photography / Abby Palmer Bobbi Smart, a kindergarten teacher at Middle Canyon Elementary, races a group of fourth-graders and kindergartners across the playground. Smart participated in the “Walk the Walk” competition.

by Abby Palmer

STAFF WRITER

To help in the big push to curb childhood obesity, educators are trying to find ways to encourage their students to become more active. Thirty-seven Tooele County School District educators have done more than just verbally encourage their students, they have become active themselves.

These teachers participated in the "Walk the Walk" competition sponsored by Educators Mutual Insurance Association, which is to help discover Utah's most active teachers, administrators and classified employees, said Shea Miller, a spokeswoman with the company.

This year was the third annual "Walk the Walk," Miller said, which is only for elementary school educators.

"We have only elementary schools participate so they can start early to set good examples," she said.

The competition went from March 3 to April 30. Although the winners won't be announced until next week, there will be four grand prize winners -- one in each category and division, who will receive $500 to use for healthy activities for their class or school. They will also receive a retreat for two to a spa in Midway.

Administrators and classified employees were grouped together and teachers were separate. Participants were classified into two divisions -- standard and competitive -- which was based on activity level.

Teachers walking in the competitive division regularly walked five or more miles a week, were training for a 5k, marathon or half marathon, or were primarily teachers in the physical education program, Miller said. All other competitors walked in the standard division.

"We are expecting, statewide, for the teachers to walk more than 200 million steps," Miller said.

This year, teachers from seven elementary schools in the county competed. The schools were Middle Canyon, Copper Canyon, Grantsville, Ibapah, Northlake, Rose Springs, and West elementaries.

These 37 teachers competed against not only each other, but about 1,500 of their peers from other schools in the state, Miller said.

The teachers tracked their steps with a pedometer, she said. They received bonus steps for participating in activities with their students and for creating a healthy classroom plan.

Peg Achter, a first-grade teacher at Middle Canyon was in the top two steppers statewide in the standard division for a while, until she hurt her foot and was put into a boot and told she couldn't walk outside for three weeks.

"I walked it seems forever, and walked in all kinds of weather," she said. "It's my stress release, and it doesn't seem to matter what time it is or where I'm at."

A number of the teachers involved are participating in conjunction with the Gold Medal School Program -- a statewide program aimed at encouraging and rewarding schools that establish programs and policies to improve health activity and nutrition.

Marilyn Linares, a teacher at Ibapah Elementary, said participating in 'Walk the Walk' is just one component of getting active.

"It's a piece of the total picture," she said.

This was Linares' first year doing the walk. She walked at least a half-mile daily, and encouraged her students to do the same.

"All my students walk at least a half-a-mile daily, and I have one student who walks two miles every day," she said.

Linares also helped raise money to take her 18 students to Disneyland. This year, the students set a goal to walk 750 miles, but they walked more than 1,200 miles combined, she said.

"This activity has made the students more aware of making activity part of every day," Linares said.

Megan Grover, a first-grade teacher at Grantsville Elementary, said she decided to participate in the competition after finding a flyer in her school box.

"When you find something you like to do, you do it," she said.

She said her class talked about it a lot when she first started to help encourage the students to get active.

"We walked three to four times a week on the playground," she said.

Teachers at West and Middle Canyon are also participating in the Gold Medal School Program.

Becca Hall, a second-grade teacher at West, said she was doing it as a way to get kids active and set an example.

"It's a good way to set an example for my students," she said. "Teachers need to be the ones to set a good example."

Hall walked one mile a week with her class.

Bobbi Smart, a kindergarten teacher at Middle Canyon, read about the walk in a brochure. Her class also participated in the Gold Medal Mile, which is where they walk a mile a week. Middle Canyon also had a competition between teachers to see who could walk the most.

This year, 10 teachers at Middle Canyon participated in 'Walk the Walk' and enjoyed competing against each other, Smart said.

Ron Cragun, a fourth-grade teacher at Middle Canyon, was one of those teachers.

He has been participating in the walk since it started.

"I do it to help the kids, and me, get more exercise," he said.

Cragun separated his class into teams, and they receive trophies for which team finishes their weekly mile run first.

"The trophies help the kids motivate each other to keep going," he said.

Not only did his class do the mile walk weekly, they also had a daily quarter-mile walk in the morning.

"It's morning exercise," he said. "When we do walking activities, the student of the day puts on our pedometer and wears it. At the end of the day we put the steps taken on the board for the kids to see how many steps they've taken at school today."

Cragun said that the amount of walking the students do at school is not a lot.

"It might not be a lot of walking, but for some students it's the only real exercise they get," he said. "If nothing else, they get a lot of walking done at school."

Each teacher said they have found something enjoyable about walking.

Hall said it's been a good motivation for her.

"I'm excited to compare myself to other teachers," she said. "I didn't set a personal goal, but have walked close to 750,000 steps."

Smart said it's been good for her.

"I have more energy, and I've lost weight," she said.

Cragun said he has also lost weight with all the walking he's done.

"I've lost 25 pounds since December," he said. "I'm a lot more conscientious of walking then before. I've walked more than 894,863 steps since the beginning of March."

Educators Mutual Insurance Association CEO, Andy Galano said, "Because children are greatly influenced by the example of their leaders, we believe 'Walk the Walk' will continue to have a reciprocating effect on our children."

apalmer@tooeletranscript.com