The following video features a new program that uses sport and physical education to improve the attendance and academic achievement of “students at risk” in Brooklyn, New York.
Hosted by Sports Illustrated’s David Epstein, it shows the Urban Dove Team, a school in Brooklyn that is experimenting with a radical new program for students at risk.
It acknowledges that one reason these students fail is because they don’t attend school in the first place.
To combat this, they organize students into small teams, each with two teacher-coaches. They play sports every morning for 2-3 hours, with their team and coaches. The teams and coaches stay together throughout the day, as they engage in regular classroom work.
The sport and teamwork give students a reason to attend school. It also teaches every student that they have value, and it provides a group of teammates and teachers who care for each other.
While the program was very new when it was profiled, it seemed to be doing its job. In the first 10 weeks, it had boosted attendance rates from 40% to 73%.
Dick Moss, Editor,
PE Update.com
To check out the PE Update.com website, click here
Physical Education Update
[tags]physical education,effect of sport on academics,high risk students and physical education,Urban Dove School>[/tags]
