Ridge Family Center
for Learning

Elk Grove Village, IL

Focus Area: Physical Activity During School; Community Involvement

Since 2009, students and teachers at the Ridge Family Center for Learning have led a charge to enliven their school environment and promote healthy lifestyles through the Fuel Up to Play 60 Program. Each day begins with a 20-minute workout engaging the entire student body in a dynamic round of dancing, kickboxing and other aerobic activities. The movement continues in the classroom, where teachers conduct “brain breaks” to energize and re-focus students throughout the day. During daily PE sessions, students are encouraged to improve their fitness levels using jump ropes, stability balls, and agility ladders purchased with a Fuel Up to Play 60 grant. After class gets out, students in the Ridge Fit Club try new indoor and outdoor activities, using pedometers and heart monitors to measure their progress.

Open to all grades, the Ridge Fit Club has been a great motivator for participating students, pushing more of them to complete their work before leaving class. The Fit Club has become so popular that its attendance rate exceeds the school's daily attendance rate – one five-week session boasted only two absences! To cap off the active school experience, the Ridge Family Center recently transformed its annual open house into a Family Fitness Night, complete with student-led activity stations and prizes.

Terence C. Reilly
School No. 7

Elizabeth, NJ

Focus Area: Physical Education; Physical Activity During School

Students at Terence C Reilly School No. 7 log more than 60 minutes of physical activity per day. In addition to 45 minutes of PE, taught by certified instructors, the kids at Terence C Reilly keep moving during at least five of their normal classes. Since joining the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program in 2010, the school has witnessed significant gains in students’ concentration and academic performance. Principal Jennifer Cedeno, who has championed increased physical activity from the start, attributes her eighth graders’ nearly perfect scores in language arts to the school’s commitment to health. Cedeno’s leadership has driven her students to take responsibility for their own well-being and create a culture that encourages active lifestyles. Recently, an innovative video competition inspired older students to produce “active” spoofs of popular TV shows (like “Dancing with a Teacher”), which they used to engage students in lower grades.

Memorial Elementary
School

Natick, MA

Focus Area: Physical Activity Before & After School; Community & Family Engagement

Getting out of bed is a struggle for plenty of kids, but for students at Memorial Elementary it’s the easiest part of the day. In 2009, Memorial parent Kathleen Tullie banded with other moms to establish “BOKS,” a before-school physical activity program designed to energize students, boost their confidence, and get their brains ready for learning. BOKS is a simple and free program that emphasizes fun, team spirit and individual fitness gains, as opposed to competitive sports. The games and exercises are quick and high-energy, usually set to students’ favorite music and hosted up to 5 days a week, indoors and out. Every day, parents, teachers, and/or staff members lead exercises before the bell rings. During the school day, Memorial’s teachers use “BOKS Bursts” – ideas for brief activity breaks – to refocus and satisfy their students. All of this activity is paying off: teachers report that kids in the program exhibit more confidence and a higher attention span as well as better results in academic performance. Last year, BOKS was one of nine winners of the Active Schools Acceleration Project’s national innovation competition to identify scalable, school-based physical activity programs.