September 28, 2011

Glendaal Elementary was one of 50 recipients from 24 states across the United States to receive an ING Run For Something Better® School Awards Program grant to inspire students to be more active and adopt healthy choices that they will carry into adulthood.

In its second year, the ING Run For Something Better® School Awards Program, presented by financial services company ING in partnership with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), is helping to introduce kindergarten through eighth-grade students across the country to the benefits of running and active lifestyles through school-based running programs.

Glendaal Elementary School will receive the $1,500 in funding to support a minimum of an eight-week running program that will conclude with a culminating running event in celebration of the students’ achievements.

Carol Atkins, physical education teacher at Glendaal, said the $1,500 will purchase pedometers and other equipment for the Running Club. Right now, more than 50 students in grades 3-5 run in the club on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She plans to begin a grades 1-2 Running Club in the near future.

The older students in the club will participate in the one mile run around Iroquois Lake in Schenectady's Central Park in the Duck Pond Run and Youth Marathon, a part of the annual 15K Gazette Stockade-athon road race, on Nov. 13 in Schenectady as their "culminating running event." Both clubs will continue for the rest of the year.

"I am very excited about taking the club to the next level, which is running outside in an event like the Stockade-athon," said Atkins. "I hope that this will encourage students to do a lot more running outside at an event or by themselves."

The school has already received the first $1,000 installment, with additional funds granted based on the participation in the program.

Glendaal regularly encourages physical fitness

"We are very pleased that ING has recognized the outstanding efforts of our staff at Glendaal Elementary School, and in particular physical education teacher Carol Atkins, in their ongoing efforts to instill physical fitness into the lives of their students every day," said Superintendent Susan Swartz.

"This new running program will be a perfect fit for a school that is already attuned to the needs of young people to develop healthy, life-long physical activities."

The school has been regularly encouraging physical fitness among students.

Last year, six Glendaal students received the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) for showing their physical fitness and love of activity; every student was provided a basketball through the US Marine Corp. and encouraged to play outside; and the annual Camp Cardinal provided an outlet for several types of physical activities.

Students have also been following the Fuel Up to Play 60 program (PDF), which focuses on promoting healthier eating for children and increased physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day.

The Scotia-Glenville school district is in the third year of the federal Carol M. White PEP Grant for physical education. The grant has allowed many equipment additions and improvements to the school district's physical education program.

ING and NASPE work together to provide Run for Something Better program

Schools can download unique running lesson plans developed by NASPE and based on the National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 2004) to serve as the foundation of the running program or to supplement an existing school program. Other program materials, such as sample eight-week training plans, distance logs, a running journal and access to a free timing system will aid in the development of running skills and preparation for a culminating running event.

“ING is pleased to provide grants to schools across the nation to help them engage students in healthy lifestyles changes, personal development, goal-setting and group participation,” said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation and senior vice president, ING’s Office of Corporate Responsibility.

“Understanding the connection between student achievement and physical well being, we are committed to making it easier for educators to empower their students to achieve a better future. ING Run For Something Better allows us to make a positive impact on educators and their students," she added.

Grant awards were available in all states and the District of Columbia to elementary or middle schools for running programs that targeted kindergarten- through eighth-grade students. More than 300 schools applied for the 2011 ING Run For Something Better School Awards Program. A NASPE review board consisting of 190 teachers and education administrators reviewed all applications.

In 2010, the ING Run For Something Better School Awards Program awarded 60 grants to schools in 27 states providing 4,117 students the opportunity to discover running as a fun and easy way to increase physical activity and learn how to make healthy lifestyles choices. Students participating in the program ran a total of 123,580 miles – that’s almost 41 times across the United States!

“NASPE is thrilled to see real, positive, tangible results in the student’s health over the first two years of this exciting program,” explains NASPE Executive Director, Charlene Burgeson. “Participating schools showed an average of 31.2% increase in aerobic cardiovascular endurance in students from the start to the conclusion of these running programs, double from the prior year.”

To learn more about the impact of this program, visit www.naspeinfo.org/run.

Here's the press release from ING [MORE] PDF