Improving school physical education in low-income communities through policy implementation

Background: Physical education in schools can model and encourage healthy levels of physical activity. Particularly in disadvantaged areas, children may have a limited number of safe places to be active outside of school. The Healthy Eating, Active Communities program (HEAC), funded by The California Endowment, has partnered with school districts in six low-income communities throughout California to improve school physical education environments. Methods: Data were collected at several points in time over the course of five years using an observational tool to assess physical activity levels of students. In addition, data collectors made note of the duration of class time, whether the class was in- or outdoors, class size, and the types of activities in which students participated. Results: The HEAC schools have made many changes to their PE programs since baseline in 2005. Data collected indicated that the average level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) changed throughout the initiative. The six communities used different methods to achieve positive changes in their PE programs. The presenter will highlight these findings, and tie in data related to school level, programming and equipment, and class size, duration, and location. Conclusions: Schools in disadvantaged communities are implementing policies and programming to improve their physical education environments for students. Challenges exist, such as diminishing budgets and persisting lack of buy-in, but these are being overcome. HEAC school districts are a model for schools in other areas hoping to improve the physical activity level of children.