We, the Parents of Students at Bates Elementary K-2 School in Dexter Michigan, are petitioning the Board of Education for the Dexter School District to increase Mr. Patrick Glynn to a full-time 40 hour a week position at Bates Elementary K-2 School. Following are several reasons for this request.
First and foremost, the Michigan Department of Education recommends the following: "National Recommendation for physical activity is a moderate intensity level for 30 minutes on most or all days of the week," but the children at the K-2 Level in the Dexter School District in Michigan are only receiving (2) 30 minute sessions in the Physical Education Classroom per week. The attention span of a child at the K-2 (4-9 yr. old) level warrants the need for short burst of vigorous exercise followed by a brief period of rest. The obesity rate in Michigan and the United State is increasing every year and the amount of time scheduled for physical education at the K-2 level in Dexter is at the state minimum. Increasing Mr. Glynn's classroom session from 30 minute to 40 minutes would allow the students to receive (2) 15 minute vigorous exercise sets per session with the recommended time for stretching, rest and cool down.
The Dexter School District has requested the participation of parents, teachers, principals and business owners to work on making our school district go from good to great. From a parent perspective, an individual school can be great with motivated, positive, and energetic teachers and staff, parent participation, a caring and safe environment, and extra curricular classes to enhance the overall education of our children. Bates Elementary has all of these things. Mr. Glynn exemplifies each of these characteristics. The energy, enthusiasm, and concern he exhibits for our children make Mr. Patrick Glynn stand out among the teachers at Bates Elementary School. There is no possible way that allowing Mr. Patrick Glynn to leave due to part time status and be replaced would in anyway make this school go from good to great. In NO WAY would Bates Elementary be a better school without him. As a school system, Dexter attempts to instill core values in our student. What better way to emulate these than to Reward and Value individuals who make our schools a great place for our children to be.
Mr. Glynn services the same number of students as the other %u201Cspecial%u201D classes, but is the only teacher at part time status.
We, the parents at Bates Elementary School know that Mr. Glynn is going from 24 hours this year to 32 hours with the Young Fives Program in the 2008-2009 school year. An additional 8 hours and full time status could prevent us from losing this extraordinary physical education teacher. There is no other PE Teacher in the Dexter School District who is more dedicated in making a difference in every child%u2019s life by educating each child about the importance of physical education. Additionally, with just 8 extra hours per week, our children will get the daily amount of physical activity per day that the Michigan Department of Education recommends with the safety of warm ups, breaks and cool downs.
Finally, we are proud parents of Dexter Community School Children. We take pride in supporting our schools, teachers, and extra curricular activities. We now respectfully ask that the Board of Education support the Bates Elementary Parents. Thank You.
