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Cobb Mountain Elementary wins Governor’s Challenge Competition Award |
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Written by Elizabeth Larson
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Sunday, 22 November 2009 |
 State officials visited Cobb Mountain Elementary School on Thursday, November 19, 2009, to present the school with the Governor’s Challenge Competition’s North Coast Regional Award. As part of the award, the school received two checks totaling $6,000. Courtesy photo.
COBB – Students’ dedication to becoming active and healthier has won state recognition for Cobb Mountain Elementary School.
On Thursday, the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports presented the school with the 2009 Governor’s Challenge Competition’s North Coast Regional Award.
The school was chosen from among all elementary, middle and high schools for the North Coast region, which for the purposes of the competition includes Lake, Del Norte, Mendocino, Humboldt, Sonoma and Napa counties, state officials reported.
Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Executive Director Kenneth Rogers traveled to the school to give the award, along with a $5,000 check for physical fitness equipment and a $1,000 gift card for school supplies at a local CVS Pharmacy that were presented to Principal Tracy Skeen.
Rogers told Lake County News that the Governor’s Challenge Competition began four years ago. The effort is meant to encourage fitness for people of all ages at a time when two-thirds of the state’s youth are considered unfit and obesity rates are climbing. The council’s goal is to set the stage for California to become the nation’s "Fitness State."
While the President’s Fitness Test encourages elite athletes, the state program focused more on everyday people. “We need to get everybody up and moving” – even if it’s only for a few minutes every day, Rogers said.
Rogers said Cobb Mountain Elementary has participated for the last three years.
In its first year, 2007, the school was a finalist, Rogers said, and for the school’s efforts that year it received a $1,000 prize. In 2008, they once again were a front runner, leading the pack at the competition’s halfway point, and winning another $1,000.
This year, 1,165 schools around the state took part, a number which was boiled down to 92 finalists from 11 state regions, said Rogers.
The students are asked to devote time to physical activities on three days a week for a month, Rogers said. The activities they pursue are up to them.
The 2009 competition added another component – the participation of parents, teachers, family members and the community at large, he explained.
During the month that it takes to complete the challenge – which Rogers said can be done at any time within the year – the school and community registered 678 active days.
“That’s not insignificant,” he said, especially considering the Cobb community’s small size.
Although the competition is focused on a month’s time, Rogers said the goal is to encourage students and adults to keep going staying active after the competition ends.
In considering the finalists, Rogers said officials look not only at physical activity but also at good nutrition. One aspect of that at Cobb Mountain Elementary is the school’s community garden, which helps feed the students.
Based on the school’s achievements, it was named the champion of the North Coast region, Rogers said.
All of Cobb Mountain Elementary’s 159 students took part in the challenge this year, said Rogers. He said the children are fit and appear to enjoy being active.
“We’re very proud of them,” he said.
Besides enjoying better health, Rogers said there are other benefits to be realized from the competition.
“There is a significant correlation between academics and fitness,” he said.
Indeed, Cobb Mountain Elementary has an Academic Performance Index score of 881, the county’s highest API score for a school, according to state records. That most recent test was a 30-point improvement over the previous year.
Rogers said the council has seen schools that have taken part in the annual challenge improve their academic test scores.
One such example was in Stanislaus County, where the schools’ California Standardized Testing and Reporting scores jumped an unheard-of 8 percent in one year, compared to the statewide average of a 3-percent annual increase, said Rogers.
“The one thing that changed was their attention to physical fitness and being physically active,” he said.
The council recently launched the 2010 Governor’s Challenge Competition. The fifth year of the competition will run through next May 31, officials reported.
All kindergarten through 12th grade schools in the North Coast are eligible to participate.
In addition to the regional prizes, Rogers said there will once again be three statewide grand prizes – brand new fitness centers valued at $100,000 for each for the winning elementary school, middle school and high school, provided by the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation.
Rogers said the council’s strong message is that fitness will help children have happier, healthier lives.
The Thursday presentation included not just a ceremonial big check but a turkey song and dance for the holidays as part of what Rogers called the council’s traveling show.
The event also recognized the efforts of teachers, parents and the community at large, he said.
“It is really is a community effort to win this award,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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