The health of American youth and adults has received considerable publicity. We often hear of lower levels of activity, a disproportionate amount of time watching TV, and increasingly poor nutrition choices. The Active & Healthy Schools (AHS) Program is designed to help schools develop a wellness plan that teaches active lifestyles, healthy eating habits, and safe sun-exposure behaviors.

While it may be possible to find materials to achieve these goals on your own, it would take months, even years, in the library and online to find the authoritative, credible information you need and the guidance necessary to implement a program in your schools.

The AHS Program has done all this work for you. To establish the program, purchase the AHS Complete Program Materials Set. It and other supporting program materials offer:

specific strategies that have been implemented and tested
the flexibility to complement your existing physical education program or be used in schools without physical education programs
supporting program materials make it convenient to modify and create a unique program that meets your school's needs

About AHS

It is easy for school administrators and teachers to design an effective Active & Healthy Schools (AHS) Program. The AHS Complete Program Materials Set is the one must-have resource that includes all the necessary information to change the school environment so students are encouraged to increase their physical activity levels and make healthy nutrition choices. The manual includes easy-to-implement tools and strategies, all developed by noted author and educator Dr. Robert Pangrazi, Arizona State University.

Additional program materials developed by Dr. Pangrazi and Gopher, a physical education supply company, are designed to provide resources you may want to help enhance student health and well-being through physical activity and nutritional awareness.

Program Goals

To implement an Active & Healthy Schools (AHS) Program and ensure the best results for your school, AHS has established core goals in three key program areas:

A school using the Active & Healthy Schools Program incorporates activity breaks into the classroom environment to give students relief from extended periods of sitting. It also includes visual aids, such as Point-of-Decision Prompts, to motivate students to be active.

The AHS Program will make it easy to achieve the following goals for the school day:

Provide 15+ minutes of recess daily.
Offer 20+ minutes or more for physical activity after lunchtime.
Hold at least three activity breaks of 3 to 5 minutes in length throughout the school day (not including recess or lunchtime).
Provide a PE program that meets two or more days each week.
Offer students the opportunity to earn the President's Challenge Active Lifestyle Award.
Provide a physical activity program to teachers and staff.
Post activity prompts and signs promoting activity throughout the school.

By following these guidelines, which are thoroughly detailed in the AHS Complete Program Materials Set, your school can positively impact the physical activity, nutritional awareness, and overall health of students, staff, and family members in these three areas.

Before and after-school activities in the Active & Healthy Schools™ (AHS™) Program create positive environments that encourage participation. Activities are novel or adapted so all students can join in, not just those who feel comfortable playing traditional team sports.

The AHS™ Program will make it easy to achieve the following goals during the hours before and after school:

Establish an after-school activity program (playground or gym facilities should be open and available).
Zone playground for safety, according to AHS™ guidelines.
Create an AHS™ message center (bulletin board) highlighting after-school activities, rules, news, and activity directions.
Focus on recreational (rather than competitive) activities.
Offer after-school field trips.

By following these guidelines, which are thoroughly detailed in the AHS™ Complete Program Materials Set, your school can positively impact the physical activity, nutritional awareness, and overall health of students, staff, and family members in these three areas.

While increasing physical activity is an important goal for optimal health, teaching students to better manage their eating habits is just as important. The Active & Healthy Schools™ (AHS™) Program teaches youngsters how to select food from every food group, get the most nutrition from the calories they ingest, and balance food and physical activity.

The AHS™ Program will make it easy to achieve the following goals during the hours before and after school:

Create a Food and Nutrition Team to oversee breakfast, snacks, lunch, celebrations, and fundraisers.
Promote awareness of food groups, calories, and balance of activity and nutrition.
Post Point-of-Decision signs to encouraging healthy food choices.
Offer healthy breakfast and lunch menus.
Offer incentives for making healthy food choices.
Provide take-home information about healthy food choices.

Getting Started

ften change can be viewed as large and overwhelming. Innovative ideas may get lost if teachers are unsure about how to implement new concepts. Not so with the Active & Healthy Schools (AHS) Program!

AHS solves the "change drain" by making the program consist of many smaller initiatives. This enables all participants to see the process as a series of manageable tasks. With suggestions for implementation and the program materials, your school will be on its way to becoming more active and healthy!

Implementing AHS

The following suggestions, combined with the Active & Healthy Schools (AHS) Complete Program Materials Set, can help you create and maintain an AHS Program by devising a systematic series of smaller efforts.

Form an AHS Committee
Invite key personnel who can contribute to the program: teachers, administrators, local business owners, parents. The more diverse the committee, the more avenues to explore for help and resources.

Generate Interest
Key presentation media and documents in the AHS Program materials make it easy to inform the committee, parents, and administrators about the benefits of the Active & Healthy Schools Program.

Kick Off Your Active & Healthy Schools Program!
The more people hear about the program, the more likely they will be willing to help. Each kick-off event is unique, but consider these ideas: Have students rotate to a variety of activities while learning about the AHS Program. Create banners as an art project, then carry them in a parade. Explore activity zones on the playground. Invite teachers and parents to participate in activity zones on the playground.

Reflect, Evaluate, and Progress
Bring the committee together at least once a month to discuss progress and identify what changes or adjustments need to be made. Return the AHS Program materials, and brain storm opportunities for new implementations. With thoughtful reflection and honest evaluation, the odds of keeping the AHS Program operating at an optimal level are much greater.

Supportive Evidence

The Active & Healthy Schools (AHS) Program is an evidence-based program designed to change the current environment of schools. Research reveals that it is an effective approach that focuses on increasing physical activity and teaching healthy eating habits. The program is an effective supplement to existing physical education curriculums.

A research study was conducted by the Arizona Department of Education and Arizona State University. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the AHS Program implemented by the Mesa School District in Mesa, Arizona.

The following is a synopsis of the final report submitted by Dr. Tom Horne, Superintendent of Public Education, Arizona Department of Education.

VIEW REPORT SUMMARY