Having a ball in the classroom
by Eric Clark
News Editor
With balls bouncing off the walls and kids balancing on a wooden platform, you wouldn't think students would be preparing for a tough test or a book report — but they are, at least at Hillsboro Elementary School.
"I use it to help kids focus and to increase hand and eye coordination," HES counselor Mike Moran said of a new concept. "This may not be the magic pill, but it's a piece of the puzzle."
Moran is speaking of the elementary school's implementation of the new program Bal-A-Vis-X.
The program, created by Bill Hubert, a teacher at Hadley Middle School in Wichita, is a combination of balance, auditory, and vision exercises that helps students strengthen focus by performing a series of ball and beanbag exercises.
The program has helped children with behavior disorders, poor reading skills, bad attitudes and low esteem in the Wichita school.
And according to HES principal Evan Yoder, the program is proving to be a success at his school too.
"We started doing Bal-A-Vis-X at the middle school last year when I was (principal) there," Yoder said. "It was really neat to see how it seemed to help those kids at the middle school level. Here, at the elementary school, I've watched the kids do it, and it seems to make sense to me. It's become a very positive thing."
Yoder said the elementary school will hold a teacher in-service day sometime in November to train staff members on the Bal-A-Vis-X program.
Moran, who holds a certificate for completing the Bal-A-Vis-X program after going through the program with Hubert a year ago, said his experience with Hubert and the program was inspirational in his quest to help bring Bal-A-Vis-X to Hillsboro.
"I'm really impressed with him and how he works with kids," Moran said. "He's really tapped into something."
Moran said Marion Elementary School teacher Pam Jones was critical in the implementation of the program along with HES's Kathy Koop, a special education teacher.
Marion has been using the program for about a year in the elementary school.
According to Moran, the program is used in his office and in Becky Carlson's physical education classroom.
Carlson has incorporated the program into her curriculum during PE class.
"Becky will do about a section (of Bal-A-Vis-X) for about a month with all of the kids," Moran said. "It's a real challenge to do it in a large group, but Becky's been around long enough to know how to make it work."
The program has also been effective in the special education classroom.
"We like to use (the program) with special education kids to try and get their brains engaged," Moran said.
Bal-A-Vis-X has also been used at HES to help students who have attention deficit disorder or other behavior specific disorders Moran said.
"There are some kids that just need to move," Moran said. "I think it helps integrate the left and right side of the brain and sometimes we take that for granted," Moran said. "(The kids) need to move, and this helps them focus while being allowed to do something that involves movement and that's fun."
The HES counselor said he thinks programs like Bal-A-Vis-X are quickly becoming important tools for the classroom.
"I really like this program," Moran said. "I think it's the direction that we're going to move in. The push is on testing, and I think we're kind of missing the boat. Kids need to move.
"Because it's not a measurable thing, it can sometimes be a hard sell. But once you see kids that have done it and see them succeed, it makes you look at it in a different light."
