Money from PEP Grants may be used to purchase physical education equipment, provide support for students, provide training and education to teachers and staff members, bring in programs and teachers from outside the school or organization, and to initiate new physical education programs. Applicants are required to create a new program or improve an existing program that helps students make progress toward meeting state physical education AND one or more of the following initiatives:

• Helping students understand, improve, and maintain physical well-being
• Enhancing physical, mental, social, and emotional development through instruction in physical activities and motor skills
• Development of cognitive concepts about fitness and motor skills that support healthy lifestyles
• Education in healthy eating habits and nutrition
• Professional development for physical education teachers to stay current on physical education research, issues, trends, and programs

Examples of Physical Education Programs

Past PEP Grants have been awarded to schools and organizations to implement programs ranging from innovative playgrounds to short-term auxiliary programs and after school programs. Some types of programs that have received PEP grant money in the past have included:

• Evidence-Based Physical Education Programs
• Community outreach programs
• Integrating technology into PE
• Purchasing equipment such as pedometers and heart rate monitors
• Implementing “lifetime activities” rather than individual and team sports
• Bringing in specialty organizations that help schools implement innovative PE lesson plans and programs
• New, different, and innovative activities
• Ropes courses
• Adventure programs

Schools and organizations that are competitive in the application process include programs with elements that provide long-term benefits for students by encouraging a lifelong commitment to fitness that will decrease the costs of medical care associated with inactivity, poor nutrition, and obesity. Programs should include activities for all students, including those with disabilities. Competitive organizations and programs make a connection between physical activity, mental or academic performance, and general well being.

Over 150 PEP winners have chosen to implement SPARK Physical Education or After School programs in their schools. To see why so many schools successfully win PEP grants when they include SPARK as part of their proposal, Click Here.

PEP Grantwriting Information and Tips

If your school or organization does not have a grant writer on staff, consider hiring a professional grant writer with experience writing federal grants. If you use teachers or other staff members to write the grant, an outside consultant can help improve the grant by reviewing it and asking important questions about the essential elements of your grant. There are several websites and online documents available to assist you specifically with the PEP grantwriting process.

In your grant proposal, you must clearly outline a specific program, the goals of your program, and the steps your organization will take to reach these goals. It is essential to address how the program you plan to implement with the grant money will help students benefiting from the program to meet state standards for physical education. This should include a discussion of the PE standards in your state and how your program will help students work toward meeting these standards.

Assessment and evaluation are another significant part of the grantwriting process. Without a plan to evaluate the progress of your students, you will be unable to prove that your program actually met its goals. Having a way to assess the effectiveness of your program is the essential element of receiving current and future PEP grants. In your grant proposal you must outline a plan for the assessment of student progress that will show students met the goals of your program, and you must be prepared to implement this plan alongside the PE program you initiate.

In order to receive PEP Grant money, you are required to establish a need for that money within your proposal. This should include statistics your organization has collected that are specific to your school district, geographical area, or state. You will want to use statistics and data that prove there is a need for your organization’s program and that students will benefit from your fitness program on physical, social, mental, emotional, and/or developmental level. As a supplement to your local data, you may choose to use national research and statistics and professional literature.

• For additional tips on preparing and submitting your 2011 PEP Grant Click Here
• For Sample Text for PEP Grant Writers Click Here

To access the 2011 Carol M. White PEP Grant application Click Here.

Update 3/29/11: Applications for the 2011 PEP Grant announced! Click Here for the application.

• Review last year’s guidelines: Rumor has it that very little will change for this year’s competition. However, be sure you understand that they COULD change. We don’t recommend completing an entire application based on last year’s grant. However, we do recommend that you prepare for all aspects of last year’s guidelines.  Click here to check out the guidelines: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/applicant.html

• Know and understand what you are required measure.  The federal government required detailed and accurate reporting by winning applicants.  Be sure to address each of the required measures in your objectives as well as your evaluations.

• Go for the bonus points!  Be sure to include a well-outlined plan for collecting BMI data.  Your superintendent will need to be on board and signatures will be required.  However, this could be the difference between a winning grant and an application that almost wins. Likewise, gather your programming partners, like other health organizations, your food service staff or local youth organizations.  A written and signed collaborative agreement can also score you much need bonus points.

• This last tip continues to be critical to winning PEP Grants: Know your needs and be able to prove them through documentation and assessment information. In your application, clearly outline where your program can improve and how PEP funding will make those improvements. Prove that you’ve done your homework by utilizing available assessment tools like the School Health Index, PECAT and HECAT. Always address local, state and national standards.

Hopefully you’ve prepared up to this point, and already have much of the information you need to craft your winning application.  SPARK knows and understands what it takes to be a part of a winning PEP Grant proposal.  To date, more than 100 PEP grants have been awarded to organizations that chose to implement SPARK curriculum/training and equipment!

Contact a SPARK representative for a free cost proposal and for help writing SPARK into your grant submission. We want to make it easy for you to implement SPARK and improve the quality and quantity of PE/PA at your site(s).

Funding for PEP is in serious danger and could be eliminated. Although the most recent Federal budgets (which did not include money for PEP) were not approved, there is still a good chance the final budget will not include funds set aside for PEP .

What can you do to help save PEP?

1. Click Here to Send a letter to Congress today & show your support
2. Click Here to download the “I Support the PEP Grant” button image (see below) to use on Facebook,Twitter, on your website, in flyers, and anywhere else you can think of!

Click Here for more information on the 2011 PEP Grant…

Healthy eating messages sprinkled throughout the school hallways, cafeteria, and classrooms…

Nutrition education woven into PE and core curriculum K-12…

Where is this happening? Check out West Orange, New Jersey school district!

“Teaching our students to maintain a healthy balance with eating and exercise is our top priority. The SPARK program is helping provide the tools and training to achieve this goal”, shared Corinn Giaquinto, Health and Physical Education instructor, Thomas Edison Middle School, West Orange, New Jersey.

Hats off to Thomas A. Edison Middle School and their entire school district in West Orange. The district has been using SPARK in their physical education department for some time and recently received a grant from Mountainside Health Foundation to fuel student success by adding nutrition education.

Vickie L. James, Registered Dietitian and Director of Healthy Kids Challenge (HKC), the exclusive nutrition education partner for SPARK, was the trainer for the West Orange training, the first ever SPARK and HKC nutrition education training.

“From classroom to PE to wellness council members K-12, the representation and enthusiasm shown at the workshop tells me the commitment this district has to student wellbeing. They truly understand the strategy of using good nutrition and physical activity to create a culture of health in the schools that can do nothing short of fueling student success. This was the first of many great moments down the road for West Orange Schools.”

If your school district is ready to accelerate student achievement by combining physical activity and nutrition education, contact SPARK today. Full day SPARK/HKC nutrition education trainings as well as a new nutrition curriculum in three grade ranges, K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 all are available through SPARK.  Healthy Kids Challenge trainings are tailored to meet school needs for successful implementation of realistic wellness policies, school improvement plans, and TEAM Nutrition guidelines. And SPARK/HKC help you achieve the required criteria for the HealthierUS School Challenge program.

The HKC curriculum, Balance My Day, was developed to align with all HECAT (Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool) standards for nutrition education. This is a new requirement for PEP grant awardees and you won’t find many nutrition education programs that address it.

Stay tuned for exciting happenings and updates from West Orange schools! SPARK and HKC wish them well in their commitment to student health!

So how can you maximize your PEP dollars to assure you are spending money on the PEP grant priorities?  In order to provide equipment, support and training, one needs to have a program of study or curriculum.  The curriculum will drive equipment, training and support.

The Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT) was specifically designed by CDC to help school districts conduct a clear, complete, and consistent analysis of physical education curricula. PECAT results can help school districts enhance, develop, or select appropriate and effective physical education curricula for delivering high-quality physical education in schools including equipment, training and support.

The PECAT is based on the NASPE national standards for physical education and includes an overview of high-quality physical education, information about physical education curricula, tools to assess a curriculum, and resources for developing a curriculum improvement plan. The PECAT can assist in assessing how closely the written curricula align with national standards for high-quality physical education programs.

Here are the top 10 reasons PECAT takes the mystery out of deciding on quality curriculum for physical education as it relates to the PEP grants. Utilizing the PECAT to determine your needs can strengthen the case for your PEP grant.

1. Fitness education and assessment: PECAT provides guidance to help make clear decisions about your program and what your needs may be in the area of curriculum and assessment.
2. Motor Skill and Physical Activity: PECAT helps to provide a methodical review of curricula instruction in a variety of motor skills and physical activities to determine an appropriate and research based curricula program to purchase for PEP funding.
3. Cognitive Concepts: The PECAT will help determine the development and instruction in, cognitive concepts that support a lifelong healthy lifestyle within a curricula program.
4. Social Concepts: Opportunities to develop positive social and cooperative skills through physical activity participation is a priority for PEP.  The PECAT can assist in evaluation of curricula for the PEP grant funding.
5. Nutrition: One priority for PEP funding is instruction in healthy eating habits and good nutrition.  PECAT and HECAT both can assist in documented evidence in this category.
6. Professional development: PEP encourages the opportunity for growth.  Professional development is a key role and the PECAT can assist in determining the feasibility of a curriculum by including training.
7. Affordable: Money is scares and should be maximized when received.  PECAT has a section in the beginning to help determine if curricula is affordable and appropriate for your school/district.
8. Grade Group Specific:  PECAT helps takes the guesswork out of age appropriateness.  Content and skills are specific for each grade group, pre-K-2; 3-5; 6-8; and 9-12.
9. Assurance: The concepts, sub-skills and skill examples were developed through a rigorous CDC process guided by research evidence and expert opinion.
10. Change Facilitator: PEP recipients are to identify research based programs that can effect change (improvement).  PECAT identifies strengths and weaknesses for change which improve physical education or after school programs, including the research behind the curricula.

Utilizing the PECAT as a methodical process to establish need for curriculum, training and equipment will strengthen you PEP grant and your PEP grant evaluation.  SPARK has been evaluated with PECAT and is not only a research and outcomes based program by its own merit but the PECAT scores show SPARK is also a quality physical education curriculum. Click Here to see the PECAT scores for each SPARK Physical Education program.

1.    Assurance: The concepts, sub-skills and skill examples were developed through a rigorous CDC process guided by research evidence and expert opinion.  Healthy Kids Challenge Director, Vickie James, RD, LD was one of the experts!

2.    Parent-Community-Teacher Justification: It provides clear justification to address why a nutrition education curriculum was adopted and what it contains.  A curriculum aligned with HECAT makes teaching easier, as well as effective.

3.    Healthy Behaviors Identified: Thirteen healthy eating behavior outcomes make content needs very tangible.

4.    Clear Learning Targets: Besides knowledge content, it gives standards to indicate what the student should be able to do (the skills needed).  For example, students will be able to describe foods and beverages that should be limited and analyze influences on their choices, set goals and make healthier choices.

5.    Grade Group Specific: It takes the guesswork out of age appropriateness.  Content and skills are specific for each grade group, pre-K-2; 3-5; 6-8; and 9-12.  For example, while pre-K-2 will be able to choose a variety of healthy snacks, the older grade groups will be able to plan and prepare a healthy snack.

6.    Academic Gains: Eating breakfast every day is one of the healthy behavior outcomes.  Studies indicate students who eat breakfast learn better.  One study even connects iron fortified cereals and math scores.  Besides, breakfast eaters have an easier time maintaining healthy weights.

7.    Resource Friendly: Eating more fruits and veggie is a national goal and another of the healthy eating behaviors.  Many recent grants and resources are directed at this behavior outcome.

8.    Self Esteem and Peer Support: There have been reports of bullying not only about overweight but also because of food allergies.  A curriculum meeting HECAT standards incorporates lessons about how to provide support to peers for making healthy choices; and how to refuse foods that cause allergic reactions or that are less nutritious.

9.    Change Facilitator: Change can be hard.  Healthy eating standards are aligned with changes happening in the school cafeteria, vending, classrooms and other places food is offered.  A curriculum meeting HECAT standards helps students have a good understanding of the concepts behind the changes and provides opportunities for positive discussion.

10.  Achieve Effective PEP and Wellness Policy Outcomes: Nutrition education is a critical PEP and Wellness Policy component.  A curriculum meeting HECAT standards, not only fulfills this requirement, but it provides a reliable way to measure the true goal of healthier schools, which is students with healthier eating behaviors!

The good news is that such a curriculum does exist!  Healthy Kids Challenge is excited to announce the release of new nutrition education curricula, Balance My Day!  Make it a New Year’s resolution to check out Balance My Day, available January 1, 2011.  There is curriculum specific for three grade groups, K-2; 3-5; and 6-8.  Balance My Day is aligned with HECAT: Module Healthy Eating standards and is very teacher friendly.  The Healthy Kids Challenge goal is to make teaching and learning simple and fun.

You’ve got 30 days (or less – depending on when you read this) to put in a high quality proposal.

Here are a few important things to think about as you do your best to meet the deadline.

• Register online as soon as possible.  Go to the following links and complete the necessary steps to be eligible to apply online. http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
  (Click Organization Registration and complete the steps). Only online applications will be accepted this year so be sure to register early.




• Know and understand what you are required measure.  The federal government is expanding the data to be collected by winning applicants.  Be sure to address each of the required measures in your objectives as well as you evaluations.  Visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-14731.htm for the initial announcement and overview. Click Here for the 2010 application.




• Go for the bonus points!  Be sure to include a well-outlined plan for collecting BMI data.  Your superintendent will need to be on board and signatures will be required.  However, this could be the difference between a winning grant and an application that almost wins.Likewise, gather your programming partners, like other health organizations, your food service staff or local youth organizations.  A written and signed collaborative agreement can also score you much need bonus points.

• This last tip continues to be critical to winning PEP Grants: Know your needs and be able to prove them through documentation and assessment information. In your application, clearly outline where your program can improve and how PEP funding will make those improvements. Prove that you’ve done your homework by utilizing available assessment tools like the School Health Index and PECAT. Always address local, state and national standards.

Update 6/22/10:

The Department is providing technical assistance (TA) opportunities to applicants in the form of both webinars and conference calls. These opportunities are scheduled as follows:

1. June 21, 2010 (Webinar) –information specific to SHI, HECAT/PECAT, and BMI
2. June 22, 2010 (Webinar) –information specific to SHI
3. June 29, 2010 (AM Conference Call) –general info on program and application submission
4. June 29, 2010 (PM Conference Call) general info on program and application submission
5. July 7, 2010 (Conference Call) general info on program and application submission

Additional information related to these TA opportunities will be posted on ED’s website at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/applicant.html.

Hopefully you’ve prepared up to this point, and already have much of the information you need to craft your winning application.  SPARK knows and understands what it takes to be a part of a winning PEP Grant proposal.  To date, more than 100 PEP grants have been awarded to organizations that chose to implement SPARK curriculum/training and equipment!

Contact a SPARK representative for a free cost proposal and for help writing SPARK into your grant submission. We want to make it easy for you to implement SPARK and improve the quality and quantity of PE/PA at your site(s).

Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Program Summary of Notice of proposed priorities, requirements, and definitions.
Published in the Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 50; March 16, 2010

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on these proposed new directions for PEP grants.  Physical education, physical activity, and public health professionals are grateful for the PEP grant program, as are parents and education officials.  Physical education is the primary institution for preparing youth for a lifetime of physical activity, and PEP is the only federal funding for PE.  PE also plays a role as a partial solution for childhood obesity, because it is the only the policy/program that can provide physical activity for potentially all students.  Thus, there are many reasons for wanting the PEP grant program to be as effective as possible.

But there is not general consensus about the goals of PEP grants or how to achieve the goals.  I am providing input as a psychologist and public health researcher who has been working to improve PE and youth PA for over 25 years.  My priority is that PE should contribute to improving public health, and the surest way to accomplish this is to ensure students are active during PE.  Certainly PE is more than physical activity, but almost everyone would agree that inactive PE is bad PE.  PE has always been about “teaching through the physical,” but several studies show that students are inactive most of the time during PE.  This is why PEP grants and other efforts to improve the quality of PE are needed.  Most of the educational goals targeted in PEP grants can be accomplished better through activity, such as motor skills and social and emotional development.

The Public Health View of PE:

Let’s be clear that public health and PE professionals often have differing opinions about the goals of PE.  As reflected in the PEP goals, PE professionals focus on preparing youth for a lifetime of activity, not on providing physical activity during PE.  Public health professionals emphasize ensuring PE classes are active, because (a) PA provides well-document physical and mental health benefits during youth and (b) there is little or no evidence that PE has long-term effects on physical activity or health.  Especially in the midst of the childhood obesity epidemic, it is a public health imperative to use every resource and opportunity to get children active, and PE is a high priority because it reaches more children than any other program or policy.  Yet, students are mostly inactive during PE.  Further, the PE profession has not embraced the goal of ensuring PE provides physical activity.  My vision of the public health value of PE was written in this highly-cited paper 20 years ago.

Sallis, J.F., and McKenzie, T.L.  (1991).  Physical education’s role in public health.  Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 62, 124-137.

In short, there is little or no evidence linking proposed PEP goals/requirements with lifelong physical activity.  There is much more certainty that getting children active NOW in PE classes leads to health and academic benefits.  In fact, there is enough evidence to recommend active physical education as a strategy to improve academic achievement.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/Active_Ed_Summer2009.pdf

Thus, from the public health perspective, a critical missing emphasis in PEP is to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in PE classes.  Most studies show that students in PE are active less than 50% of the classes.  Healthy People Objectives for the Nation (USDHHS) has included an objective since at least 1990 that PE should have at least 50% MVPA.  http://www.healthypeople.gov/ However, such a goal is not endorsed by PEP or other Department of Education documents.  I strongly recommend that the over-riding goal of PEP be changed.  My recommendation is to require grants to improve MVPA in PE (all grants) and to undertake one or more of the other activities that may or may not promote physical activity. Inclusion of the other activities should be justified by the expected impact of the activity on child physical activity.

PEP Needs More Emphasis on Evidence-Based Approaches:

Despite the refreshing call for data and evaluation in this notice, there is a disturbing lack of focus on evidence-based approaches.  We do have evidence-based approaches for improving PE and for other school-based PA programs and policies.  http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/By_Topic/Disparities/Obesity_and_Diabetes/PE%20Matters%20Long%20VersionFINAL.pdf

My recommendation is to explicitly encourage the use of evidence-based approaches and provide extra points for doing so. CDC’s Community Guide recommends enhanced (activity-oriented) PE as an evidence-based intervention.  Thus, the current requirements are ignoring the health goals and evidence-based strategies for achieving them.  Getting children active in PE provides immediate health and academic benefits and helps meet other goals of PE.

http://www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/behavioral-social/schoolbased-pe.html

Broadening the Scope of PEP to Nutrition Education is Misguided:

The broadening of PEP’s focus to require nutrition education would harm efforts to improve PA, PE, and fitness in youth.  PEP funding has declined over the years and is currently very low.  Thus, most of the schools applying are not funded.  Of course, it is essential to improve children’s eating habits to improve health and prevent obesity.  However, this is the wrong mechanism.  These are reasons why broadening PEP to require instruction in nutrition is not a good idea:

1. By itself, nutrition education has modest to no effects on children’s eating.  If the goal is to improve eating, then policy and environmental changes in schools are more promising.  Targeting funding for nutrition education at the expense of evidence-based physical activity programs would have a net negative effect on children’s health.
2. Requiring every team to have expertise in both physical activity and nutrition would make it more difficult to put teams together.
3. Obesity control is generally dominated by nutrition interests and professionals.  PEP is a unique source of federal funding for improving PE and physical activity programs in schools.  There are already existing sources of funds for improving children’s eating habits.
4. The infrastructure (personnel, organizational structure, funding) for physical activity promotion is minimal in the US and is dwarfed by the nutrition infrastructure.  See the references.  Adding nutrition requirements to PEP would weaken the weak component (physical activity promotion) and strengthen the strong component (nutrition promotion).

Yancey, A.K., Fielding, J.E., Flores, G.R., Sallis, J.F., McCarty, W.J., & Breslow, L.  (2007).  Creating a robust public health infrastructure for physical activity promotion.  American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32, 68-78.

Yancey, A.K., & Sallis, J.F.  (2009).  Physical activity: Cinderella or Rodney Dangerfield?  Preventive Medicine, 49, 277-279.

