Supporting Winter Health Promotion with Healthy New Year Resolutions through NASPE's Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program      
By: Marybeth Miller, Assistant Professor Slippery Rock University

At the beginning of each New Year, people around the globe determine a firmness or fixedness of purpose for something that is decided upon as meaningful to accomplish. This is called an expression of resolution; the quality of having a fixed purpose; something determined upon. Hence the New Year’s resolution! With a new year upon us, what better way to establish new goals for an improved outlook on the elementary school environment, during this winter season, than to resolve to promote healthier young citizens by looking at the means of developing or enriching a comprehensive school physical activity program. My article last January Promoting Health, Fitness and Social Benefits through Winter Season Fun provided an overlay of how elementary physical educators may promote health and fitness through winter season indoor and outdoor activities, including program and curricular resources (Miller, 2008). My purpose for this article is to present to elementary physical educators the notion of setting a New Year’s resolution for health promotion founded and built upon a framework identified as a position statement from the 2008 National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) titled Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP).

The basis for the position statement rises from comprehensive documentation of what is needed for children to be and remain healthy, causes for the present health crisis of childhood obesity, and “the conclusions drawn from the results of the 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include the need to implement a comprehensive approach at the state, district, and school levels to enhance physical education and physical activity in schools” (Lee, Burgeson, Fulton & Spain, 2007).

It is well documented that regular physical activity for youth promotes a greater wellbeing of physical, mental, and social outcomes, yet, today’s youth are not engaged in a regular habit of physical activity for the recommended amount of time of at least 60 minutes on all or most days of the week. While constraints to this exist outside of school (e.g. latch key), an in-school constraint exits with the limited amount of time provided for high quality physical education. To combat this constraint, several forms of federal legislation, P.L. 108-265 and the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required all school districts with federally funded school meal programs to involve a wide range of individuals to create policy, and plan to implement comprehensive school wellness plans with a goal of increased school-based opportunities for physical activity.

Using the NASPE 2008 Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (position statement), elementary physical educators can frame their proposal and plan upon national recommendations necessary to promote improved health through physical activity. If the body of highly qualified physical education teachers’ ultimate goal is to empower students to achieve and maintain healthy, active lifestyles, then resolve in this New Year to examine the possibilities of encouraging and modeling physical activity opportunities inside or outside of the school setting by encompassing physical activity programming before, during. or after the school day. Four components recommended by NASPE to be included in CSPAP are 1) quality physical education; 2) school-based physical activity opportunities; 3) school employee wellness and involvement; and 4) family and community involvement. Setting a New Year’s resolution to assess, plan for, and implement a CSPAP may include any one or more of these four recommended components, depending upon reasonable, safe and realistic resources available, as well as support. Thus, if you are looking for a goal, a determining focus, a drive for healthy youth, resolve to move in the CSPAP direction!

Making Your Healthy New Year’s Resolution(s):

Resolution: Activate an Action Plan for CSPAP. To help you make your decision on which resolution or resolutions to make this New Year, this winter, NASPE recommends a four-step plan of action: 1) form a committee for CSPAP oversight; 2) conduct a baseline assessment of CSPAP components; 3) create a vision and action plan appropriate to the specific school addressing the four components. Step 4 is to implement the action plan.

Resolution: Have a New Impact toward Quality Physical Education. Quality physical education is the core of a CSPAP. Highly qualified certified elementary physical educators link developmentally appropriate movement experiences to best practice teaching in order for young learners to develop the knowledge and skills to move competently, experience early success that shall result in a love of movement that will last lifelong. The physical education program may partner with community-based programs to meet a common goal – healthy children (who become healthy adults). One example of a new impact toward quality physical education is to critically think about the meaning of “meaningful content.”. Today, more than ever, the promotion of “going green” to preserve precious environmental resources is worldwide. Physical education, beginning with young learners at the elementary school level, may build the platform by which social movement extends beyond socialization, but coined to develop and advance knowledge and skills about healthy eating and active living options and environmental impact.

A program example created in Pennsylvania through the Penn State Hershey Center for Nutrition & Activity Promotion (the Center) is nrgBalance program. The nrgBalance program was created at the Center in 2003 by Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition & Activity (PANA), a core of state partners working collectively to make it easier to be healthy in the places where people live, learn, work and play. This aggressively researched and evaluated program is intended to develop and advance knowledge and strategies for achieving an energy balance by exploring how environments and social groups influence healthy choices, and engages communities in improving access to healthy eating and active living options. This program, originating in Pennsylvania, has become so successful that it has inspired a national branded social movement: nrgBalance – make healthy easy. Considering quality physical education as one of four NASPE recommended components of CSPAP, teachers may entertain the significant impact this type of a program may have upon public health. Although unique to Pennsylvania, its information is posted on the world-wide web (www.nrgBalance.org) for accessibility to any interested individual. This year’s state AHPERD provided numerous presentations on programs like nrgBalance, that were well attended by PK-12 physical education teachers interested in learning more about this energy balance approach. This appears to be a future groundswell in quality physical education.

