Getting Started on Active Schools

Offer at Least 30 Minutes of Quality Physical Activity Daily

• School Health Advisory Councils (SHACs) at the school district and school levels can recommend policies and practices for increasing daily physical activity.
• School officials can evaluate existing policies related to recess, create before- and after-school opportunities for physical activity, encourage staff wellness and integrate physical activity into the whole curriculum.
• School officials can use ideas and resources from rigorously evaluated fitness programs, such as CATCH and SPARK, to develop a district-wide or statewide physical activity lesson bank that can be used to incorporate physical activity across the curriculum.
• Local government policy-makers and school officials can create a city-school team to cultivate stronger partnerships among education, municipalities and health professionals.
• School officials can collaborate with local businesses or community organizations to develop cost-effective exercise campaigns or programs.
• School officials can conduct site visits of exemplary city-school projects. School district leaders and other school officials can ask local athletes or fitness experts and physical education teachers to serve on school wellness committees.
• Schools can join the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools program to receive resources and customized support to implement changes that promote physical activity. Schools can partner with local and national organizations, such as Sports4Kids or Action for Healthy Kids, which provide physical activity resources, equipment, supervision, training and technical assistance.
• School officials can increase opportunities for students to be physically active by offering a variety of sports (including team sports), life-long fitness activities, such as walking and dancing, and other extracurricular programs that involve physical activity.

Consider Requiring Standards-Based Physical Education Classes Taught by Certified PE Teachers



• School district officials can review their district’s existing PE curriculum using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT) to assess its alignment with state and national standards.
• School officials can look to state, local and national organizations that provide physical education resources, equipment and other assistance.
• State and local school officials can contact the National Association for Sport and Physical Education to learn more about national standards for physical education and guidelines on developing state and local standards.

Support Walk to School and Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Programs

• State, local and school policy-makers can jointly apply for SRTS funding through federal surface transportation legislation that supports the integration of bicycling and walking.
• Local governments can use mapping and/or survey tools to assess the feasibility of routes and to identify problem areas.
• Local government and school officials can develop and coordinate walk-to-school routes with law enforcement agencies and public works departments.
• Local government and school officials can work with community members interested in developing school walking routes and convene a jurisdiction-wide meeting of parent groups, school and transportation officials, community leaders and local police.
• Local government and school officials can collaborate with local business to provide light-weight, brightly-colored neon vests to students who use the walking school bus. Local government policy-makers can adopt SRTS infrastructure improvements as part of their capital improvement plans.

Facilitate Joint-Use Agreements

• Local government and school officials can work with instructors, community members and volunteers to develop clear standards for the care and use of school equipment and facilities. For example, school and local government officials together can provide programs and funding for training on the equipment.
• Local government and school officials can enter into cost-sharing agreements to ensure that costs (utilities, supplies, etc.) incurred from the use of a facility are shared appropriately.
• Local civic and service organizations can collaborate with local government and school officials to provide supervision and organized physical activities after school. They can develop a partnership among community recreation program coordinators, schools, businesses and community groups to ensure that lower-income children have access to facilities for physical activity programs.
• School officials can plan for increased communications among agencies involved and clearly outline individuals’ roles and responsibilities.
• Some cities, school districts and institutions of higher education can arrange to share the maintenance and security costs of joint-use facilities such as running tracks and parks. This arrangement also allows participating parties to increase student and community access to facilities essential for physical activity. For example, by working with the city, a school can make use of nearby parks and open spaces as play areas for students during the school day.