The Alliance for a Healthier Generation Teams Up With Let’s Move to Increase Physical Activity in U.S. Schools

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is thrilled to be a part of the Let’s Move! Active Schools initiative, announced by the First Lady of the United States today. The Alliance will serve as a Managing Partner to the new initiative, which aims to engage 50,000 schools across the country to deepen their policies and practices to assure students get 60 minutes of physical activity each day before, during and after school.

Unfortunately, many of our nation’s children are currently not exposed to regular PE and physical activity. In fact, only four percent of elementary schools, eight percent of middle schools, and two percent of high schools currently offer daily PE and only nine states require recess in elementary schools.

To combat this issue, we joined the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD), and the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition with funding support from Nike and others to create, Let’s Move! Active Schools. This program is designed to enhance the resources available to schools so they can ensure that their students have opportunities to be more physically active by having greater access to funding, professional development, training and the Alliance's Six Steps to a Healthier School.

Since 2006, our Healthy Schools Program has been supporting schools to create healthier campuses where kids have the opportunity to be active before, during and after school. Today, we serve more than 15,500 schools. We are contributing our experiences and best practices to Let's Move! Active Schools by way of content expertise, professional development, training, a customer support center for schools, and the process for schools to self-assess, develop an action plan and celebrate successes. With this level of support, schools should be equipped for maximum success.

We look forward to helping to lead the Let’s Move! Active Schools initiative and mobilizing “School Champions” – P.E. teachers, classroom teachers, administrators, staff, and even parents – who are ready and willing to be  leaders for their school community.  Champions can get started at LetsMoveSchools.org.

Ginny Ehrlich

Chief Executive Officer