For the third consecutive year, the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools will bring together teams of fifth-grade students, district staff and city officials for a race that challenges minds, bodies and spirits.
On Friday, April 25, KCKPS will be the host of the “Are You Faster Than a 5th Grader” two-mile race. Start time is noon.
This year’s race will follow a different route than past ones. It will begin at Schlitterbahn Kansas City Water Park and end at Sporting KC stadium. The runners will follow 98th street to Francis Family Drive and go southwest to the stadium.
Teams of 15 fifth-graders are expected to participate from all 30 of the district’s elementary schools. Superintendent Cynthia Lane and other district administrators, plus Mayor Mark Holland and other city leaders, will keep stride with the students.
Lane launched this event in 2012 as a way to promote physical fitness in students and to encourage overall wellness.
“We want our students to be the best that they can be and that means intellectually as well as physically,” Lane said. “Good health plays an important role in our students’ ability to learn. As well as promoting good health, this race provides them with lessons about teamwork, endurance and physical fitness.”
The race has become something that fifth-grade students look forward to each year. Recently, Lane started building excitement by having a practice run with students at Kennedy Elementary School.
The first 15 students, and top three adults to cross the finish line in the race will receive medals. At the conclusion of the race, teams of students and adults will compete in an academic 4×4 relay, where they must answer curriculum questions correctly before proceeding on their leg of the race.
Fifth-graders not competing in the race will be seated in Sporting KC stadium to cheer on their classmates and teachers.
This year’s event is expected to draw more than 500 runners.
– Story from Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools