Initiative Components

Scheduled to launch in all K-8 schools by 2012, The In-school Prevention of Obesity and Disease has three components:

1Educate: Physical Education classes have traditionally benefitted students such as athletes and physically active children who are not at risk for childhood obesity at the expense of those who are. IsPOD seeks to reverse that trend via the SPARK™ (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) Curriculum.

2Evaluate: Using FITNESSGRAM™, a physical fitness testing and monitoring software, PE teachers measure each student among at least 5 variables of physical fitness including: aerobic capacity, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.

3Advocate: The North Carolina Center for Health Statistics analyzes the data. NCAAHPERD will make the data available to researchers and present unprecedented findings to the state legislature to advocate for higher quality physical education.

Educate with SPARK™

In June 1989, a team of researchers and educators received funding from the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, to create, implement, and evaluate a physical education program that could eventually become a nationwide model.

SPARK™ is a research-based curriculum that teaches not only movement knowledge and motor skills, but healthy lifestyles and social and personal skills as well. It focuses on continuously active, small-group and non-competitive environments.

SPARK™ objectives for students:

• Enjoy and seek out physical activity.
• Develop and maintain acceptable levels of physical fitness.
• Develop a variety of basic movement and manipulative skills so they will experience success and feel comfortable during present and future physical activity pursuits.
• Develop the ability to get along with others in movement enviroments (e.g., share space and equipment, employ the "golden rule" of competition - be a good sport and demonstrate cooperative behavior).

The SPARK™ program is the intervention program, not only among IsPOD, but also in many important research studies and cited in the Surgeon General's Report as a "school-based solution to our nation's health-care crisis."

IsPOD initiative goals while educating with SPARK™:

1. Improve physical education content offerings and instructional methodoloy of teachers.
2. Create physical education staff development sessions which motivate teachers to embrace new ideas and apply those ideas to their teaching.
3. Increase physical activity opportunities on campus throughout the school date (before school, during lunch, after school) for all students.
4. Modify the school environment to make it more conducive to physical activity promotion and facilitate lasting change.

SPARK™ alligns with both the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) standards and the North Carolina Course of Studey for Physical Education.

Evaluate with FITNESSGRAM™ and Student/Teacher Surveys

FITNESSGRAM™ was developed by The Cooper Institute in an effort to provide physical educators with a tool that would facilitate communicating fitness testing results to students and parents. The assessment measures three components of health-related physical fitness that have been identified as important to overall health and function: aerobic capacity; body composition; and muscular stregnth, endurance, and flexibility.

FITNESSGRAM™ enables teachers to promote awareness about the importance of physical activity and fitness, asses the fitness and activity levels of children in grades K-12, and help them develop patterns of lifelong, health-promoting physical activity. Teachers will be able to print or e-mail a FITNESSGRAM™ parent report for each student that will explain in non-technical terms why physical activity is importing and how regular activity leads to improved health and fitness. The FITNESSGRAM™ has custom responses to the students' scores and is a tangible reminder of what students learn in class.

The IsPOD initiative designed very ambitious goals into its evaluation system. Other than collecting FITNESSGRAM™ test scores, the "teacher survey" provides important information about the effectiveness of the SPARK™ curriculum. There are many variables that impact those results (e.g., minutes of physical education per week; number of students per class; available equipment; facilities; teacher skills; attitudes and behavior. The "student survey" allows the IsPOD program to measure knowledge of movement and nutrition; movement an manipulative skills; attitudes towards physical education and physical activity; behaviors regarding social skills, physical activity, nutrition, physical fitness, and school behavior; and fruit and vegetable intake.

Data obtained from the student/teacher surveys are received by the NC State Center for Health Statistics for analysis. Students' scores are tracked for a minumum of three years. No individual student data is share or published. Through the life of the IsPOD initiative, aggregated reports will be available to those interested - including our state legislators. The IsPOD initiatve expects that this data will assist North Carolina policy makers in regards to the impact of physical education and obesity within the state.

