It is hard to convince my students that "separate but equal" no longer exists when I read stories like this. In Vallejo, our students no longer receive P.E. or the arts, or music in their elementary school programs. Regular classroom teachers try to incorporate these subjects to the best of their abilities, but due to the emphasis as raising test scores in Math & Language Arts, P.E., music & the arts are not seen as critical.

For many students in Vallejo, their first exposure to these "non-core" subjects is middle school. Imagine going to school for the first six years and not being able to enjoy music, art, or P.E.

Here in Marin, the geography is close but the disparities are wide. Only 5.6% of 5th graders in Marin City met these simple physical activity standards while just across the freeway in Sausalito over 65% met or exceeded the standards. The same in the Canal area of San Rafael. Its not only a result of school PE classes, but of access to affordable, healthy food; safe access to outdoor play; community norms around supporting/modeling involvement in physical activity versus sedentary activity, healthy nutrition and more.

It sounds so right and so simple but in reality it is doomed to fail and to be a complete waste of money. No school/gov't program can ever change the inner nature of people. If this type of program worked there wouldn't be the very high recidivism rate seen for convicted criminals. The real misunderstanding is believing that the underclass could really be just like the middle/upper middle class if they just had a bit more money/opportunity. Unfortunately this is far from true and in reality their poverty mostly stems from poor long term decision making and the inability/lack of discipline to accept delayed gratification.

I agree the situation is not good. But this is news? We live in a culture where everything -- and I do mean everything -- is dependent on income bracket. This has been the case for centuries.

In our own time, however, there are some things that could be done to help. For instance, how about generous farm subsidies for the cultivation of healthful fruits and vegetables, as opposed to corn, wheat and soy? How about trying to design a food supply chain that isn't entirely dependent on what is most profitable? I have no problems with profits, however, when it begins to be the case the choice is helath and well being or increased profits, it now seems that the choice is invariably for increased profit. I agree that small, isolated programs in and of themselves won't help. What about working towards broader cultural change? In the end, we all benefit. These benefits would not be abstract -- if the conditions are available for more people to be healthy, then more people will be healthy. If it's dependent on the size of the individual's bank account, then we're doomed.

The statistics that I found show that the San Ramon Valley Unified School District receives $8,434 per pupil in public funding while the San Francisco School District receives $9,715.00 so my guess would be that the physical education RESOURCE differences reflect on what proportion a district can budget for physical education given the vast differences in the overall needs of each pupil population. The compared schools and monies for physical education reflect urban school district organizational structures tilted toward more off and onsite school administraters in proportion to student population to account for special funding (maybe too many) as well as higher teacher compensation at urban school districts like San Francisco vs. San Ramon School District, excluding the vast no. of educational specialists that receive funding for other school needs. It appears that the physical education disparities in resources might stem from no federal funding for physical education specialists or that it is divided among a much more vast pool of specialties.

Physical fitness OUTCOME disparities obviously reflect more than whether there is a physical education specialist or program and is reflective in part of community, home, and school factors that contribute toward healthy lifestyles. One fitness advantage the urban minorities might have is that they might have to walk or take public transit and get their exercise that way rather than be as car dependent and have to be driven everywhere for one organized activity after another.

Why not look at the root cause that is referred to multiple times in the article -- namely that the parents of the San Ramon kids have adequate and secure incomes and therefore enough time and extra money to supplement the inadequate amount the state gives (not to mention the difference in local property tax revenue). The parents of the Mission District kids have none of that. Raising the minimum wage to a iving wage, assisting and encouraging unionization, and granting amnesty to immigrant parents so that they are not so vulnerable to super-exploitative labor practices would make huge changes. These are not impossible reforms. As a former SFUSD teacher, it has never been a secret what our kids need. The trick is getting if for them. This blaming the victim stuff like Mr. Young puts out above is way out of date. This is why the Occupy Movement is out there. All of us 99% can't be "making bad choices". We are being hijacked by the 1%.

Joe Berry

Years ago I heard a woman from a poor community describing what was needed to reduce obesity and improve health of children and adults there. Hers was a community-wide approach and holistic. She concentrated on creating parks, playgrounds and sidewalks; reducing crime so children could play outside; and making healthier food available in the neighborhood at reasonable prices. She also started cooking groups and classes for whoever did most of the cooking and grocery shopping in neighborhood families. In her opinion, single "solutions" were doomed to failure if the whole environment wasn't transformed, mostly by the participants themselves in the communities they lived.

I think focusing on the unequal numbers of p.e instructor-experts between different school districts is more siren call than realistic approach.

"Fixing" the fitness problem by hiring more of these p.e. specialists won't solve a thing unless accompanied by systemic life style and community design changes such as the community activist outlined. I wouldn't want to waste tax dollars on an isolated program that makes outsiders feel good about ourselves, but that would not make a real difference in these children's or their families' lives. Let's get real.