Students, staff will track steps

USD 398 will purchase pedometers for all school personnel and students to track the number of steps they take.

The purchase was made possible by a Kansas Coordinated School Health grant for health and wellness programs for 2010-11. USD 398 was one of 63 schools chosen.

“Are we walking enough to be healthy?” Peabody-Burns High School family and consumer sciences teacher Cathy Silver asked.

She hopes the pedometers will make students more conscious of how much they walk and encourage them to walk more. One source she found recommended walking 10,000 steps per day.

The grant program is designed to assist schools make progress toward exemplary wellness policies. Kansas Coordinated School Health focuses on nutrition, physical activity, tobacco prevention, and other health and wellness topics.