WASHINGTON 鈥� Remember gym class? Did you ever repeat those fitness drills or play dodgeball as part of your fitness routine?
This year, public schools in聽D.C.聽will introduce kids to a form of fitness teachers hope the kids will adopt for life: riding a bike.
鈥淓very second grader is going to learn how to ride a bike,鈥� said聽Miriam Kenyon, director of health and physical education for聽District of Columbia Public Schools.
鈥淣ot only are they going to learn to ride a bike, they鈥檙e going to learn bike safety, and they鈥檙e going to culminate their learning with a bike ride to the park,” Kenyon said.
For some kids, that could mean a trip to Anacostia Park, for others a field trip to Rock Creek Park.
The bikes are being supplied by D.C.鈥檚 Department of Transportation.
On Tuesday, Kenyon was joined by Brian Pick, chief of teaching and learning,聽at the school system鈥檚 warehouse in Northeast.
鈥淲e have 300 assembled bikes in front of us and another 300 behind us waiting for assembly by our volunteers,鈥� Pick said.
Kenyon pointed out the sporty look of the BMX-style bikes.
鈥淭hese are bike-shop quality bikes. They are very sturdy so that they can get multiple use,鈥� Kenyon said.
The introduction of bike riding as a life skill isn鈥檛 just an effort to introduce kids to a lifelong fitness activity. It also will tie into classroom skills that the students are developing, including things such as聽learning to read maps.
Pick said that this fall, the school system plans to聽introduce something called the 鈥淐ornerstone Initiative,鈥� part of a series of linked lesson plans.
鈥淭his is a series of 200 shared assignments that will happen in grades K-12 across the system, not only in PE, but in every subject area 鈥� in reading, in math, in social studies, health, PE and world languages,鈥� Pick said.
The shared assignments mean that teachers across聽D.C.聽an exchange ideas and feedback about how their lesson plans worked, or if they didn鈥檛 what needs to be tweaked.
But for most kids, the focus will be on those shiny blue bikes. Pick said the introduction of the bikes as fitness equipment is a way to bring fun and excitement to the physical education experience.
Kenyon said some principals were a bit concerned about the safety of kids out on city streets, but once they are shown the routes that have been mapped out, those fears would be allayed.
The has played a big role in introducing the idea of bike safety in the school curriculum. Kenyon said that Daniel Hoagland of WABA partnered with PE teachers on doing bike safety instruction, but that was on a school-by-school basis.
The new program means 80 elementary schools will be taking part, so every child will have a chance to learn to ride. And each student will wear a helmet.
Pick, a cyclist himself, said he was excited about sharing his enthusiasm for cycling with students.
鈥淐ycling is a great way to see the city. There are a lot of hidden gems鈥� in the District of Columbia, and Pick said. 鈥淗opefully this is just one steppingstone to greater enjoyment of both biking and Washington, D.C.鈥�
DDOT funded the purchase of the bikes from a local chain Revolution Cycles and staffers from the bike shop volunteered to put them together in two days. The staffers will return later to build the remaining 300 bikes for DCPS.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report
