The Carol M. White PhysicalEducation Program (PEP) provides grants to local educational agencies andcommunity-based organizations to initiate, expand, or enhance physicaleducation programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade to helpstudents meet their state standards for physical education.
Money from PEP Grants may be used to purchase physical educationequipment, provide support for students, provide training and education toteachers and staff members, bring in programs and teachers from outside theschool or organization, and to initiate new physical education programs.Applicants are required to create a new program or improve an existing programthat helps students make progress toward meeting state physical education ANDone or more of the following initiatives:
Helping students understand, improve, and maintain physicalwell-being
Enhancing physical, mental, social, and emotionaldevelopment through instruction in physical activities and motor skills
Development of cognitive concepts about fitness and motorskills that support healthy lifestyles
Education in healthy eating habits and nutrition
Professional development for physical education teachers tostay current on physical education research, issues, trends, and programs
As you cansee many of these same initiatives fall directly in line with EVERYTHINGExergaming advocates. One of ourprevious PEP Grant winners, Marvin Christley, sounds off on why he choseExergaming and interactive gaming.
I came up with theconcept for the grant when I first saw this type of equipment at a nationalconvention. Being a video game lover myself I thought this would be a great way tomotivate the students who are typically less active. Two of the biggestmarkets are Wellness and Video games. The problem today is that withvideo games at home, students are becoming less active. In order tocombat the increase in childhood obesity I thought. Exergaming combines video gameswith exercise. This won’t solve the problem but it brings us a stepcloser. The Nintendo Wii grew from this type of Exergaming concept,involving full body movements, and now more and more companies are jumping onboard.
Applications for the 2013 awards are due April12, 2013. If you have an interest in applying of this year’s grants,please contact us at