RBR students (left to right) Ryan Grant, Shrewsbury, and Jacob Curtis, Little Silver, do their morning sprint on exercise bike desks while reading their assignments in the RBR Media Center. Looking on is RBR Media Specialist Kathy Smith, who purchased five bikes for the Media Center to encourage healthy exercise for her students’ bodies and minds.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
In the fight against obesity that challenges America and its children, every little weapon in the arsenal helps. So when Red Bank Regional High School Media Specialist Kathy Smith considered her budget for furniture last year, she had a eureka moment. As students use the Media Center every day for research, classes or for a gym exemption, she thought, “Why not introduce them to movement?”
“And when I researched the desk bikes,” she stated, “I learned that I could get five for the same price as two library chairs!”
This fall, the five exercise bike desks arrived in the media center to some curiosity and skepticism.
Senior Ryan Grant stated, “When I first saw them I asked, ‘What is a bike doing in the library?’”
Grant’s feelings were common. Mrs. Smith stated “People thought I was going to turn the Media Center into a gym, but the feedback has been very positive.”
She recalls that the first student who used the bike desk exclaimed, “I did my math homework and five miles all before the end of first block.”
As for Ryan Grant, he is now a regular bike desk customer, explaining, “It really helps me focus on my work.”
The student body is now requesting that the school district add more bike desks to their library.
