by Veronica Gockenbach ‘14

Knox College athletes soon will team up with Galesburg schoolchildren to promote health and fitness, thanks to a grant awarded to Gale Elementary School through the efforts of Head Tennis Coach Miriam Skrade and Associate Professor of Music Sarah Day-O'Connell.

They wrote a proposal for a $1,000 grant to implement a before-school fitness program through Build Our Kids Success (BOKS) at Gale Elementary School this fall. The program, sponsored by the non-profit foundation of Reebok, promotes fun activities to get kids moving, increasing physical health and stimulating their brains to prepare them for class.

Skrade predicts the BOKS program will "improve attendance, lower tardiness, heighten alertness in class, improve academic scores, and increase confidence in the children through a meaningful mentorship with the tennis players."

Gale will be the first school in Illinois to implement BOKS, which offers an adjustable plan and equipment for games and team-building exercises. Members of the Knox tennis teams will supervise 45 minutes of activity with the youngsters three days a week.

Skrade said the principal of Gale was eager to see how increased physical activity would affect attendance and student health. The BOKS website reports success in other states, with more than 70% of surveyed teachers saying that their students are better able to concentrate and are doing better in class. (Photo at top: Skrade, at far right, meets with Knox students during athletic orientation.)

When Day-O'Connell began to investigate the possibility of bringing BOKS to Galesburg, she was thrilled to discover that Skrade's research background was closely related to the research BOKS is based on, showing the benefits of physical activity on academic performance.

"This is an opportunity to bring together academic research and community outreach," Skrade said. "Having that outreach include playing with kids is an added bonus."

Skrade hopes that the younger students will form bonds with the Knox tennis players, who will become mentors. Day-O'Connell feels the project will enable Knox to give children a glimpse of college.

"We have college students who want to put in the time, and we have a grant to support them. The school kids get the benefits of physical activity and the college students get the benefit of learning teamwork and leadership," said Day-O'Connell. "It's win-win."