PEP Grant Success Story: Tonganoxie (KS) School District

We love success stories! Here is one from a PE4life trained school:

Tonganoxie (KS) School District to receive second year of PEP grant.

The Tonganoxie School District will be installing climbing walls at all of its schools thanks to PEP grant funding.

Tonya Phillips, Physical Education teacher, reported that an additional climbing wall would be installed in the coming weeks at Tonganoxie Elementary School, as well as walls at the middle school and high school. The district qualified for the first year of the Carol M. White PEP Grant for the 2009-10 school year. Phillips said the district learned earlier this year that progress toward goals was achieved in the first year of the grant, which qualified the district for grant money in 2010-11 as well.

The district was awarded $290,730 in the first year. Highlights of the first year were each building having a fully equipped fitness room, increased staff, increased class offerings, updated curriculum and equipment and appropriate/applicable professional development. The district also made marked improvement toward all goals and objectives.

Plans for the second year of the grant in which the district will receive $216,227 call for a challenge course at Tonganoxie High School, HOPSports at the middle school, sports walls at the elementary school and all physical education teachers being certified instructors in CPR, first aid and AED, as well as climbing and ropes courses. HOPSports is an interactive training system.

“We are very fortunate to have this grant,” superintendent Kyle Hayden said. “It’s one of the most state-of-the-art programs in Kansas and probably a four-state area. It’s allowing us to do things we had never thought we could imagine.”

Representatives from the Tonganoxie School District have attended a workshop at a PE4life Academy Training Center, as well as attended the PE4life Resource Conference.

To learn more about the Carol M. PEP Grant and how you can apply, go here.

Ready... Set... GO!

The day has arrived! Another Carol M. White PEP Grant competition has opened. We know the process can be overwhelming and we want to do anything we can to make it a little easier, so we've put together some of the need-to-knows. Please note, these suggestions and tips are general and don't necessarily reflect new requirements for the 2010 PEP Grant. For a complete list of this year's requirements, please refer to the federal register, published today.

What is the PEP Grant?

According to the Department of Education the purpose of the Carol M. White Physical Education Program is to provide funds to local educational agencies and community-based organizations (including faith-based organizations) to initiate, expand, and improve physical education programs (including after school programs) for students in one or more grades from kindergarten through 12 in order to make progress toward meeting State standards for physical education by providing funds for equipment, support, and the training and education of teachers and staff. 

In order to receive funding, each applicant must design and implement a program that clearly aligns to state standards for physical education and provides for one or more of the following elements:

• Fitness education and assessment to help students understand, improve or maintain physical well-being
• Instruction in motor skills and physical activities designed to enhance the physical, mental, or social or emotional development;
• Development of, and instruction in, cognitive concepts about motor skills and physical fitness that support healthy lifestyles;
• Opportunities to develop positive social and cooperative skills through physical activity participation;
• Instruction in healthy eating habits and good nutrition; and
• Opportunities for professional development for physical education teachers to stay abreast of current research, issues, and trends in physical education.
  
  Please note: although PE4life helped to write the initial bill that became the PEP Grant, the grant is awarded through the Department of Education, NOT PE4life.

Still interested? Follow these steps! 

1. Develop Your PEP Team
2. Gather the Data
3. Design a Program
4. Create a Budget
5. Other Helpful Hints

1. Develop Your PEP Team - We've said it before and we'll say it again - you have to have support to be successful in your program. If you've been planning on applying for awhile or if you've applied in the past, hopefully you've already got a rockstar PEP team together. If not, well, here are some people you'll want on your team (the old cliche rings true in this case - the more the merrier):

• Program manager (the leader of the initiative
within your school or district)
• Financial officer
• Principal
• Superintendent
• Cross-disciplinary staff
• Dietitian/school lunch program
• School nurse(s)
• Special education staff
• PE staff
• Other stakeholders
• Parent(s)
• Community or business leader(s)
• School board member(s)
• Other teachers
• Vendors
• University faculty
• Local hospital/medical staff
• Grant writer

2. Gather the Data - In addition to the required documentation of the application, here are some valuable data to include. The more specific your data is to your target population, the better:
 

District demographics (check your area profile at www.census.gov):
• Race
• Gender mix
• Economic indicators
• Average household income
• Number of students who qualify for free/reduced lunch
• Special needs populations
• Number of students who will be impacted by your PEP program and/or number of students enrolled by age group and by grade

Existing physical fitness data (this can come from one or more of the following sources):
• President’s Physical Fitness Test
• FitnessGram
• Other fitness test data
• Existing test data showing district achievement as compared
with state PE/health standards (check your state’s department
of education for statistics)
• Existing data showing rates of obesity and diabetes
in your area (information may be available from your local
health department or municipal government)

