Leadership for Healthy Communities - Council of State Governments Supports New Fitness Center for Students with RWJF Grant

Council of State Governments Supports New Fitness Center for Students with RWJF Grant

LEWIS COUNTY, Tenn. — Although it's located in a normal-looking classroom, the new Lewis County Fitness Center is about as far from normal as you can get. Instead of desks, the room at Lewis County Middle School is filled with the latest in fitness equipment, including weight machines like you might find at an adult gym, but all of it is child-sized to make exercise fun and easy.

Intermediate and middle school students in grades 3-8 are benefitting from the fitness equipment, with approximately 850 students using it each week. Each classroom teacher in grades 3-5 has a 30 minute time slot in which they may bring their students. The sixth- through eighth-grade grade physical education classes have 20 minutes per week set aside for them. Additionally, there are open times in the schedule so teachers who want to use it more can schedule an additional time slot. The fitness center also is used after school two days a week by Team Fitness (Project Diabetes) participants.

This project was supported by The Council of State Governments (CSG) with grant funds from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Through its Leadership for Healthy Communities national program office, RWJF provided $300,000 to CSG to support efforts in six southern states to reverse escalating childhood obesity rates. With this funding, CSG has created the Southern Collaborative on Obesity Reduction Efforts (SCORE). SCORE provides a mechanism for elected and appointed state and local officials to join forces to develop policies that improve nutrition and increase physical activity for children in their states.

All four schools in Lewis County are compliant with Tennessee's 90-minute physical activity law for elementary and secondary students. The fitness center provides an opportunity for a portion of those minutes to be accomplished. Lewis County Schools strives to meet the needs of all students; however, a lack of resources and equipment often hinders the efforts of the physical education staff. Through the efforts and collaboration of The Council of State Governments, SCORE, Tennessee Department of Health, Lewis County Schools, Coordinated School Health Programs and Lewis County Government, the school system is on the road to success.

CSG is working with teams in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Data show that those states have the highest childhood obesity rates in the nation. CSG also targeted them to be part of SCORE because those states demonstrated a serious commitment to reducing childhood obesity levels, according to SCORE Project Director Pam Goins.

"In selecting teams to be involved with the SCORE program, it was critical to reach out to those states that not only had the highest need but also realized the magnitude of the epidemic," Goins said. "The six states chosen have been addressing the issue programmatically and were poised to take the next step of educating policymakers on effective legislation for the state."

For more information about how Lewis County is working to keep children fit, contact Sasha Powers, Lewis County School Health Coordinator at (931) 796-3324 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Council of State Governments is the only national organization serving all three branches of state government. CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. This offers unparalleled regional, national and international opportunities to network, develop leaders, collaborate and create problem-solving partnerships.

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