Before the School Bell Rings - How a Before-School Physical Activity Program Improves Executive Functions

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley

School administrators face pressure to balance time for physical activity with adequate academic instruction, while rising childhood obesity in the U.S. makes the concern urgent. This paper argues physical activity supports learning rather than competing with it and describes the BOKS (Build Our Kids’ Success) before-school program. A three-year Natick Public Schools study links BOKS participation with greater gains in executive functions such as working memory and task shifting compared with a nonparticipating group.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Before-School Physical Activity and Executive Functions

Background: Physical Activity vs. Academic Time

The BOKS Program (Build Our Kids’ Success)

Study Design and Findings in Natick Public Schools

Related Research on Physical Activity and Learning

Before the School Bell Rings How a Before-School Physical Activity Program Improves Executive Functions Georgia Hall, Kristen Fay Poston, and Stephanie Harris Across the country, school administrators and educators struggle to find time for children to engage in physical activity while still giving them enough time in academic instruction. The steep rise in childhood obesity in the U. S. (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011; Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014) suggests that the concern is urgent. However, the need to meet accountability standards puts pressure in the direction of more “seat time” rather than physical activity time. Research suggests that the tension between physical activity and academic achievement rests on a false dichotomy. Physical activity can and does support children’s learning: Providing children with opportunities for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can help them improve their academic performance. In keeping with this research, a before-school physical activity program called BOKS (Build Our Kids’ Success) launched during the 2009–2010 school year with a pilot program at one elementary school in the Natick Public School district in Natick, Massachusetts. The following year the program expanded to include all five Natick elementary schools during the 2010–2011 school year. BOKS is now offered in 1,600 schools worldwide. In Natick, BOKS is offered free of charge through funding from the Reebok Foundation and MetroWest Health Foundation. BOKS operates for approximately 40 minutes before school begins. Children participate for two to three mornings per week. Programming includes an average of 20 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity through interactive games, exercises, running, and physical skill building. Previous data suggest that BOKS children accumulate an average of 1,800 steps daily during program time (Hall, Fay, & Harris, 2014) . To investigate how a before-school physical activity program like BOKS can support the positive development GEORGIA HALL, Ph. D., and KRISTEN FAY POSTON, Ph. D., are research scientists at the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College. STEPHANIE HARRIS, M.A., recently served as research associate at NIOST. More information on BOKS can be found [at www.bokskids.org](at www.bokskids.org). of young children and support school learning, we conducted a three-year study of school-related outcomes for BOKS students in Natick Public Schools. In particular, we examined whether program participation was associated with “executive functions” such as working memory and the ability to shift between tasks. We found that children in the BOKS program did experience greater increases in some executive functions than did a comparison group of nonparticipating children. Research on Physical Activity and Learning Sattelmair and Ratey (2009) suggest that the link between learning and physical activity may be strong: Students who engaged in a high level of strenuous physical activity exhibited higher test scores than or math skills (Blair & Razza, 2007; McClelland, Morrison, & Homes, 2000) . A study by Kubesch and colleagues (2009) found that executive functions can be improved by physical activity. Working with 81 students in grade 7, they examined the effects of a single 30-minute physical education program featuring aerobic endurance exercise on working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition of distraction and unproductive behaviors. In contrast with students who took a five-minute aerobic movement break, students who engaged in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise were better able to stay on task in the face of distraction. Several studies have found relationships between academic achievement and the executive function known as working memory. Working those who did not. The researchers memory, which includes suggest that “physical activity or Berg (2010) found that, when

FAQs

Why do schools struggle to provide physical activity alongside academics?

Administrators and educators need to find time for children to be active while still providing enough time for academic instruction, and accountability pressures often favor more seat time than physical activity time.

What is the BOKS before-school physical activity program?

BOKS (Build Our Kids’ Success) is a program offered about 40 minutes before school begins, with children participating two to three mornings per week through interactive games, exercises, running, and skill building.

What did the three-year study find about BOKS participation?

Children in the BOKS program showed greater increases in some executive functions, including working memory and the ability to shift between tasks, compared with a comparison group of nonparticipating children.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley