CHS is the alternative high school for Buncombe County Schools and Asheville City Schools located in Western North Carolina. We serve approximately 145 students from a variety of different backgrounds and experiences. Some of the issues our students deal with include homelessness, substance abuse issues, extensive childhood trauma, self-injury, poverty, and lack of food and basic needs, teen parents, ongoing medical conditions, etc. These experiences can become barriers to their academic, social, or personal success, which make our students at-risk to drop out and fail to graduate.
However, we offer a smaller school setting in a compassionate environment with staff dedicated to the success of all of our students despite their situation.
The relationships that staff builds with our students helps lead to a more successful outcome for our students.
My Project
According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, adolescents need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity to maintain good health and fitness for appropriate growth and development. Due to financial, transportation, limited sports opportunities and other barriers, our students are often unable to maintain a membership to a gym, engage in team sports, or engage in any other forms of fitness except for what we provide here at school.
Our school does not have sports teams or extracurricular activities; thus, creating a positive environment in which all students can better themselves through fitness is important to their overall success and development.
With many of our students experiencing issues such as mental health concerns, homelessness, substance abuse issues, extensive childhood trauma, self-injury, poverty and lack of food and basic needs, teen parents, and ongoing medical conditions, we constantly receive requests from students stating that they would like to lose weight, improve their body image, and improve their overall health. Because our school has limited equipment in our gym, providing the resources for our students to reach their goals is proving difficult.
The sports and fitness equipment items (basketball equipment, treadmill, home gym, Disc Golf Target Hoop and Accessory Set, and training gloves) we are seeking will help our students to reach their personal goals and the standard fitness recommendations to maintain appropriate fitness. By achieving the appropriate amount of exercise, our students would be able to better manage their stress, improve their self-image, fight anxiety and depression, and receive several other positive benefits that would help our students have more immediate success, as well as in the future.
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