Health & Physical Education

Virginia requires all students to receive health and physical education instruction at all instructional levels in grades K-10. 

From the Virginia Department of Education: "The health and physical education program is designed to teach students the skills, knowledge, and attitudes essential to live a healthy lifestyle and select healthy and safe behaviors. Physical education provides students with the knowledge, processes, and skills to become physically educated, physically fit and responsible in their physical activity choices and behaviors for a lifetime. Virginia's standards for physical education are grouped into five strands: skilled movement, movement principles and concepts, personal fitness, responsible behaviors and physically active lifestyle. The standards in each strand are sequenced to progress in complexity from grade level to grade level." 

Students with disabilities have access to adapted physical education programs. Adapted Physical Education is physical education which has been adapted or modified, so that it is as appropriate for the person with a disability as it is for a person without a disability. 

RCPS provides adapted physical education to students with disabilities through weekly adapted physical education classes, weekly general physical education/dance, the Achilles Kids Walking Program, and a swim program.

Adapted physical education is physical education which has been adapted or modified, so that it is as appropriate for the person with a disability as it is for a person without a disability. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act uses the term disability as a diagnostic category that qualifies students for special services.  

Federal law mandates that physical education be provided to students with disabilities and defines physical education as the development of:

• physical and motor skills
• fundamental motor skills and patterns (throwing, catching, walking, running, etc)
• skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports)

Weekly Adapted Physical Education Class

Students focus on learning skills for life-long activities that are available in their communities after graduation. Skills for sports in their community: movement, basketball, bowling, soccer, softball, and volleyball. This includes field trips for bowling and participation in the Special Olympics track and field.

Weekly General Physical Education or Dance Classes

Adapted physical education teachers provide support ensuring students have access to modified equipment and activities in order to maximize social and physical involvement during general physical education.

Achilles Kids Walking Program

The Achilles Kids program motivates students to walk the distance of a marathon or more by the end of the school year. Outdoor and indoor courses have been measured so that distances can be logged on their Achilles Walking Charts. Students who complete the marathon receive shirts and certificates.

Swim Program

RCPS receives extensive community support from individual donors, PTAs, and organizations with pools, including the YMCA, Gator Aquatics Center (no transportation needed for Fishburn Park and Madison), and Green Ridge Recreation Center.