FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Schools are improving health education and increasing physical activity to combat obesity among children, but what about school staff? A University of Arkansas professor is working with a school district to improve the health and fitness of public school employees, and to lower taxpayer costs in the process.

Barry Brown, University Professor of health science, has partnered with Matthew Garcia, special projects coordinator for Fayetteville Public Schools, to develop Get Fit with Fayetteville Public Schools, a comprehensive health and fitness program that eventually could be made available to all the district’s public school employees.

“A program like this will enhance employees’ performance in schools, it’ll improve healthy living for the staff, and it will reduce health-care costs,” Brown said.

 The state has been focusing on preventing obesity in students by mandating body-mass index measurements and encouraging more nutrition education. The Get Fit program will help provide positive role models for children by encouraging school staff members to be more active, fit and healthy.

The program focuses on two of the 11 initiatives Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee laid out for his Healthy Arkansas campaign, Garcia pointed out. First, use work sites as places for health promotion; and second, establish a clearinghouse for model work-site wellness programs and help businesses implement work-site wellness programs.

It also fits into the Fayetteville school district’s core ideology, which includes respect for the individual and continued improvement.

“This could be a blueprint for other citizens in Arkansas,” Garcia said.

Brown also sees the program as a way to save taxpayer money. Healthy employees will mean less expensive health insurance. As medical costs are reduced, state premiums for insurance may be adjusted downward, thereby saving school districts significant amounts of money. Brown has worked with several private companies that have been able to drop external insurance packages and have saved significant amounts of money through self-insurance.

With help from the UA Center for Wellness, the Fayetteville School District will be able to use an effective fitness assessment, exercise prescription, proper nutrition and stress management program to enhance performance and improve a healthy lifestyle for all its staff members.

Fifty school employees are currently involved in a 10-week pilot program to see how well such a program would work. They represent a cross-section of public school employees, from food service workers through administrators.

Each participant had to have a doctor’s approval before starting the program, which began Feb. 14. Experienced fourth-year exercise science students serve as personal trainers, fulfilling a class project to provide hands-on practical experience in this capstone class.

“This is one way we can make this a cost-effective program,” Brown said.

At the beginning of the pilot program, the participants were assessed for their “readiness” level using questionnaires and cardiovascular, strength and flexibility tests. The trainers then helped each of them determine his or her personal goals based on the readiness level.

To make workout facilities accessible to the participants, Garcia contacted local gyms in different areas of the city. Several gyms agreed to provide services to the participants at reduced costs. Garcia also wanted to add a free workout facility for participants in the program. The Fayetteville High School gym was made available for participants for free.

Trainers meet the participants at the gym located most conveniently to them.

“This way, the people become familiar with the equipment at a gym near them, and they’ll be more likely to continue using it beyond the 10 weeks,” Brown said.

The participants are required to meet with their trainers once a week for tips, encouragement and progress reports. They also must work out a minimum of two additional times each week.

“This is a wonderful program,” said Debi Smith, a first grade teacher at Washington Elementary School. “It’s really beneficial for me, because I’m learning weight training, which I’ve never done before. I’m gaining strength and losing fat.”

She said being obligated to exercise three times a week keeps her on schedule and provides stress relief.

The trainers hold the participants accountable for continuing their workouts and working toward their goals.

“It really helps to have that personal touch and accountability,” Brown said. “The trainers become assertive if a person misses, so they see that someone really cares that they stay with the program.”

The program offers state-of-the-art methods for understanding how much activity the participants do, he explained. They wear pedometers to count the steps they take each day and can use Web sites to determine how many calories they burned by walking.

The program also offers free advice on nutrition and stress management during Saturday seminars conducted by UA professors.

At the end of the 10-week program, participants are rewarded as they reach their goals. Awards range from T-shirts and autographed UA memorabilia to discounted merchandise from local fitness shops.

Brown would like to help the school district ultimately become self-sufficient in implementing the Get Fit program. Through a National Teacher Life Improvement Center, teachers could get trained and certified to implement the programs in their schools. He conducted a fitness certification workshop for Fayetteville firefighters this past February. Brown and Fayetteville Fire Chief Chris Bosch hope the workshop will develop into a National Firefighter Life Improvement Center. The workshop has already trained firefighters from three different states to certify them through the American College of Sports Medicine.