Keystone Central Receives $280K Grant

Fitness Center at Bucktail Nears Readiness

MILL HALL – The Keystone Central School District has been awarded $280,750 for the first year of a multi-year federal grant and Bucktail High School will soon see the first phase of the program’s implementation.

The school district plans three fitness centers, the first of which is nearing completion in a former equipment room adjacent to the Bucktail High School gym. Plans are being made for a public viewing Oct. 2 in conjunction with the school district board meeting set for the high school there that evening.
Similar facilities are in the works for Central Mountain High School and Central Mountain Middle School.

The Record’s Barbara Mastriania visited the new Bucktail facility this week and reported it contains 36 state-of-the-art pieces of equipment. Instructor Scott Bair told her the facility will be open to students for school and after-school use and because the funding is a community grant, the fitness center will eventually be open to the public for a fee.

A school district release said the improvements are part of the first year of a multi-year federal grant called the Carol White Physical Education for Progress (PEP) grant. This grant promotes physical fitness, physical activity, and nutrition.

Monies provided by the grant will enable the district to focus on in-school, after-school, summer recreation and nutrition-based activities involving partnerships with Lock Haven University’s Department of Health and Physical Education and Department of Recreation Management, the YMCA, and the City of Lock Haven Recreation Department.

The grant-writing team operated on a philosophy that required to continually find ways to supplement taxpayer’s dollars in meaningful ways and that’s why we did so with special emphasis on fitness and nutrition. It is expected that such an emphasis will also positively impact academic success for KCSD students as well as improve the overall health and wellness of students.

The PEP grant is funding the new Bucktail Fitness Center now nearing completion. In addition to funding curriculum and fitness centers, all KCSD schools will receive contemporary up-to-date equipment at each school within the district complete with cardio, fitness, and strength machines and a fitness assessment tool called the Fitnessgram, which focuses on aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition. This test will help the district fulfill the evaluation phase of the Pep Grant in Year 1.

The Wildcat Fitness Center at Central Mountain High School will be installed Year 2; and the Jr. Wildcat Fitness Center will be installed at Central Mountain Middle School Year 3. Physical education classes will show that students are meeting all of the state Health and Physical Education standards by engaging in learning activities related to new performance based curricular programs: the research-based SparkPE curriculum in grades K-5 and the Sport Education Model in grades 6-12.  SPARK PE will be used at the secondary level as well to support students meeting the Health standards in all grade levels.

The release said the district has begun to implement programs outlined in its application program which is entitled “Stepping Into The Future” or “SITTF”. The “SITTF” program will serve approximately 4,434 KCSD students in kindergarten through grade 12 as well as a host of community members for up to three years. Programs will take place at all Keystone Central Elementary Schools, Bucktail Middle/High School, Central Mountain Middle School and Central Mountain High School and will focus on increasing students’ daily activity as well as their consumption of fruits and vegetables. The YMCA will implement SparkPE and Sport Education at their facility for after-school student activities in Year 2, and the Lock Haven Summer Rec program will implement SPARK PE in each of its playgrounds county wide over the summers in Year 2.

KCSD said it is excited to have the opportunity to expand wellness to all students in Clinton County.  With increased physical fitness and nutrition practices our students can “Step into the Future” with confidence!