Here’s How Your School Can Add In-Class Physical Activity Policies

Share On Social!

Chicago, Illinois.

Kyle, Texas.

These are two very different settings: Big-city urban vs. small-town rural.

Yet school leaders in both areas grew so alarmed by student obesity and physical inactivity, especially among Latino students, they pushed for policies to get kids moving during class—demonstrating that, no matter how big or small, Salud Heroes can make change.

Simon Middle School principal Matt Pope helped launch innovative “brain breaks” and more activities at the 90% Latino school in Kyle.

Read or watch exactly how Pope got it done.

“The mission of Simon Middle School changed, and my mission as principal changed, because we have to change the lives of our students to live a healthy life where they have a healthy brain, a healthy body, and a healthy heart,” Pope said.

Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) knew it would take more than just telling kids to be healthier—so they created an office of student health and wellness with a chief health officer.

They developed a new policy to make physical activity a daily part of the school day with P.E. classes, recess, in-class exercise, and after-school programs.

Read or watch exactly how CPS got it done.

“We engaged numerous stakeholders,” said Dr. Stephanie Whyte, CPS’s chief health officer for CPS. “Parents, students, experts from the field, community partners and asked, ‘How do we make this happen for our district?’”

Can you get it done in your area?

Yes! Just check out how you can use Community Commons’ maps and data to highlight physical activity levels, state policy data, and access to recreation—which can help make the case to policymakers. Also take a look at this great fact sheet and resources from Active Living Research.

And don’t forget to check out all the great stories in the new Salud America! E-newsletter.

Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children is a project of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.