FARRELL SCHOOLS District builds up fitness program

Students will get a chance to use state-of-the-art fitness equipment.
FARRELL, Pa. -- The Farrell Area School District will have an open house Thursday for its new National School Fitness Foundation program.
The Leadership In Fitness Training program is providing free exercise equipment for both the Farrell Middle/High School and Farrell Elementary School.
The only requirement on the district's part is to make the equipment part of the regular physical education curriculum and report individual results to the foundation.
The equipment put into the middle-high school is valued at $300,000 while the elementary school is getting $180,000 worth of equipment.
Touring facility
The public is invited to tour the middle/high school's Health and Wellness Physical Education Center between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.
The center has the top-of-the-line aerobic machines, a scientifically established curriculum, high-tech assessment kiosks and a medical supply kit.
The foundation provides faculty training covering all aspects of health and wellness, including CPR and use of an automatic external defibrillator.
Schools must provide space for the center and submit fitness-related data collected in the facility for a period of three years.
The foundation tracks fitness results to help in fund raising to cover the equipment cost.
The recipient school district bears the ultimate responsibility for paying for the equipment, but Cameron Lewis, foundation president, said his agency has never missed a contribution payment to any of the nearly 600 schools in 20 states that are participating in the program.
Farrell officials said they plan to eventually open the center to the public.