Advocating for Higher-Quality Physical Education

In addition to providing proven solutions aimed to target childhood obesity today, IsPOD advocates for quality physical education via longitudinal data collection of student fitness levels and survey responses. This information leads to comprehensive and unprecedented access to realities and challenges of childhood obesity in North Carolina.

Longitudinal Data Collection

Collecting and analyzing student fitness longitudinally, or year over year, enables us to closely monitor for changes and identify correlations between student fitness with other factors of school performance, such as absenteeism, academic performance, and behavior.

Due to North Carolina’s diversity of physical education class time and frequency, we will be able to identify the optimum levels of physical education in order for schools to optimize a return on investing in more physical education.

Survey Responses

Survey responses from both students and teachers help to enrich the longitudinal data collection of student fitness data. Student survey responses measure the behaviors and perceptions related to nutrition, physical activity and physical education class. Teacher survey responses collect information about the specific challenges and realities facing the state’s physical education workforce.

Recent Advocacy Successes

HB 1757 Fitness Testing in Schools
Signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue July 23, 2010

This law directs the State Board of Education to develop guidelines for public schools to use evidence-based fitness testing for students in grades kindergarten through eight.

NCAAHPERD was involved in providing the bill’s sponsors with in-depth information, attending committee meetings, cooperating with the media to inform the public, and encouraging members and strategic partners to support the legislation.

The law affects healthful living educators by signaling an interest in evidence-based fitness testing to counteract childhood obesity and involves the State Board of Education, a government organization with influence throughout all North Carolina Schools, in developing guidelines to bring access to fitness testing to all K-8 students.

HB 901 Honors Courses in Healthful Living Classes
Signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue July 1, 2010

This law directs the State Board of Education to develop or identify academically rigorous honors-level courses in healthful living that can be offered at the high school level. Previously college-bound high school students were penalized for enrolling in more than the required healthful living courses due to the competitive weighted grade point average (GPA) system which provides more credit to honors level courses than non-honors level courses.

NCAAHPERD was involved in providing the bill’s sponsors with in-depth information, attending committee meetings, cooperating with the media to inform the public, and encouraging members and strategic partners to support the legislation.

The law affects healthful living educators at the high school level. Once honors level curriculum becomes available, healthful living educators will be able to teach additional courses to college-bound students interested in preparing for a career in healthful living education, allied health, sport management, sports medicine, and related fields.

HB 218 Legislative Task Force on Childhood Obesity
Pending at the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations

This legislation sustains the Joint Legislative Task Force on Childhood Obesity, which brings passionate lawmakers from the House and Senate to examine the factors surrounding and possible solutions to childhood obesity. The task force is a vehicle to introduce new legislation affecting childhood obesity during the legislature’s short session and had a critical role in the introduction of HB 901 and HB 1757.

NCAAHPERD was involved by supporting the North Carolina Alliance for Health’s efforts to support this legislation, providing key information to lawmakers, and closely monitoring the bill’s status. The bill may be heard as early as May 2012 when the General Assembly resumes committee meetings.

The law affects healthful living educators by providing a forum of powerful policy makers to find solutions to childhood obesity through nutrition, physical activity, physical education, and other issues directly affecting healthful living educators.

HB 334 Report on Fitness Testing in Schools
Pending at the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations

This legislation enhances and clarifies the interpretation of HB 1757 and directs the State Board of Education to present annually by September 15 to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Legislative Task Force on Childhood Obesity an evidence-based fitness testing report prepared by NCAAHPERD.

NCAAHPERD was involved in providing the bill’s sponsors with in-depth information, attending committee meetings, and encouraging members and strategic partners to support the legislation.

Note: IsPOD provides an evidence-based fitness testing solution to all K-8 schools for free. No additional funds from the taxpayer are required to comply with this legislation.