Fifth-graders in the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools are lacing up their running shoes for the annual Are You Faster Than a Fifth-Grader run-walk.
The annual event will take place Friday, April 29. The event brings together all KCKPS fifth–grade students, Superintendent Cynthia Lane, district administrators and staff, and community leaders and patrons for a morning of friendly competition and physical activity.
Mayor Mark Holland will be among the community leaders taking part, and a number of fifth-grade parents will also be running or walking.
Walkers will start their one-mile route at 10 a.m. at Eisenhower Middle School and end at the Washington High School stadium. Runners will begin their two-mile route at 10:30 a.m. at Kansas City Kansas Community College and end at the Washington stadium.
Superintendent Lane launched Are You Faster Than a Fifth-Grader in 2012 as a way to promote physical fitness to students and to encourage overall wellness.
Awards for the run will be given to the first 15 fifth-grade girls and first 15 fifth-grade boys to finish, the top 15 overall fifth-grade finishers, and the school with the most students to cross the finish line before Superintendent Lane.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the event.
– From Tammy Dodderidge, communications manager, KCKPS