Elementary Fitness Program

In this article by a staff member from the Austin American-Statesmen speaks about the health and fitness of the youth of our state. I believe this article was very well done, as it not only takes the percentage of over weight and obese children among third through fifth graders from University of Texas Elementary School, they also compare it to the nation rate as well. When seeing the percentage comparison between the University of Texas Elementary School percentage at 51 percent and the national rate at 32 percent, it is quite astounding to hear how much of our elementary children are considered over weight or obese. Not only do we receive raw data, we also get a quote from the Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement Dr. Gregory J. Vincent. Now I've never known what it is to be over weight or obese, mainly because I've always been an active child and been able to keep my metabolism up, but not every individual is raised the same way as I was.

While working for the YMCA I have worked with my share of elementary children, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. I have noticed with the increase speed at which technology has advanced, especially mobile gaming devices kids have been more reluctant to participate in more physical challenging activities. The Healthy Families Initiative has created the WellNest program, which is a free after-school program and has been in effect for the past three years, and has been responsible for lowering the prevalence from 63 percent to 51 percent. After reading this article I am very pleased to hear that the state of Texas is providing funds to help aid children to live a healthier lifestyle at a very young age rather than later. This not only promotes a healthier lifestyle during their attendance at the University of Texas Elementary School, but also a healthier lifestyle in their futures.

Closure of Benji’s

On September 14, 2010 a state-appointed Board of Managers for Benji’s Special Education Academy, Inc. in Houston on Monday determined that the school is no longer financially viable and voted to close it at the end of the school day. I know that our country is in a recession and capital is hard to come by for certain special schools such as Benji's Special Education Academy, Inc. Though this article did not go into great detail of why the financial funds were pulled for this establishment but our countries recession has to play a big part in the closing of this school. Whether the cause of the closure was entirely due to the state not seeing fit to continue to provide financial funds to the academy, I believe that these types of schools are a vital part to providing education to the individuals who need the necessary attention from qualified teachers.

I currently work for the YMCA After school program and have personally come into contact with such children who need the one on one attention from a certified teacher. After viewing the Benji's Special Academy website and reading about the types of individuals who are accepted to attend their school, it's a shame to see this type of school is being closed due to the state claiming the school is no longer financially viable. The school has an enrollment of approximately 550 students and not but 2-3 weeks at the beginning the school year the state decides to have the school shutdown. At the school I work at I know of two teachers who are certified to take care and educate mentally challenged children. I am not a certified teacher but just being a counselor for four hours of these kids lives a day, I can say for certain theses kids needs more schools like Benji to be able to get the necessary attention and quality education they deserve.