Upcoming Professional Development

It is time to start making your plans for the professional development sessions that are budgeted for this summer. The sessions were initially budgeted for the SPARK Summer Institute, which is always fantastic. However, I have gotten some feedback from some of you that you would prefer to keep the SPARK training sessions that are scheduled during the school year and use the summer training money for another function.

Sportime hosts a Technology Conference every summer that will instruct you in the optimal use of your Suunto Heart Rate Monitor systems. The conference has been in the Atlanta area in the past, and I believe it will be in the same spot this coming summer. The conference instructors will include individuals who have used the product the same way that you are -- in a classroom setting. You will also receive training on the HeartZones curriculum. That in and of itself is worth the registration cost.

The costs are real close between the two conferences and there would be no additional district money that would be required for the Technology Conference. Please let me know if you would like additional information regarding this particular event.

2009 PEP Applications Being Accepted

Yep, it is true, the DoEd recently announced they will be accepting applications for new projects under the Carol M. White PEP Program. The CFDA number is 84.215F if you would like to look up the new guidelines once they are published. The guidelines are scheduled to be released sometime on or shortly after 01.15.2009.

I will take some time and publish my thoughts on the new guidelines once I have had the chance to carefully review them. I don't think they will change too much, but I do expect clearer guidance on the GRPA requirements for grant recipients. I am also hopeful that the guidance published for reviewers by the DoEd is clearer and put an emphasis on research-based programs.

It seems a larger than desired percentage of recipients that are approved are not exactly clear on what type of program they would like to implement nor the true scope and sequence of their program. It is a shame that some of the federal dollars go to these districts. Trust me, I have seen it first hand and it is a waste of this resource.

President's Challenge Fitness is Fun

One great resource that is published each month by the people at the President's Challenge is the newletter titled Fitness is Fun. If you would like to access this free resource, click HERE. This information is a great all-around resource that can give you ideas of what other professionals in the field of PE are doing to make improvments in their program.

I Have So Much to Do...

I just finished giving a day of training to one of the clients that we have and one topic kept coming up – teacher schedules. I know how busy the average or, in this case, the above average teacher is. Put on top of that the fact that you as your district Project Director have to manage the grant implementation and evaluation. What is the average superhero Project Director to do? Sacrifice weekends and holidays to enter data? Stay up night to be able to meet the deadlines that you have committed to?

I think I may have the answer. What you need to do is sit down and decide where you are in the process and what you need to do to complete your implementation and subsequently, your evaluation. Then bite off what you can. Remember that the one requirement you have with the DoEd is to submit your MVPA data. The rest of the implementation can wait.

I know this goes contrary to what you have been told. However, you can only do so much. You need to make sure you prioritize your task list and complete selected items on time. More than likely your grant is a three year implementation, so put portions of the implementation off until the second or third year. Determine that you would classify as “non-essential” and make those activities wait.

If you need help, you can also contact other Project Directors in your area. If you don’t have the time or the budget to pay them, contact me and I will either give you a hand myself or put you in contact with someone else who can. You should make sure you lean on the expertise of other people who can help you lighten your load.

PEP GRPA Requirements

For the last couple of years, the DoEd has required that districts submit the total number of students who are meeting the recommended minimums for suggested minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The recommended weekly levels are 150 minutes per week grades K-6 and 225 minutes per week grades 7-12. Along with all of the other process and product measures that a district has to track, MVPA is one of the more time consuming items to track. Simple classroom observation and guesstimates are not acceptable to the DoEd. Your students are required to track their actual number of MVPA minutes per week on four different occasions during the school year. This measure can consume you and your time unless you plan the data collection correctly.

AFS has developed a program that is designed to help students grades 4-12 to track their minutes of MVPA for four weeks during the school year. Our program is designed to provide students with the structure to track not only their MVPA minutes, but it also helps them do much more.

The program starts with the student recording their results from a fitness pre-test. We suggest you use the Presidential Fitness Test protocol. You then walk your students through a process that helps them set goals for improvement, outline weekly activities to help students make improvements, and track their progress in meeting their goals. Students track all of their data in their Fitness Journal, a book that can be provided by AFS.

Our staff can also train your teachers in the delivery of the curriculum. We can also take the time to align the curriculum to your State Standards in PE. Finally, our staff can tabulate the data provided by your teachers. We will also help you in the preparation of your reports to the DoEd.