The bell rings at 9 a.m. at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., and as students slowly file into the gym, curiosity fills the air. Coach Clark always comes with a twist.
Daequan eagerly asks, “Coach, when’s our next trip?” after discovering his love for boxing during last week’s field trip to Rumble. Meanwhile, DeShawn — the class captain for the week — leads the warm-up, and other students complete their daily mental health questionnaire displayed on the projector.
As I take attendance, I also check in with my students. Daryl is on cloud nine because Dunbar’s baseball team just clinched the third seed in the DCIAA playoffs. Arianna can’t stop beaming about her first-place finish at yesterday’s track meet, her gold medals clinking together as she completes jumping jacks.
Roger, however, arrives late, having dropped off his younger siblings at school. And Renee, a new mother, looks visibly exhausted from juggling her responsibilities.
This diverse mix of students, each with their unique stories and challenges, embody why I teach. Despite the obstacles they face, they show up every day, ready to move and learn.
My focus in physical education centers on equity and inclusion in fitness, particularly access to fitness options in underserved communities of color. Too often, when I introduce new sports or fitness activities, my predominantly African American students say, “That’s a white sport.”
This mindset, rooted in a lack of exposure and representation, inspired me to create a unit dedicated to breaking these barriers and showing my students that fitness — in all its forms — belongs to them.
I wanted to create a space my students could connect to “uncommon-to-them” physical fitness activities, such as yoga, boxing, weight training, cycling, and mountain biking.
To teach my students about these activities, I often go beyond my school’s traditional PE space — and use the city as my physical education classroom.
The Birth of Prime Ability
Like many people, I started cycling more during the pandemic. Biking gave me a sense of freedom and peace I hadn’t felt in years. I wanted my students to experience that same joy, especially considering the violence that plagues D.C. streets. When I lost two students to gun violence within a span of two weeks in 2020, I knew I had to do something.
I started a GoFundMe page and, in just two weeks, raised over $12,000 to buy bikes for my students. Our first ride attracted more than 50 kids, eager for a new, safe outlet. We began exploring trails, parks and new parts of the city — places many of my students had never seen before, even though they’d lived in D.C. all their lives.
Twice a week, we biked, and for those few hours my students could escape the pressures of their neighborhoods and just be kids.
Expanding Horizons: From Community Rides to Competitive Racing
As the program expanded, so did the opportunities. We formed partnerships with local businesses like Call Your Mother Deli and SWEAT DC to launch our Wednesday “Bikes and Bagels” program, where students not only enjoyed rides but also learned valuable career skills.
Our bikes became tools for community service, whether it was cleaning up litter at Ridge Road Recreation or handing out water to protesters at Black Lives Matter Plaza.
The impact of Prime Ability, the nonprofit born from these efforts, soon caught the attention of Trek Bikes, which sponsored seven scholarships for our students to compete in the Maryland NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) league. We became D.C.’s first all-Black youth mountain biking team.
Our journey has since been featured by The Trek Blog, The Washington Post, Bicycling magazine, TIME, and more, amplifying our mission to inspire and empower youth.
Biking to BOOMBOX: Challenging the Status Quo
During a recent PE class, the students and I took a 20-minute bike ride to BOOMBOX, a rhythm-based boxing studio owned by two Black entrepreneurs in Ward 8. This part of Washington is called the Navy Yard. My goal is to expose students to a location in the city that they do not frequently travel to and introduce them to an uncommon physical fitness activity.
The 20-minute bike ride serves as more than a “gym class.” It shows my students the bigger picture: locations, costs and customers who typically have access to these different health and wellness spaces.
As my students caught their breath and wiped the sweat from their faces after the workout, I asked them two simple questions: “Did you have fun?” and “What does fitness look like in your neighborhood?”
The answer to the first was a unanimous “Yes,” but the silence following the second question spoke volumes. Mateo, one of my quieter students, broke the silence by explaining that, apart from football, basketball and a few recreation centers, his neighborhood lacks fun and/or accessible fitness opportunities.
The conversation deepened when Katorah revealed her findings: It costs $35 to take a class at BOOMBOX and $40 at Rumble, a similar gym. “Coach Clark,” she asked, “How can someone from my neighborhood afford that when most of us are below the poverty line?”
Delonta, a junior from a tough neighborhood in Southeast D.C., chimed in, “They don’t want us there!”
I encouraged him to dig deeper. “What do you mean by ‘they’?” and “Who is ‘us’?”
Delonta explained, “These places are in neighborhoods where people like us don’t live, and they charge prices we can’t pay. So, it feels like they don’t want us there!” His words hit home. They weren’t just noticing inequity — they were experiencing it firsthand.
The Impact: Biking as a Path to Success
Cycling has had a profound impact on my students. In partnership with Outride, we conducted research on the benefits of cycling for student success and social-emotional well-being. We found that 90% of our students felt safer outside their neighborhoods when on a bike, and 100% said cycling gave them a much-needed mental break from the stresses of life.
Even more telling, students who rode at least three times a week reported better peer relationships and higher levels of well-being. But despite the growing interest, a staggering 94% of students surveyed didn’t have access to a bike outside of school. This highlighted the urgent need to provide equitable access to bikes and fitness resources.
Building a Bike Shop and a Movement
Over the past two years, we have opened up our own bike shop at Dunbar, where students learn how to fix and repair bikes during PE class, gaining valuable skills and career opportunities. Our cycling program is a testament to the fact that learning doesn’t have to be confined to the classroom.
Prime Ability now has three programs:
- Bike Mechanic Assembly Program: Sponsored by Trek Bikes, this Project Bike Tech accredited program trains young students of color to become certified bike mechanics, opening doors to careers in the cycling industry.
- Community Rides: Weekly rides that offer teens a safe space for self-expression, physical activity, and community engagement, keeping them off the streets during the vulnerable summer months.
- NICA Competitive Mountain Biking: Our all-minority cycling team competes in mountain biking races, breaking barriers and challenging the norms in a predominantly white sport.
The City as Our Classroom
The most rewarding part of this journey has been watching my students realize their power, not just as athletes but as agents of change. With the city as their classroom, they’ve learned that fitness is for everyone, regardless of where they live or how much money they have.
Together, we are challenging the status quo and creating a future where every student can see themselves reflected in every corner of the fitness world.
Our city is not just a backdrop — it’s a living, breathing classroom. And every bike ride, every field trip, and every class is a step toward a more equitable and inclusive world.
Additional Resources
Alex Clark
Alex Clark, the 2024 SHAPE America Eastern District High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year, is a physical education teacher at Dunbar High School, located in Ward 5 of Washington, D.C. He is also the founder of Prime Ability, a youth empowerment program geared toward building communities and inspiring young lives through cycling.
