10 Oregon schools receive state grant funding for PE training

In an effort to restore physical education (PE) to every school in the state, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) awarded three Oregon school districts with grants to improve the quality of PE being taught in elementary schools. The 10 grants awarded on Friday went to:

Ontario School District: Aiken Elementary, Alameda Elementary, Mary Roberts Elementary and Pioneer Elementary
Sweet Home School District: Crawfordsville Elementary, Holley Elementary and Sweet Home Charter School
Molalla River School District: Molalla Elementary, Molino Elementary and Maple Grove Elementary

Members of the PEAK Coalition (Physical Education for All Kids), who work with partners throughout the state to ensure every student receives PE as part of their school day, applauded the grants as an important step in improving the health of our children.

“Providing our schools with the resources and training they need to provide quality, evidenced-based PE is an important first step in ensuring that every Oregon child is exposed to PE as part of their school experience to help establish healthy, active lifestyles that will benefit them throughout their lives,” said John Valley, state advocacy director for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and member of PEAK.

These grant funds will be used to provide inservice training to elementary classroom teachers, not specifically endorsed in physical education, on quality instruction of physical education, the academic content standards for physical education and the minimum number of minutes requirement using evidence-based programs.

The grant program was established by the 2007 Oregon Legislature through the passage of HB 3141. The program is designed to support activities related to helping schools meet the minimum PE instructional requirements for students (150 minutes per week in elementary schools; 225 minutes per week in middle schools).

As part of the program, ODE has additional grant funding to enable school districts and charter schools to hire licensed PE instructors. The grant application is available at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/news/announcements/announcement.aspx?=3320.

Grant applications are due February 29. For more information about these grants, contact Margaret Bates at margaret.bates@state.or.us or 503.947.5156.

About PEAK
PEAK is a coalition of more than 35 organizations from across the state, including the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, Nike, Oregon Sports Authority Foundation, Oregon Medical Association, Oregon Pediatric Society and the Council for Children’s Expanded Physical working to restore physical education to Oregon’s schools.