A New York City high school is now offering a skateboarding class for credit, one of a wide range of quirky physical education electives available to students.
The skateboarding elective is offered as a gym class to 9th and 10th graders at East Side Community High School. It began in February as an after school program but has since morphed into a for-credit pursuit.
The district also offers yoga classes at some schools as well as the Brazilian martial art capoeira (cap-oo-WAY'--rah) at Lehman High School in the Bronx.
One Department of Education official says there has been a shift from the usual fare of basketball or volleyball to "an overall culture of fitness."
High school students are required to complete at least seven semesters of physical education.
