In San Diego, CA Physical Education teacher Jessica Casilla encourages students to, "Come walk. Come on, warm up that body,” she urges students at Mount Vernon Elementary School during their morning volunteer walk towards the Mustang Mileage Club.
The school hired Casillas three years ago to help its kids shape up. Casillas, a former Point Loma Nazarene University softball star, has a master's degree in exercise science from the California University of Pennsylvania. Principal Gustavo Vazquez said, “There's also a strong correlation between exercising several times a week and higher performance in academics.
A 2007 study conducted by researchers at three Georgia universities points to a positive relationship between exercise and a child's ability to think. Additionally, brain researchers have been singing the praises of physical activity and its connection to academic performance.
Here's where the "pretending not to know" comes in, last month the district gave Casillas a pink slip otherwise known as a layoff notice. Even though Principal Vazquez, who calls it the morning running program the “read, run, brain, brawn” program, said he feels confident that the combination of individualized learning and working out will net higher scores on the upcoming California Standards Test.