Charlottesville City Schools provides health and physical education at all schools. This instruction is critical for building habits for life-long success and wellness.

The physical education program at Charlottesville City Schools reflects larger commitments to:

• social, emotional, and physical wellness and
• programs designed to promote physical fitness.

Partnerships for Health

Our physical education classes benefit from a number of community partnerships to teach life-long skills.

• At Walker School, through the generosity of the Ben Hair – Just Swim for Life Foundation and Charlottesville Park and Recreation, fifth graders take swimming lessons at neighboring Crow Pool.
• The Safe Routes to School program of the City of Charlottesville cooperates with gym classes to teach bicycle riding and safety skills.
• First Tee and Quick Start Tennis lend equipment and expertise to our classes.
• University of Virginia Medical Center leads a health fair at Walker School

Health and Family Life Instruction

At Charlottesville City Schools address Virginia’s standards of learning for health in the following ways:

• Elementary schools: in the science curriculum and in PE for 4th grade
• Walker School: in PE classes
• Buford and CHS: in separate health classes
• Click here for the scope and sequence of the family life curriculum

The goal of elementary health education is to help students demonstrate through their behavior a sense of pride in the responsibility for their mental and physical well-being. Fostering self-esteem and helping children to practice good communication and decision-making skills are key elements of the  curriculum. The texts and curriculum resources serve to introduce topics such as mental health, personal health and growth, nutrition, disease prevention and control, first aid and safety, and family life education. The curriculum is supplemented by media resources, guest lectures, online resources and various publications.

High School Health and PE

Health and physical education are sequential courses taught in grades 9 and 10. To earn a diploma from a Virginia high school, students must earn credit for both.  Tenth grade health classes include the driver’s education classroom instruction component. Outside of school hours, students can opt to take the behind-the-wheel driver’s education component through CHS.

Driver’s Education

There are two components to Driver’s Education in Virginia:

• The classroom instruction component is taught during health 10.
• The behind-the-wheel component is offered at CHS (and various private companies). CHS offers the program during the summer and charges a fee. For more information, click here.