PEP Grants to 2 MN School Districts to Improve PE and Nutrition Ed

FY2012 Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Grant Recipients:  Including 2 MN school districts – a success story.

…Through the Carol M. White Physical Education Program, or PEP, the U.S. Department of Education awards competitive grants to expand and improve phys. ed. and nutrition education programs for students of all ages.  In this round of funding, 25 states split $27 million. The winning programs must help students make progress toward passing their state standards for physical education and secondarily, must teach students about good nutrition and healthy eating habits. (edited from news clip published in Education Week.) “The PEP grant money can be spent on staff and teacher training, to buy equipment—though not entire playgrounds or other facilities, develop curricula, assess students' fitness, and to collect data and evaluate programs.” 

Here’s the link to the full article: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/schooled_in_sports/2012/07/schools_community_groups_win_27_million_in_phys_ed_nutrition_grants.html

As you may recall, prior to enactment of the MN Healthy Kids legislation in 2010, MN school districts were ineligible for the federal PEP grant funds because our state lacked statewide PE standards. The 2010 legislation required MN school districts to adopt PE (NASPE) standards by the 2012-13 school year, thus opening the door for the districts to apply for PEP funding. The program specifically targets school districts that are having difficulty meeting state standards. Two MN school districts are among this year’s recipients:

MN	Fridley Public School District 14	$431,611
MN	Warren-Alvarado-Oslo ISD 2176 – School District	$625,476