Engaging students in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) during P.E. prepares them to lead physically active lives and can improve health and academic outcomes. Moderate physical activity is an activity with the intensity of brisk walking or bicycling. Vigorous physical activity produces large increases in breathing or heart rate, such as jogging or bicycling uphill. Consider these five low-cost strategies for achieving MVPA in your school:

 

Parents are critical partners in the effort to improve the food and physical activity options in our schools. In order to help parents feel empowered and confident to advocate for changes in their children's school, CPL has developed a dynamic training curriculum and toolkit, Parents in Action, available in English and Spanish. Please click here to view.

Here are five tips to engage parents:

1. Accommodate work schedules and ensure meetings are held at various times (such as in the evenings and on weekends).

2. Provide childcare for young children and enrichment activities for school-age children during meetings/events. Make sure that your childcare activities model what you are encouraging parents to advocate for (e.g., serve healthy snacks and provide physical activity opportunities.)

3. Ensure written communication addresses non-English speakers and parents with low-literacy.

4. Have native-language speakers facilitate meetings/events when possible.

5. Personalize your message when possible, frame your message around parents' concerns for their children's future, and identify activities as an opportunity to address health disparities or social justice issues.

 

CPL has been a partner in The California Endowment's Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAC) initiative since 2005. We are proud to see success stories like Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista. The school was transformed into a profit-making healthy-food-producing enterprise, thanks to a business-savvy foodservice director and many hardworking partners in the school and community. The link between academics and health was a powerful force in this change: "What the HEAC partnership did for me was give me a voice coming from the academic side, with compelling research showing that our kids are going to learn better if they eat better and are healthier, " said Nancy Stewart, Food Services Director for Sweetwater Union High School District.

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