3. You’ll need to craft a proposed program that will meet the objectives of the PEP Grant program. Your proposal must address the following issues (be specific):
• Determine the number of minutes of moderate or vigorous
physical activity that students engage in daily
• Determine comprehensive student progress toward meeting
state PE/health standards
• Describe professional development for PE/health staff
• Describe your program activities with minimal attention to
equipment utilization and purchases
• Describe how your program uses an evidence-based
curriculum
• Develop a plan to capture program data and to evaluate
the data

4. Create a Budget - You will need an itemized budget. Be as specific as you possibly can.

5. Other tips: 

• Gain the support and commitment from school administration and the rest of the PEP team first. You will need a commitment from the stakeholders before you begin writing your proposal. No one wants to complete a first draft and then discover one of the school principals is not interested in allowing more time for PE or is opposed to bringing in new equipment. By gaining early support and keeping your team in the loop as you create a draft and a budget, you can avoid last-minute problems.
  
  
• Use the Frequently Asked Questions section. This part of the application contains helpful information about submission, eligibility, budget allowances, etc. School districts who read the FAQ section in 2006 learned that schools could not charge students an activity fee — important information to know before you even begin your narrative and budget. You may want to read this section first.
  
  
• Allow yourself plenty of time to meet the deadline. A superintendent’s signature is required as are other forms and attachments. In 2006, grants were submitted electronically through e-grants.ed.gov. Over the next few years, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will be transitioning its discretionary grants application process to use the federal government-wide www.grants.gov website. During this transition, a particular discretionary application package and the location for submitting it could appear at any one of several locations. You may need to register in order to submit.
  
  This information was taken from the PE4life booklet called "So... You Want to Apply for a PEP Grant." Click here to download a pdf of the booklet or for a pretty version, purchase the booklet for $3 from our Pro Shop.

Need a PEP talk? Read these testimonials:

• Obviously it is the ideal scenario to have government money to do good things for the wellness of our students. We would not do this without the money. It is that simple. We could not afford to. —James Walsh, Aliquippa, PA
  
  
• Through the evaluation conducted by the University of Miami, we have seen significant changes in student fitness levels, changes in the amount of time students are physically active, changes in attitudes (through both a written assessment and focus groups), changes in weight loss and weight gain (for those who wanted to add muscle mass), and overall nutrition awareness. —Dr. Jayne Greenberg, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, FL
  
  
• Receiving federal funding through the PEP grant has made all the difference in the world to the quality of physical education programs that we were able to deliver. In financially strapped times when the emphasis is on reading and mathematics, little funding was available to buy anything but the basic bats and balls for physical education. —Dr. Jayne Greenberg, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, FL
  
  
• We now have a physical education curriculum in progress, we can assess student performance in PE, and we can improve overall student mental and physical performances throughout the school. Additionally, we are working to increase physical education time in grades K-8 and begin a program in grades 9-12. We are changing students’ schedules to accommodate this increase in PE time. We have made students aware of their own wellness and have defined fitness at a new level for everyone. We have implemented more quality activities for PE participation using up-to-date technology, such as heart rate monitors and pedometers. —Misti Mitchell-Bain, Comanche, OK
  
  
• It is difficult to put into words the impact this funding has had on our community. It has brought together educators and health experts for a common mission: to help prevent childhood obesity and improve the health of the children we serve. The funds have provided our physical education teachers the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of physical education and observe model classes being taught. The funds have given students equipment,
  which also serve as motivational tools, to use in order for them to take charge of their own well-being. —Sheila Ochowicz, Redwood City, CA
  

For more information, check out these resources:

• So... You Want to Apply for a PEP Grant
• 2010 PE4life Resource Conference
• SPARK
• Artie Kamiya's PEP Grant Newsletter
• NASPE
• Department of Education

To help us promote the 2011 Carol M. White PEP Grant, click here.

Whew! We know that was a lot of information, but we hope it will help you in your PEP Grant seeking process! Good luck to all!! If you have specific questions, post them to our Facebook page and we'll do what we can to help you find the answer!

Will You Lead the Charge?

This post was originally listed on PElinks4U

HONORING A VISIONARY AND REFOCUSING OUR EFFORTS
Visionary Phil Lawler
by: Jon Poole

Jon Poole is a Professor in the Department of Exercise, Sport and Health Education at Radford University.

Earlier this spring we learned that Phil Lawler passed away at the too young age of sixty. While I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lawler in person, it feels like I have seen his face a million times and read stories about his program for many years. In an assignment I give every year to my sophomore-level “intro” course, I have my physical education teacher education (PETE) students research “New PE" and, inevitably, a large majority of my students come back with stories about Madison Junior High in Naperville, IL. (See, for example, The New PE Curriculum: An Innovative Approach to Teaching Physical Fitness, 'New P.E.' Teacher Takes Students to the Max, New PE Trend Stresses Fitness and Fun).

