The Daily Record, a New Jersey newspaper reviewed the importance of recess and an upcoming vote in the legislature that would mandate school recess for its youth.

The sub-headline : "We don't need a study to grasp its value," further illustrates what most people are beginning to understand in the era of childhood obesity.

"Excuse us if we sound anti-intellectual and clueless about the need for a sociological examination. You s…

The most frequent question we receive here at Peaceful Playgrounds regarding PEP Grants is:
1. Will the PEP grant pay for a new playground or a new facility?

The purpose of the PEP grant is not to provide new playgrounds or facilities. The PEP grant provides funding for the development and implementation of physical education programs. As a result, funds are provided for curriculum development, teacher training, student fitness assessments, data …

CA Superintendent of Schools, Jack O'Connell is appealing to the Federal Government to provide more funds for California's free and reduced lunch students. With CA's budget shortfall it is estimated that schools will run out of lunch funds by January 09.

Health advocates are concerned that the high cost of fresh fruits and vegetables will also result in serving canned fruits and vegetables which are less expensive.

"Without qu…

I ran across a nice piece entitled: PE in Our Nation’s Schools A case of "many children left behind" and a nice "FIT" for health care by Dr. Mike McGee on the Health Commentary website.

His position is that it is time to take on the issue of the lack of physical education in schools, which more and more advocates are characterizing as a public health issue. As more of a typical child's school day is given over to math or…

For freshmen students in California Public Schools physical fitness testing has a new meaning this year.



Pass 5 out of 6 fitness items or continue taking PE until you do. California's high schools have traditionally worked around Education Code and exempted students from taking PE in 11th and 12 grade. This year that will change as a result of the new legislation.

Under legislation taking effect this school year by Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-An…

Listen to Podcast on Bullying Programs. Why bullying programs fail or succeed.
Thirty-Six states have passed anti-bullying legislation which is indicative of the growing concern over bullying in schools. The tipping point for bullying has been the school shootings where 3/4 of all shooters reported being bullied or harassed. Clearly, bullying has captured the nation’s attention.

This podcast reviews the components and philosophy behind bullying…

Florida legislature passes what is being described as the nations toughest bullying law called the "Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Kids Act". The new bullying legislation passed the Senate and Governor Crist has indicated that he'll sign it into law according to Nick.com.

Jeffrey Johnson was a student that took his own life after three years of experiencing bullying at school and on the internet. His mother, Debbie Johnson lead…

New legislation in Oklahoma has passed doubling the amount of class time devoted to physical activity includeing: physical education, exercise programs, fitness breaks, wellness and nutrition education for the state's youngest students. The bill calls for an increase from 60 minutes a week to 120 minutes a week. The requirement will apply to students in kindergarten through the fifth grade.The measure was approved by the Senate on Tuesday…

State Legislatures, a publication of the National Conference of State Legislatures, featured this article, "PE Makes a Comeback," in its December 2007 issue. It gives an excellent overview of state legislative initiatives going on around the country.


Read more on PE MAKES A COMEBACK

Don't miss the second PEP Grant technical assistance call in opportunity today.

Don't miss the final two technical assistance phone conferences for people interested in applying for 2008 PEP Grants.

Below is the call-in information for the PEP Technical Assistance calls:

Call Date - 2/28/08
Panel Chair - Debbie Kalnasy
Time - 2:30 pm ET
Duration: 1 ½ hours
Toll-Free Number - (866) 209-6102
Conference ID # - 36180127
"You don't need to re…

IF you are planning on applying for a PEP Grant check out the Peaceful Playgrounds PEP Grant writing materials.

1. 2008 Grant Summary Application Information

2. PEP Narrative for Peaceful Playgrounds Program

3. PEP Budget for Peaceful Playgrounds, We Count Walking Program and Fundamental Movement Programs.

4. PEP Budget

5. 2008 PEP Grant Application


6. PEP 2008 Application Scoring Rubric

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) has announced that $75.655 million in PEP (Physical Education Program) grants will be awarded this calendar year (2008). This represents a $3 million increase from the amount distributed in 2007.

Peaceful Playgrounds, , and WE Count Pedometer Walking Programs have been supported across the nation through submission of the PEP Grant Application. Additionally, Peaceful Playgrounds has a PEP Gran…

It's called The Gratitude Campaign. It was a man from the Seattle area's idea to help us all express our graditude to individual soldiers and sailors (both men and women) when we pass them on the street. It's a peaceful 'salute' that can be done from a distance and it saves you the Herculean effort of thinking of just the right words to say to a stranger that has put their life in danger by serving in the US Military. Thi…

The nation's second largest school system (Los Angeles Unified School District) has launched a Physical Education Campaign: Helping Students Move More, Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Do Their Best in School.

Components of the Campaign include:

First, a 55:1 cap on class size. WOW. 55 students to one teacher??? This seems outrageous. How can one teacher teacher 55 students?

Second, twenty-a-day: enforce California Education Code which mandates …

Amy Heuer; Bismarck, The Jamestown Sun

Two recent studies published by the New England Journal of Medicine on childhood obesity provide greater evidence that children are in dire need of quality physical education programs in schools. Overweight children have an increased risk for heart disease in adulthood as early as age 25, and are prone to premature heart attacks and strokes. Bottom line, our children are in trouble, and particularly here in …

Charles Kelly
The Arizona Republic

Your tax-credit donation can aid students in the Peoria Unified School District in many ways.

Rae Conelley, principal at Alta Loma Elementary School, can list a variety of them.

"We have used tax-credit money for so many opportunities that we might never have had," Conelley said. "The money that our patrons donate to us through the Arizona Tax Credit system has been used for programs that keep our ch…

A group of concerned parents met with state Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Ocean, Monmouth, Burlington, Mercer) in his office in Jackson on Nov. 21 to discuss the idea of making student recess mandatory in all New Jersey school districts.

During the meeting Malone presented the parents with a proposed bill that would establish a task force to examine the issue of school recess.

Malone asked the parents to review the bill he said he would propose in…

The California School Boards Association and several districts have sued the state for nearly $1 billion, saying the state's deferral of payments for 38 mandatory programs violates the state of California's constitution. The lawsuit claims that districts are forced to divert limited educational funding to support state-mandated programs such as student health screenings and attendance-figure reporting.

Physical education and health educa…

Physical education should be compulsory in school and children should have at least three physical education lessons a week, says an own-initiative report adopted by MEPs with 590 votes in favor 56 against and 21 abstentions. The number of children who are overweight or obese is growing by an estimated 400,000 per year, yet, according to a study for the Culture Committee, the average time that primary schools allocate to physical education has f…

Obesity has dominated media headlines over the past few years as the
nation has begun to recognize it is a serious health crisis.

"F as Fat", a new document released by the Trust for America's Health points out how obesity policies are failing in America. The 118 page reports covers such topics as

1. Obesity Rates and Related Trends

2. Obesity and State Policy: A review of legislation and initiatives;

3. Obesity and Federal Polic…