By Kim Hilsenbeck.
After the holiday break, Hemphill Elementary students returned to a changed schedule that aims to have an impact on test scores, but comes at the expense of physical activity.
Based on teacher input, school administrators pulled the plug on the everyday physical education (PE) pilot program implemented about 18 months earlier. A mapping study in 2012 showed Hemphill is in one of the attendance zones with a high percentage of obesity, which is one reason for piloting the daily PE program there.
Hemphill students received 225 minutes of structured PE under the pilot; all other Hays CISD elementary students receive about 135 minutes of PE per week in accordance with Texas Education Agency (TEA) state mandates.
Texas Education Agency’s Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) assessment passing rates |
| 3rd Grade Reading Math 2012 2013 2012 2013 64% 56% 60% 47% 4th Grade Reading Math Writing 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 56% 54% 53% 60% 48% 45% 5th Grade Reading Math Science 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013 53% 69% 56% 67% 49% 61% |
Principal Julio Vela told parents in a letter Dec. 18 that a drop in student performance on state and other assessments was the catalyst for the change.
“The drop in student performance on the state and other assessments has brought a sense of urgency to evaluate the amount of instructional time our students and teachers have each day,” he wrote.
The letter referenced what Vela called significant drops in the Texas Academy Performance Report (TAPR) for the 2012-2013 school year, saying, “We are very concerned with the significant drop in student performance.”
Third grade reading scores dropped from 65 percent to 56 percent. The same grade’s math scores went from 60 percent down to 47 percent.
Fourth grade reading fared better, going down only two percentage points from 56 to 54. Math increased from 53 to 60, while reading dropped from 48 to 45 percent.
However, scores in fifth grade showed improvements. Reading scores increased 16 percentage points. Math and science went up 12 percentage points each.
Despite the positive direction of fifth grade scores, Vela said Hemphill’s scores overall were below the district and state averages in every tested area.
Executive Director of Elementary School Performance Tim Persall said Hemphill students were leaving the classroom for the everyday PE program and cutting into instructional time.
“At 225 minutes a week, that’s three hours a month, 67 hours a semester and 11 days of instruction a year,” he said.
Persall said while he believes PE is important, Hemphill teachers noticed enough issues with lost class time to be concerned.
After crunching the numbers, Vela said his Campus Leadership Team recommended revamping the PE program to ensure students have more instructional time in the classroom.
Vela’s letter invited parents to a meeting on Jan. 7, saying it was “to talk more about these changes and other strategies we will use to improve the performance for all students,” though the decision had already been made at that point.
Some parents were disappointed in the administration’s proposed change to the everyday PE program, in particular because they were not asked to be part of it.
Charisa McBee responded to a Hays Free Press request for parents to comment on the decision.
“I am VERY disappointed they ended the program,” she wrote. “The new principal there does not communicate with parents like the previous one did. He did not even call a meeting before the decision was implemented to express his concerns and ask for our input.”
McBee also said she believes students from high poverty and non-English speaking homes, which are the majority of Hemphill students, “is a reflection of the children’s testing score.”
Parent Christina Meredith wrote, “My daughter attends Hemphill and loves PE! She looked forward to it and is sad that it’s no longer everyday.”
Other parents commented that while PE is important, so are art and music.
Vela told parents that PE classes will now be a part of the specials rotation, which includes art, music and technology, and students will meet twice a week for P.E.
“This is consistent with the practice of all other elementary schools within the district as well as in other school districts,” he wrote in the letter.
He continued, “This will provide [students] with 100 minutes of structured physical activity within their P.E. classes per week. To ensure students still have the full required 135 minutes of physical activity required ... students will also participate in short, structured physical activity each morning in their homeroom class to receive seven additional minutes per day.”
The school will continue offering 20 minutes of unstructured physical activity daily, he said.
“We understand the importance of providing opportunities for students to be physically active each day, an important part of their health and development,” Vela wrote. “This schedule change strikes the balance of protecting their ability to have those opportunities while providing greater focus on preparing your children for academic success.”