After my initial reading of Harvard psychiatrist, Dr. John Ratey’s Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, a couple of years ago, I came to the conclusion that Phil Lawler was a maverick, an activist, and ultimately a visionary for bringing “new PE” from the sound bites shared on pages of newspapers, magazines, and morning TV shows and into documented reports of actual K-12 gymnasia and classrooms.

While we still need long-term studies to determine if those Naperville students continue in their path toward leading a physically active and healthy lifestyle, I am convinced he showed many of us a way to successfully position PE into the mainstream of traditional schools. It might not have been “the only way,” as I do believe there are many other forward thinking teachers out there trying to revolutionize the way children experience PE, and they do not rigorously follow the model Coach Lawler proposed. But it was “a” way. Clearly he was successful with his efforts in Naperville as he became the face of PE4Life (www.pe4life.org/) for many years later. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read a tribute for him.

Phil Lawler focused on those students, the non-athletic kids, who so often are ignored in traditional PE classes. He saw first-hand that an over-reliance on male dominated team sports (such as basketball, football, and soccer) relegates the non-assertive, low-skilled, and less fit children to the sidelines as the athletic kids dominate game play. That is not to suggest we never play those games, of course, only that middle and high school PE should offer much more than that. His focus on fitness, wellness, and the fun of physical activity was the message the nation needed.

More recently First Lady Michelle Obama decided childhood obesity and the role of physical activity in the health of children would be her priority during her time in the White House. I am not sure if Phil Lawler ever met Michelle Obama (though both came from Illinois), but my guess is he would have been one of her biggest supporters on this initiative.

When visionaries such as Phil Lawler pass away, an obvious question arises…who will lead the charge now? Candidly, I see that as a challenge to PETE programs nationally. Personally, I need to ask myself if I am preparing the next generation of K-12 physical educators in such a way that Phil Lawler would be proud of their programs. Perhaps it is time to refocus our efforts on PETE programs and require a bit more than we have in recent years.

Refocusing Our Efforts in Teacher Preparation

Our respected pelinks4u leader, Dr. Steve Jefferies, made mention in a recent pelinks4u editorial, “A relatively new trend that has been emerging, primarily in response to obesity concerns, is the creation of a school climate that embraces healthy living and physical activity as integral to the school day. Because most K-12 public schools have a physical educator on staff, these individuals are uniquely positioned to provide leadership for such programs.” Then, more importantly for this discussion, Dr. Jefferies added, “However, to do so will take a change in the expectations that schools currently have for physical educators and the way we prepare them.”

In his paper describing the role of education in the National Physical Activity Plan, Dr. Daryl Siedentop shared that a refocused PETE program must prepare entry-level teachers to implement healthy lifestyles. PE programs should include the skills needed to develop staff fitness programs, working with community leaders to deliver after-school activity programs, and collaborate with classroom teachers to enhance school-based physical activity, among others.

This comprehensive approach to school physical activity is supported by our national association and the focus of a new book from Human Kinetics. The book states to “offer K-12 teachers and administrators the tools to plan and administer programs that go beyond PE class. These activities are integrated in the classroom, on playgrounds, in before-and after-school programs, in intramural programs, and in community programs.”

Similarly, Dr. Chuck Corbin and Tom McKenzie recommended, “Teacher preparation programs should restructure their curricula to include disciplinary classes that directly relate to what future teachers will actually teach, including information relevant to physical activity promotion and health-behavior change” (p. 49). The authors argue physical education teachers must teach their K-12 students behavioral self-management skills such as planning, goal setting identifying places to be active, soliciting social support, and self-reinforcement, among others. In addition, future teachers need experience with collaboration amongst parents, other teachers, school administration, and community leaders.

So now I have my summer homework: To honor a visionary and refocus the efforts of my teacher preparation program to prepare the next generation of teachers. It seems a bit daunting, I won’t lie to you, but I can’t wait to see what happens.

Works Cited

Corbin, C. & McKenzie, T. (2008). Physical activity promotion: A responsibility for both K-12 physical education and kinesiology. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 79(6), 47-56.
Delisio, E. (2001). New PE trend stresses fitness and fun. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr346.shtml.
Furger, R. (2001). The new PE curriculum: An innovative approach to teaching physical fitness. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from www.edutopia.org/new-p-e-curriculum.
Jeffries, S. (2010). Reflections on the past, visions of our professional future. pelinks4u.org, 12(4).
Johnson, K. (2003). New PE teacher takes students to the max every activity stresses cardiovascular fitness. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from www.drwoolard.com/peinnews/new_pe_teacher.htm.
Ratey, J. (2008). Spark: The revolutionary new success of exercise and the brain. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Siedentop, D. (2009). National plan for physical activity: Education sector. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 6 (Supplement 2), S168-S180.