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Active Schools is a MOVEMENT. A movement for more movement – say that fast 5 times while jogging in place or jumping up & down! You know you want to try this.  

I got you active – see how easy it is to increase physical activity?

Physical activity in schools may seem like it paused during COVID-19 but now, more than ever, is the time to come together and make sure schools put physical activity at the forefront. Even though the school environment may be at home, in a school building, or a combination thereof – physical activity should be front and center.

Whether students are at school or not, it is important to increase physical activity. Active Schools is a collective of all who care about providing active schools and developing active, healthy, and happy kids. With today’s technology, it is now easier than ever to come together to support Active Schools. Leveraging the combined impact of many, we can work towards the common goal of increasing the happiness and well-being of students nationwide.  

You Can Make a Difference!

Anyone can be an Active Schools Champion. If you’re a member of a community, you can make a difference. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, physical education teacher, parent, or principal. ANYONE who is passionate about creating an environment that supports physical activity and active, healthy, active, and happy kids should become a champion for active schools.

We all need physical activity, but for students, it’s about setting them up for a lifetime of healthy habits. 

The benefits of physical activity include disease prevention, better mental health, and more academic success. Who doesn’t want this for all students?  

How to Become a Champion:

You may not think of yourself as a “champion” but YOU ARE! Do you advocate for, support, promote, back, defend, protect, or encourage healthy, active, happy kids? If so, you are a champion and we want you to join the movement!

Become an Active Schools Champion – It’s free and you receive access to valuable resources.

SPARK and many other organizations are proud to be partners of Active Schools along with many teachers, parents, and principals who are already Active Schools Champions.  

Please share this with others – the more champions working together, the more impact we can make! 

View free lessons from SPARK – The World’s Most Researched Physical Education & Physical Activity Programs here.  

Learn more about Active Schools here. 

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Wishing you and your family a SPARKtacular holiday and a happy new year. See you in 2024!

– The SPARK Team (Julie Frank, Jeff Mushkin, and Brian Hull)

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In celebration of National Diabetes Month – I’m sharing a personal story with you. 

Purposely making it public that I have Type 1 diabetes is not something which I would have chosen to do as a child with such a diagnosis, let alone early in my professional career. However, I am proud of who I am, and I wouldn’t want my life to be any different. Speaking of “different”, I didn’t want to be different growing up. I wanted to be “normal”. But what is “normal”? Today it seems to me that being different is often perceived as being “cool”. In my opinion, we all have unique challenges which can change throughout life. It is unfortunate that children with certain challenges are often teased.

I was lucky to have parents that encouraged me to do the same things that “normal” kids would do. They didn’t stop me from participating along with my peers just because I had diabetes. I think about how different my life would be if my parents had sheltered me or if important figures in my life such as my PE teachers and coaches had treated me differently. I would have missed out on a week-long camp each summer, learning to canoe, horse-back riding, learning how to sail, becoming a camp counselor, taking on the love of running and holding the “1 mile run” record throughout middle school, and most likely I wouldn’t have taken a career path working for SPARK. All these experiences are some of the best parts of my life, which I attribute to having been diagnosed with diabetes.

I grew up in a town of 600 people – Motto: Small in size, Big on friendliness. Small in size also equated to the only person in our school district with Type 1 diabetes was me!

When I was in college, I did a project for one of my health education courses. I went back to my high school and presented a session to the staff in the school district on B.E.S.T (Behavior, Environment, Signs/symptoms, and Treatment) for those with Type 1 diabetes. I’ll never forget one of the comments after my presentation: “This was the first time in about 25 years – all the years that I have been teaching – that anyone has ever talked about or presented anything about diabetes.” Education is key, you can’t change behavior without it. If you are PE teacher or activity provider who has not received any training or information about working with children with diabetes, I encourage you to request this.

Going to PE class was the best part of my day – it was a place I felt “normal”. I have always been someone who wants to make sure everyone is included – I don’t want people to feel left out – whether in a classroom, sport team, or work environment. When I was first introduced to SPARK at the first Childhood Obesity Conference that took place in San Diego, I felt SPARK was speaking to me. The fact that SPARK was all-inclusive and increased moderate-to-vigorous activity struck me personally. The benefits this program could have on children throughout the country (and world) made me excited to learn more! 

I want all children with diabetes and adults supporting those with diabetes to know that these children can do anything, achieve their dreams, and accomplish whatever they want to accomplish even if they have diabetes! 

Physical activity not only helps prevent diabetes, it also plays a major role in the management of diabetes. Being physically active while growing up gave me the encouragement that I could do anything, even if I had diabetes.

Thank you to those of you who are physical educators and youth activity providers who have children with Type 1 diabetes (or Type 2) in your class. You play an important role in our lives, and help make it possible for parents and caregivers to “let go” a bit. You are helping those with diabetes better manage the disease and help prevent diabetes for everyone else now and in the future. 

The post A Personal Story: Importance of PE & PA for prevention & management of diabetes appeared first on SPARK PE.