Not yet a year old, the program is already having an effect, said Joel Shapiro, the assistant superintendent of instruction.
"Prior to this year, [physical education] was run by classroom teachers," Shapiro said. "They did the very best job they could, but they were not trained specifically for physical education."
Because elementary school teachers already have so much on their plate, many simply did not have the time to create cohesive lesson plans for their physical education periods, he said.
Conducting gym classes already cut into the planning time that teachers would typically spend working on lessons for their regular classes.
"We had a situation for a number of years where fourth- and fifth-grade teachers should have had a certain amount of weekly preparation time," he said. "There was a desire to provide a program that would give those teachers the 100 minutes of weekly prep time that they deserve."
The district created new curriculum for the new physical education teachers, and raised their standards for students. In April, students will take part in the California Physical Fitness test, which records the time it takes for students to run a mile and the number of push ups and sit ups they can complete.
"Teachers have already noted many indicators in their own daily instruction," Shapiro said. "Students are able to run further, to run faster. Teachers observed increased strength ? as well as greater flexibility."
Teachers who are trained to do physical fitness can also teach students the basics in a range of sports, said Liann Asmussen, one of the district's new gym teachers.
"I try to teach them skills so when they get to middle school and high school and might play a sport, they'll have the skills to do it," Asmussen said.
In a resent volleyball unit, most students attacked the ball with their knuckles, Asmussen recalled.
"Some kids play team sports, but there are others who haven't kicked a soccer ball in their lives," she said.
Asmussen hopes that exposing students to a range of sports will help them find something active that they enjoy doing.
"Hopefully every child will find something that they are good at," she said. "Hopefully it's something that they would consider doing on a regular basis in order to stay fit."
Even Caroline, who is skeptical, can see some of the program's benefits.
"I guess it's good for us," she said, "because we do eat a lot of junk food."