Resolution: Provide or Enrich School-based Physical Activity Opportunities. Physical activity opportunities provided to learners along with physical education, are not the substitution formula for eliminating the physical education program. Instead, they are the movement opportunities recognized to further meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity on all or most days. In this New Year, during the winter season, resolve to examine how expanding or enriching physical activity opportunities may promote healthier and more active children in your elementary school. NASPE’s 2008 CSPAP position statement addresses opportunities for retaining recess, physical activity “energizers” to break up long periods of sedentary activities that may be implemented through the collaboration of the physical educator and classroom teacher. During the winter season, organizing an outdoor activity event such as sledding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or hiking, on your school grounds or nearby park may promote and stimulate interest in leisure activity that can promote health. School-based and community-based curriculums on these types of programs were covered in the January 2008 issue (Miller, 2008).

During the winter season, physical educators may address this CSPAP recommendation with a before-school or after-school activity program that would be available to all children school-wide. A growing number of PK-12 teachers are creating before, during, and after school walking programs that involve the use of pedometer technology while welcoming school employees to participate. What’s more, teachers may consider the nrgBalance program as one model to implement into a CSPAP initiative, sharing the nrgBalance may come in the form of activating any of its signature events to promote health and wellness. For more information on specific nrgBalance program signature events please visit www.nrgbalance.org and visit the sharing nrgBalance link.

Resolution: Provide or Enrich School Employee Wellness and Involvement. While a movement is on in corporate America for staff wellness programs with a purpose to promote and improve staff health, reduce staff absenteeism from work, and lower health insurance premiums, so too has this movement approached school communities. Elementary physical educators, with the support of their administration, have been instrumental with creating wellness rooms equipped with equipment school employees may use to improve health-related physical fitness. Walking programs, as previously mentioned, have helped to convert non-movers to form a habit of walking, an activity that requires a pair of shoes. The “how 2s” of beginning such a program, starting with the creation of policies, incentives, orientation and training are beyond the scope of this article, yet are important features to mention when considering school employee wellness as a possible New Year resolution. Elementary physical education teachers interested in beginning this type of initiative requiring a solid basis from which to warrant the need and support may turn to NASPE’s 2008 CSPAP position statement. A review of What constitutes a highly qualified physical education teacher, a position paper from NASPE (2007), documents the role such a teacher has in the school community to promote the value of physical activity in sustaining healthy lifestyles.

Resolution: Involve Family and Community. One of the attributes of a highly qualified (elementary) physical education teacher indicates they seek opportunities to interact and educate members of the family and school community on the value of physical activity in sustaining healthy lifestyles. To begin, what type of communication process is in place to provide information to families on the importance of physical activity, developmentally appropriate programs, strategies to promote family physical activity time, and opportunities for their child to become involved in physical activity outside of school?

The move is on for family-focused activity. It is well documented that parents who are physically active with their children model behavior their children will accept and remember. These children will be more likely to engage in regular physical activity as a welcoming lifelong habit. Getting families involved in programs before, during and after school is highly encouraged within CSPAP. Within one’s school community, families may be a resource for this component of CSPAP due to parent and/or older sibling expertise in physical activity and health promotion. Community collaboration may exist with programs in place, facilities in need (community to school and/or school to community) and the sharing of personnel to promote physical activity and health. Examining existing community programs to invite and include into the school community involving learners and their families may address this component. When community resources are lacking, the worldwide web is a keyboard away from entering the realm of healthy community signature programs, like those established by nrgBalance. These programs help families to make choices together in achieving energy balance: eating and drinking (energy in) to provide the right amount of fuel the body needs for healthy growth, everyday living and physical activity (energy out). Thus, the nrgBalance!

This article has synthesized the 2008 NASPE Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (position statement) incorporating information from the 2007 NAPSE What Constitutes a Highly Qualified Physical Education Teacher (position statement) to address this article’s theme of winter health promotion and healthy New Year resolutions. The direction turned toward the use of CSPAP as a framework for teachers to consider making one or more resolutions for promoting health by increasing physical activity across the school community. Furthermore, ideas for suggested resolutions included attributes based upon what highly qualified (elementary) physical education teachers are recommended to do with assisting children, school employees, and families in adopting and maintaining healthy lifestyles. The nrgBalance program was showcased as an example of an aggressively research and evaluated health and wellness program. It originated in Pennsylvania and expanded into a national movement that balances nutrition and physical activity. Let’s move forward together to promote and support standards-based comprehensive school physical activity programs provided by high quality certified physical education teachers. Take a position on a NASPE position by making your CSPAP New Year’s resolution this winter.

References

Lee, S., Burgeson, C., Fulton, J., & Spain, C. (2007). Physical education and physical activity: Results from the school health policies and programs study 2006. Journal of School Health, 7(1), 435-463.

Miller, M.P. (2008). Promoting Health, Fitness and Social Benefits through Winter Season Fun. pelinks4u, 10(1). pelinks4u.jasonbuckboyer.com

National Association for Sport and Physical Education (2007). What constitutes a highly qualified physical education teacher? (Position paper). Reston, VA: Author.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education (2008). Comprehensive school physical activity program (Position statement). Reston, VA: Author.

Penn State Hershey Center for Nutrition & Activity Promotion (2008). nrgBalance – make healthy easy. www.nrgBalance.org.

(pelinks4u home)