Some Iowa Teens Can Do Yard Work For P.E. Credit

Gym class...you either love it or you hate it. One school in Iowa has been leading the charge on changing some of the rules on how kids can get a good physical education.

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One school is approaching Gym class from a different angle. Iowa students in one school can do some good work and get credit for a physical education class.

That sounds like a great idea!

How it started...

In 2019, the Alternative Learning Center in Dubuque redesigned its PE program. This school is for 11th and 12th graders, and their PE classes are more dynamic than any Gym class you've taken.

ALC offers students different options to fulfill their PE credit like canoeing, hiking, and even yard work.

If there's no dodgeball being hurled at my face; sign me up!

Students doing good in Dubuque...

That's not all! When I first saw that kids could mow lawns for school credit I thought,

Wow! This is SUPER boring! Do they just mow their own lawns for credit?

The answer is no. They don't get to go home and get mom or dad to sign off on them mowing the lawn for ten minutes...they have to go out into the community. Students from this school do lawn work for the elderly or individuals with disabilities in Dubuque.

Are they still doing it now?

After several years, the students at this school continue to do this. In early May, the school posted on their Facebook page that students will be doing exterior/yard work again this year.

These Dubuque students will be doing yard work from 9 AM – 11:30 AM & 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM on the following days:

The sort of work they can do includes; spreading mulch, raking leaves, planting vegetation, watering plants, pulling weeds, and manually trimming trees.

For more information, you can call or text (Tim) at (563) 599-2915.