Bicycle skills are part of physical education curriculum

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights elementary physical education teachers are partnering with the Cleveland Heights bicycle police officers and the Cleveland Heights Bicycle Coalition to teach bicycle skills to elementary students. On Nov. 8, CH-UH professional development day, PE teachers Fiona Conner Kuntz and Alice Stratton arranged for Ohio City Bicycle Co-op instructor Jim Sheehan to train PE teachers to teach elementary students basic bike skills and safety.

“We want all of our students to get at least 60 minutes of exercise each day,” Conner-Kuntz said. “Bicycling is one way children can get exercise.”

Jim Sheehan is the executive director of the Ohio City Bike Co-op and is certified by the League of American Bicyclists to teach bicycling skills. Attending the class were five elementary PE teachers, four Cleveland Heights bicycle officers and three Heights Bicycle Coalition members. “Our goal here is to give you the knowledge to teach students the skills that they need to correctly use their bicycles,” Sheehan said.

The adult students in the class participated in the same activities that the young students will experience this spring in the Bike Rodeos at Fairfax and Gearity elementary schools. Instruction included helmet and bike fittings, a mechanical check and bike laws. The cycling portion took place on a closed course in the Gearity parking lot. It included starting, stopping, quick stop, left and right turns, looking back while riding, and slalom. Sheehan stressed that for young children driveways are areas that need extra vigilance and should be treated as intersections.

The four CH bicycle officers were recently trained by the International Mountain Bike Police Association and will assist the teachers with the bike rodeos. The officers are Roger Gibson, Brandon Reichard, Larry Rieck and Scott Sedlock.

In the spring of 2012, students at Fairfax and Gearity will learn bike skills and then have another option for getting their 60 minutes of exercise each day.