in Hunts Point

Gym class at Middle School 424 in Hunts Point looks just like recess. A group of boys plays a game of basketball in center court while most of the students in the class chat in corners of the gymnasium. Participation is not mandatory.

Many blame a lack of official accountability and appropriate gym space as the culprits behind the disappearance of structured physical education classes in Bronx schools.

With about 400,000 people under 18 years old – more than any other New York City borough — addressing the broken physical education program in the Bronx, could be key in avoiding even bigger health problems in the future.

New York’s current regulations – which are below the recommendations set up by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education — require that all children in kindergarten through third grade participate in physical education classes every day. Children in fourth through sixth grade must receive physical education at least three times a week for a total of at least 120 minutes.

But almost a third of Bronx public schools surveyed did not meet the state’s required hours for physical education, according to a 2008 Bronx Borough President’s Office report. The same problem extends to public schools citywide, a study by the Office of the Public Advocate found.

Even though New York State’s Department of Education created the standards, it hasn’t acted as the regulating body. “The city’s Department of Education has not enforced the mandate,” said Kirk Vanacourt, a researcher who worked on the Bronx Borough President’s Office report.

Instead, the state passes on the responsibility of enforcement to individual school districts where school boards of education are responsible for developing and executing physical education plans. All New York City schools fall under a single district office.

Jesse Mojica, director of education at the Bronx Borough President’s Office, says this kind of oversight could be one of the reasons why the mandate has not been enforced. “When you look at the history of the board of education, there have been so many issues with dysfunction,” said Mojica. He cites funds mis-allocation as an example.

The Bronx Borough President’s Office’s report also found that almost one in four of the schools surveyed reported not having a gymnasium. And the majority of those without a gym used inappropriate multipurpose rooms as alternative

Education advocates say New York City demands more attention given the great number of schools are under a single district.

In 2007, the city created a the Office of Fitness and Health Education. Under the direction of Lori Rose Benson, the office has launched a training program to help schools increase physical education. Repeated calls and e-mails to Benson were not returned.

The problem of physical education in public schools is not confined to New York City schools alone. A recent report by the New York State Education Department found that only one school district out of 20 sampled throughout New York state was in compliance with physical education requirements. As the cases in New York City, the districts in violation also cited bureaucracy and lack of facilities as obstacles to following physical education program. Budget cuts were also a barrier to change.

Under the city’s Department of Education five-year capital construction plan released in 2008, nine Bronx schools were slated for gymnasium construction.

Public School 161 in the South Bronx is one of the schools slated for physical education facility upgrades and playground redevelopment. But as the city scales back on new construction projects under a tough economic climate, P.S. 161’s principal Pablo LaSalle is not optimistic about the city following through. “We’re expecting the hammer to drop,” he said.

-Loren Bonner