Students at New Design High School in Manhattan earn gym credits by serving concessions - like popcorn and hot dogs - at the Rooftop Films festival.

Exercise-starved students from a lower Manhattan school are getting gym credits for working concessions at the Rooftop Films festival, the Daily News has learned.

"Selling drinks and popcorn at a movie is not physical education. It's just not right," said Palmer Taylor, a gym teacher at New Design High School. "The kids aren't getting enough phys-ed."

Every Friday and Saturday starting in May, students can earn seven hours toward their gym requirements by staffing the screenings at the school, one of 10 venues for the popular film series, students and Taylor said.

Roughly 20 students, a handful of them packing a few extra pounds, were performing tasks that required little more exertion than flipping burgers, lifting coolers and setting tables. 

Ironically, the film fest is held on the school's rooftop basketball court that doubles as a skate park.

"It's not so much a workout as it is work," said Ryan Pacheco, a 17-year-old senior looking to earn 125 hours toward his gym requirements.

"Every senior knows this is a shortcut to graduation. This is how you get around the problem" of required gym classes they've avoided, said Ryan.

The practice of allowing students to sell snacks for credit flies in the face of the Department of Education's efforts to make schools healthier for city kids, one in five of whom is obese.

The city's tactics for tackling obesity have included restricting bake sales at schools, reasoning the homemade goodies are too unhealthy.

Several students, though, defended the credits they were receiving.

"We're actually learning something here," said Ryan's classmate Olukemi Wallace, 18, who grilled burgers and hot dogs for most of Friday's movie screening. "A lot of kids go to the gym but aren't dedicated to what they're doing. We're dedicated to this."

Another senior, who didn't want to be named, said the school wants the kids to focus on their studies.

"We have to study. We have projects. We can't get all these hours of phys-ed in during the school day," said the senior.

"The school knows that so this is how they deal with it. We stay in shape in other ways."

Department of Education spokesman Danny Kanner slammed the practice Saturday.

"Obviously, students should not get physical education credits for volunteering at a film festival, but we'll wait until the conclusion of any investigation to pass judgment," he said. 

Principal Scott Conti declined to comment.

Having kids miss gym is troubling, Taylor said, because "in our school there are a good number of students who are out of shape and some are overweight."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/05/30/2010-05-30_no_sweat_in_this_gym_class_students_sell_treats_dont_do_exercises.html#ixzz0pSleozAx