Comment on Competitive Preference Priorities:

The proposed priorities are fine, but a more important priority is to give points to schools with high need (such as high obesity rates or low fitness levels). These schools are likely to be under-resourced and lack capacity to compete well in grant writing.  A California study showed PE is much worse in low-resource schools, so it is essential to target improvements in these schools. http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/By_Topic/Disparities/Obesity_and_Diabetes/ASAP12.pdf

Other Evidence-Based Strategies:

Though I would be satisfied with restricting PEP funding to only improving the PE programs, there is also a rationale for allowing grants to support improved PE and other evidence-based physical activity strategies.  There are other evidence-based approaches for promoting youth physical activity that could be included in multi-component programs, though they do not have as much evidence as enhanced PE.  Numerous studies show that walking or biking to school contributes to higher overall physical activity, and Safe Routes to Schools programs have evidence of effectiveness.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/ALR_Brief_ActiveTransport.pdf

Simple interventions to increase physical activity in recess, such as painting game designs on playgrounds and providing equipment have substantial effects on youth activity.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/Built_Design.pdf

After school time is the main opportunity for children to be active, yet low-income children have few physical activity resources like parks and programs in their neighborhoods.  Thus, joint use agreements that allow schools to the community can provide nearby opportunities for daily physical activity targeted to children who need them most.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/Built_Design.pdf

After school programs typically emphasize academics, but it is critical to provide physical activity during these programs.  Physical activity guidelines for after school programs were developed using a rigorous evidence-based approach in California and could be a national model.

http://californiaafterschool.org/c/@gD.RsQGXiqZBk/Pages/physical__activity.html

Comments on Proposed Competitive Preference Priorities and Proposed Requirements:

Proposed Competitive Preference Priority 1—Collection of Body Mass Index.

This is fine, but it would not be my highest priority, because there is little or no evidence that measuring BMI and providing feedback will lead to more physical activity.

Proposed Competitive Preference Priority 2—Partnerships Between Applicants and Supporting Community Entities

No comment

Proposed Requirement 1—Align Project Goals With Identified Needs Using the School Health Index

This is a reasonable requirement, and SHI is an excellent tool, but more flexibility in the choice of a needs assessment instrument could be helpful.  For example, validated instruments like the YMCA’s Community Healthy Living Index, or a PE-specific evaluation could be justified.  The PECAT has limited value since it only assesses the content of a curriculum, not the quality or quantity of its implementation.

Another option would be for the applicant to use the SOFIT method of systematic observation of PE classes to identify strengths and weaknesses of actual PE classes.

McKenzie, T.L., Sallis, J.F., & Nader, P.R.  (1991).  SOFIT:  System for observing fitness instruction time.  Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 11, 195-205.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/node/11944

Proposed Requirement 2—Nutrition and Physical Activity-Related Policies.

Proposed Requirement 3—Linkage With Local Wellness Policies.

Proposed Requirement 4—Linkages With Federal, State, and Local Initiatives.

Requirements 2, 3, and 4 are redundant and would create an unnecessary burden on applicants.  Many of the policies will be the same or overlapping, so it could be confusing to address all these different types of policies.  One requirement that identifies the relevant policies and plans to improve policies and their implementation would be sufficient.  The applicant should focus on (a) improving implementation of policies that cannot be changed or are sufficient and (b) improving policies that need change and are modifiable at the local level.

Proposed Requirement 5—Updates to Physical Education and Nutrition Instruction Curricula.

The PECAT is only an assessment of the PE curriculum.  It does not deal with the implementation of a quality curriculum, which is also critical.  This requirement should also provide encouragement for the adoption of curricula with evidence of effectiveness from research or evaluation.

Proposed Requirement 6—Equipment Purchases.

This approach to ensuring that equipment complements other program elements, including curriculum and training, is an important one.

Proposed Requirement 7—Increasing Transparency and Accountability.

Reporting requirements should be meaningful (directly related to program goals of getting students active) but minimal.  There is a trade-off between extent of evaluation and program implementation, because time and resources are limited.  The main goal is to use PEP resources to increase children’s physical activity. Though evaluating is critical, the goal is not to document every conceivable program outcome.

Proposed Requirement 8—Participation in a National Evaluation.

I strongly support a national evaluation of PEP.

Proposed Requirement 9—Required Performance Measures and Data Collection Methodology.

Pedometers: This is a useful and feasible tool for assessing PA.  However, using them for overall daily PA should be the responsibility of the national evaluation team.  PEP grantees should be responsible for evaluating the outcomes of their projects.  If it is PE only, then using pedometers only in PE class would be the main goal.  If the project targets PA throughout the school day, then using pedometers throughout the school day would be sufficient.  Few school-based studies have documented physical activity changes outside of school.

3DPAR: I am co-author of a study showing that 3-day recalls are not valid in middle school students.  Thus, there is little justification for the time that needs to be devoted to a 3-day recall.  A 1-day recall is sufficient for an aggregate measure.  I am also concerned this measure would not be sensitive to small changes since the reports are in 30-minute blocks.  It would be better to pilot test this measure with a few grantees to determine feasibility and sensitivity to change.

McMurray, R.G., Ring, K.B., Treuth, M.S., Welk, G.J., Pate, R.R., Schmitz, K.H., Pickrel, J.L., Gonzalez, M., Almeida, M.J.C.A., Young, D.R., & Sallis, J.F.  (2004).  Comparison of two approaches to structured physical activity surveys for adolescents.  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 36, 2135-2143.

Fitness tests:  These would be fine at the beginning and end of each year.

Here is another approach to evaluating the impact of the PEP activities on student MVPA.  This method could be used with any set of programs and could support cross-school comparisons.

1. Number of “opportunity minutes for physical activity” provided per enrolled child.  These could be estimated over an entire school year and for by school and by specific programs, such as PE, recess, after school.

2. Estimated “physical activity minutes per child.” This value is based on multiplying the opportunity minutes with MVPA minutes per session of a sample of students engaged in the different programs using direct observation or pedometry.

Using these calculations would provide a simple metric that would allow all schools/PEP grants to be compared (i.e., on physical activity opportunity minutes per student per year AND observed/calculated physical activity minutes per year).

Because I am opposed to broadening PEP grants to include nutrition, I am opposed to requiring reports of fruit and vegetable consumption.  If you decide to move ahead with measuring these outcomes, then consider this validated measure.

Prochaska, J.J., and Sallis, J.F.  (2004).  Reliability and validity of a fruit and vegetable screening measure for adolescents.  Journal of Adolescent Health, 34, 163-165.

Proposed Criteria for Evaluation:

The evaluation criteria should be based on using the funds to maximize the impact on youth physical activity, sustainability of programs, and evaluation.  Here are my recommendations for evaluation criteria for grants, and they should be communicated to applicants:

• Based on a systematic needs assessment
• Evidence basis for effects of proposed activities, programs, policies on youth physical activity
• Likelihood of, or plan for, sustainability of programs, policies, implementation, impact
• Evaluation plan
• Targeting high-need schools and students

Submitted by:

James F. Sallis, PhD

Active Living Research

Department of Psychology

San Diego State University

3900 Fifth Avenue, Suite 310

San Diego, CA  92103 USA

Phone: 619-260-5534

Fax: 619-260-1510

Email: sallis@mail.sdsu.edu

Website: www.drjamessallis.sdsu.edu

We’re all waiting eagerly for this year’s 2010 PEP Grant application guidelines. As we try to be patient here are three tips for writing a successful Carol M. White PEP Grant as you prepare for this year’s competition.

1. Know your needs. In your application, clearly outline where your program can improve and how PEP funding will make those improvements. Prove that you’ve done your homework by utilizing available assessment tools like the School Health Index and PECAT.
2. Work well with others. More and more we’re seeing the power of the community collaborative. Where are students spending their time before, during and afterschool? How can you bring all of those settings together to make a coordinated effort to improve physical education, activity and health-related messaging? At SPARK we have solutions to help you coordinate your efforts before and after-school, during recess, at home and of course during physical education classes.
3. Energy Balance. Often PEP Grant applications are only focused on one half of the energy balance equation – activity. Don’t forget about nutrition! SPARK offers several ways to improve your nutrition environment combined with powerful nutrition education tools.

Hopefully these tips will help you prepare for the upcoming competition.

If you are a past applicant that has not been awarded, or a district that would like to apply, contact SPARK for assistance! SPARK and Sportime are here to assist you with grant proposals. To date, more than 100 PEP grants have been awarded to organizations that chose to implement SPARK curriculum/training and Sportime equipment! This is a comprehensive, turnkey program that encompasses evaluation of your PE program, creating/improving your curriculum to meet PEP standards, writing your grant proposal, and implementing the new program.

Contact a SPARK representative for a free cost proposal and for help writing SPARK into your grant submission. We want to make it easy for you to implement SPARK and improve the quality and quantity of PE/PA at your site(s).

Please visit our 2010 PEP Grant page for more information or contact us during your application process.