Published: Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 11:32 p.m. Last Modified: Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 11:32 p.m.

WINTER HAVEN | Public Education Partnership has begun an effort to get students from the Polk County School District involved in a physical fitness event monthly at Winter Haven's downtown Central Park.

The event, called Fitness at the Fountain, began last month. Professional wellness instructors lead the exercises the first Saturday of the month. This Saturday, the event is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Health Concepts is sponsoring the instruction.

"In Dr. John Ratey's recent book, Spark,' he describes how several school districts in the country used fitness programs to improve student academic scores," said Doug Lockwood, chairman of the Public Education Partnership.

PEP was created last year by the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce's education steering committee with a mission of improving Winter Haven schools through advocacy, community engagement and collaborative partnerships.

Nat West, a PEP board member, said last month's inaugural event had good participation.

"In addition to exercises, there were games for kids and energizing music for everyone to get in the spirit," he said. "With several dieticians from the Cypress Dietetic Association and the Main Street Market right next to the exercisers in Winter Haven's Central Park, it was a day to learn about and practice wellness."

The idea for Fitness at the Fountain arose at a Polk Vision meeting when attendees decided to act upon a recent article reporting the Lakeland/Winter Haven area ranked seventh in the country for obesity, West said.

"I went to the local fitness centers and asked them to provide at least two athletic trainers to lead exercises in the park the first Saturday of every month so it could be the same day and location as our Main Street Market," West said.

The Main Street Market gives families access to fresh fruit and vegetables that correlates with living a healthy lifestyle, West said.

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Kids' Health Is Focus at Monthly Fitness at the Fountain Event