NHPS Receives U.S. Dept. of Education PEP Grant

Wilmington, Delaware
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 @ 12:00 AM EDT
by: Karen Bengston

Nemours Health and Prevention Services has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase physical activity in Delaware schools. The highly competitive Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) awarded grants totaling $26.5 million to public schools and other organizations in 25 states to initiate, expand and improve physical education programs for students in grades K-12. The Nemours award is for $422,300 for the first year of a three-year grant, beginning with the 2009-10 school year.

"Physical activity and healthy eating habits are as important as studying hard in school," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "The Department of Education will be doing more to make this connection for students and adults, and to educate our children in ways they can maintain good health."

The Nemours grant award is unique in that it is for a statewide initiative, whereas most awardees in other states are individual school districts. Nemours plans to promote 150 minutes per week of school-based physical activity for all elementary students in Delaware by providing a combination of materials and equipment, teacher training, and an online statewide resource network.

In addition to traditional physical education, there are exemplary programs for promoting classroom-based and after-school physical activity, including CATCH, Take 10! and Energizers. Nemours will be using grant funds to help expand the use of these programs statewide at the elementary level.

The grant furthers a process begun by a partnership between Nemours, the Delaware Department of Education and the state legislature to create the Physical Education Pilot Program and implement the FitnessGram as a means of assessing student physical fitness.

modified: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 @ 03:22 PM EDT
created: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 @ 03:22 PM EDT