Let's Move! Active Schools Adds Nine New Partners to National Collaborative

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Let's Move! Active Schools – part of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative – announced nine additions to its national collaborative dedicated to ensuring 60 minutes of physical activity a day is the norm in K-12 schools across the country: A World Fit for Kids!, Activity Works, the Association for Middle Level Education, CATCH Global Foundation, Ergotron, the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, PlayCore, Playworks and Sqord.

"The Let's Move! Active Schools national collaborative serves as a powerful voice and catalyst for physical education and physical activity in America's schools," said Charlene Burgeson, Let's Move! Active Schools Executive Director. "These nine new partners will strengthen our collective ability to influence leaders and champions to create and sustain Active School environments for our nation's children."

The Let's Move! Active Schools national collaborative, which has grown from an initial 10 partners in 2013 to a current 43, is using the collective impact framework which is designed to address major social problems that cannot be solved by any single organization because they require large-scale social change. All partners work together to help K-12 schools create an Active School environment where students participate in at least 60 minutes of before, during and after school physical activity each day, thus gaining significant health and academic benefits.

Partners contribute expertise, resources, services and financial support to the cause:

• A World Fit for Kids! will offer its Mentors in Motion physical activity professional development.
• Activity Works will provide 500 grants for elementary schools to use its technology platform for classroom-based physical activity breaks.
• Association for Middle Level Education will support physical education and physical activity in schools across its network of school leaders and teachers.
• CATCH Global Foundation will fund two district grant packages of curriculum and training to implement evidence-based physical activity and health programs.
• Ergotron will provide LearnFit Adjustable Desks as progress incentives to schools implementing physical education and physical activity best practices.
• National Foundation on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition will offer Presidential Youth Fitness Program grants for fitness education and assessment in physical education.
• PlayCore will provide progress incentives and discounts for outdoor play structures, climbing walls, bike racks and storage, and programs.
• Playworks will administer a new grant program to deliver its Power of Play training, with a goal of bringing safe and healthy play to more children across the country.
• Sqord will provide progress incentives and discounts for its fitness platform and products that gamify physical activity for kids.

Grants, progress incentives and discounts are exclusive to schools enrolled in Let's Move! Active Schools that have completed their baseline assessment of physical education and physical activity best practices.

• "A World Fit for Kids! is thrilled to build on our 23 years of experience of providing physical activity and life-changing opportunities for children and young people by partnering with Let's Move! Active Schools. Working together we can share the vision and shape the future so that all kids are fit, healthy and ready to learn!" – Normandie Nigh, CEO, A World Fit for Kids!
• "With Let's Move! Active Schools, we can share a classroom-based physical activity program that teachers and students in NYC, Houston and Philadelphia loved this past year. Ninety-nine percent of teachers surveyed said they would recommend the program to peers. With Activity Works, students move and learn. Through Let's Move! Active Schools, hundreds of committed schools can participate." –Tom Sullivan, Co-Founder, Activity Works
• "The Association for Middle Level Education is proud to partner with Let's Move! Active Schools, as we have a common goal for student health and wellness. Regular physical activity that is modeled by all members of the middle school community helps students stay healthy and strong and increases students' sense of well-being, a critical factor in student academic success." – Dru Tomlin, Director of Middle Level Services, Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)
• "Let's Move! Active Schools has created a lot of awareness about the importance of physical activity for school children. For schools that want to progress to a full Coordinated School Health model, CATCH offers the program with the most scientific evidence of effectiveness. We are delighted to join the national collaborative, and are pleased to bring expertise and resources to at-risk schools seeking a best-practices school health implementation." –Duncan Van Dusen, Executive Director, CATCH Global Foundation
• "Ergotron recognizes that to make a difference in our youth's physical health and academic performance, you have to minimize sedentary behavior in the classroom. Going beyond the physical benefits that recess and PE provide, LearnFit desks introduce non-disruptive, in-class low-level activity in a way that enhances student engagement and classroom dynamics." –Bob Hill, Education Manager, Ergotron
• "The National Foundation on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition is proud to join the First Lady and Let's Move! Active Schools to strengthen our work of ensuring millions of students across the country the opportunity to be fit for life. We know that active kids do better – and by providing schools with resources to support quality physical education, we are laying the foundation for a lifetime of success." –Chris Watts, Executive Director, National Foundation on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition
• "We are thrilled to be working with Let's Move! Active Schools to promote play and active behavior in schools. Our extensive research on physical activity shows the importance and positive impact it has on students, so we are excited to help Active Schools align their goals with meaningful outcomes." –Anne-Marie Spencer, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, PlayCore
• "Playworks improves the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, healthy play. We're honored to join Mrs. Obama's Let's Move! Active Schools national collaborative, and look forward to jointly helping more kids develop social and emotional skills through play so they can be the citizens of tomorrow." –Elizabeth Cushing, President and Chief Operating Officer, Playworks
• "We're thrilled to be part of such a high-impact initiative as Let's Move! Active Schools, which fits so perfectly with our Sqord mission to provide a proven solution that gets kids active and healthy again through technology and gamification." –Paul Sebastien, CEO, Sqord

In addition to adding nine new partners, Let's Move! Active Schools will be teaming up with the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition to celebrate the 60^th Anniversary of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition through their #0to60 Campaign. This school year, the Let's Move! Active Schools national collaborative will help students go from #0to60 every day by providing schools with information, resources, and inspiration needed to build healthier lives for future generations.

Since its February 2013 launch, more than 20,000 schools in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have enrolled in Let's Move! Active Schools, reaching more than 11 million students. Find out more at www.letsmoveschools.org.

SOURCE Let's Move! Active Schools

Related Links

http://www.letsmoveschools.org