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Program budget cuts have proven to be a bane for academic institutions over the years. More often than not, educators find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place when their area of instruction takes a hit as a result of a lack of funding. This fact hasn’t prevented physical education teacher, Mindy Przeor, from forging her own path.
Instead of accepting defeat when a budget cut eliminated the after–school program at the elementary school where she was teaching, Przeor decided to do what she does best. Przeor used her background as a runner and tri-athlete to create a free running club for the kids of her school. The decision proved to provide an effective solution to the after school program conundrum.
In the beginning, Przeor’s running club had a few dozen members participating. Now, the running club has grown to nearly a hundred students that flock to Przeor’s makeshift after school program. Her decision to build her own program free of charge has proven to be a particularly gratifying decision . The educator is quick to point out the relatively low–cost benefits of a running club, asserting that running doesn’t require a lot of equipment or a huge venue. Her goal to involve her students in the activity has helped to develop their ability to run distances that range from a mile to a half marathon.
Przeor’s initiatives have proven to strengthen her physical education instruction methods. Przeor says that the ability to complete a half marathon pushes you to accomplish more. It is a fact that is supported by the performance of her students. One of her students, Evania Acosta, recently accomplished her first 10 kilometer run. The sense of reward that Acosta derived from the accomplishment proved to be overwhelming for the fourth grader.
This year Przeor intends to host a 5 kilometer race. The proceeds of that event will go towards funding her running club and others like it in similarly under-funded public schools.