success of the project.

Health and school officials agree that children need to be part of a regular physical-education program, especially since the number of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has increased from 7 percent in 1980 to 18.8 percent in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

``It's pretty sad when you come into this environment,'' said Steven Loy, a kinesiology professor at CSUN who created the project. ``Within the university, you don't have a sense that there are problems with health and fitness in the schools.''

Focusing on fun

To get students motivated about physical activity, 12 CSUN kinesiology students have taken on the challenge of making a difference in pupils' health, with a focus on fifth-graders.

CSUN students recently conducted one of the first fitness assessment tests for fifth-graders at Liggett, gauging the physical capacity of 29 students in relation to the annual Fitnessgram test.

The assessment determined where the kids need help since the project's goal is to increase Fitnessgram test scores while teaching students and teachers that physical activity can be fun.

Last year, only 13.5 percent of fifth-graders passed the Fitnessgram at Ranchito, 18.5 percent at Liggett and 24.4 percent at Plummer. All three are below the District 1 average of 28 percent.

Liggett Assistant Principal Cara Schneider is worried about her pupils' health.

``Here, only 50 percent of the 1,200 kids play, and I notice how many are overweight,'' Schneider said of recess time. ``It's hard to get kids to play and move.''

School administrators and teachers say it's often difficult to meet the required 200 minutes of physical activity every 10 days for students in the first through sixth grades.

It's estimated that of the 28,000 elementary-school teachers, just 25 percent are meeting the requirements, said Chad Fenwick, physical-education adviser for LAUSD.

One of the problems, Fenwick said, is that regular classroom teachers are expected to teach physical education, since the LAUSD does not have P.E. teachers at the elementary-school level.

``We want to put it together as a model to demonstrate that the university can help its surrounding community while providing experiences for its students,'' Loy said. ``It's a win- win experience.''

The project is part of the School-Based Obesity and Diabetes Initiative, a much larger pilot project spearheaded by Northridge Hospital Medical Center's Center for Healthier Communities and embraced by CSUN and the LAUSD.

Improving wellness

Each organization has taken on a different role to improve wellness in the schools and in the community through parent education, in-school and after-school intervention, teacher training and support groups, according to Bonnie Bailer, director of the Center for Healthier Communities.

The CSUN students will work with about 800 fifth-graders at the three elementary schools through May, when the Fitnessgram test is administered. The time spent with students will vary from 1 1/2 to two hours a week.

``We want to have an impact on elementary-school children so we can avoid having a population of kids who are unhealthy,'' Allain said. ``Not doing anything is not really an option.''

denisse.salazar(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Patrick Jarolim completes his 25th push-up as classmates watch during a fitness assessment at Liggett Elementary School in Panorama City.

(2 -- color) Liggett Elementary School student Marissa Sanchez is weighed and measured as part of a program to improve physical fitness at the Panorama City school.

(3) Fifth-grade students circle the Liggett Elementary School playground as they run a timed mile -- all part of an effort to team university students with the children to improve their fitness.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer