Four days a week, Edmonds School District students get their bodies moving through a before- or after- school 60-minute exercise program, Move 60! The program seeks to increase opportunities for student activity outside of the regular school day, according to foundry10, a Seattle-based education research organization that is helping to fund the program.

Move 60! also receives financial support from Verdant Health Commission, Hazel Miller Foundation, and the Hubbard Foundation.

The program is offered free of charge at six Edmonds School District elementary schools — College Place, Chase Lake, Cedar Valley, Spruce, Lynndale and Mountlake Terrace — chosen because they are the highest-needs schools based on the free- and reduced-lunch count numbers.

At Lynnwood’s Cedar Valley Elementary, students attend Move 60! from 7:20-8:20 a.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. After Move 60! they go to the cafeteria to get breakfast, then head to their classrooms. Student participants are in grades 2-6 (ages 7-12).

On Thursday, students arrived at the Cedar Valley gym where they were greeted by instructors. The students completed their self-directed warm-up exercises before practicing a jump rope activity to improve cardio and jump rope skills, then they all played a group warm-up game.

Tyler Wilkins is the physical education teacher and the lead Move 60! instructor at Cedar Valley. His wife, Megan Rickers, serves as the assistant Move 60! instructor and Cedar Valley’s librarian. Tyler Wilkins says when it comes to physical activity for young people, more is more. 

“The more activity, the better. And having it in the morning is a great way for the kids to get some energy out, get those neurons firing, get those happy endorphins so they can start the day on a positive note, and just be ready to learn,” he said.

The Move 60! fall session ends Dec. 15. Registration for the winter session opened Nov. 20 with the program beginning Jan. 8, 2024. The registration link is here.

“MOVE 60! helps provide holistic support for youth, including the physical benefits of exercise as well as the social and emotional learning value of facilitated group activity,” said Jane O’Brien, philanthropy outreach Support, foundry10. “For some youth, MOVE 60! may represent their only opportunity to easily access sports equipment for recreational play.”