Physical Education Quality Improvement Frequently Asked Questions
- What curricula can we choose from?
- How do we select the right curricula for our school?
- How do we determine overall costs?
- Who can I ask if I have questions about developing the proposal and budget?
- If our district is selected, what level of training requirements can we anticipate?
- How will grants be evaluated?
- Does every school in the district need to participate in order to receive funding?
- What is the recommended amount of physical education time?
- What is the recommended amount of physical activity time for children and adolescents?
- What is moderate physical activity?
- What is vigorous physical activity?
- Can my district apply for the physical education quality improvement funding opportunity and the active play areas funding opportunity at the same time?
- What other funding opportunities do you have to support healthy schools?
What curricula can we choose from?
Eligible curricula include evidence-based curricula as identified by the American Heart Association Science Review and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation: CATCH, SPARK, EPEC, Fitness for Life, or Five for Life. Districts can also choose to develop their own curriculum that is aligned with the new Colorado Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards. [
Download the Overview of Evidence-Based Physical Education Curriculums resource]
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How do we select the right curricula for our school?
Districts will not select curriculum at the time of application. Selected districts will participate in the Colorado Department of Education's introductory training in the new standards called, "Unpacking the Standards." The training will cover how to use the Colorado Academic Standards Crosswalk for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education to determine district needs. After completing the Crosswalk, districts can select the curriculum that best meets its specific needs.
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How do we determine overall costs?
Districts will not be required to submit a project budget at the time of application. Foundation staff will work with approved districts to develop a project budget after the district has undergone training in the new Colorado Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards and has selected a curriculum and evaluation approach. Funded districts must complete training in their selected curriculum and will receive technical support to develop the training schedule and budget.
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Who can I ask if I have questions about developing the proposal and budget?
For questions and technical support regarding your application, please e-mail questions to Hillary Fulton, program officer or call 303.953.3626.
The Foundation has contracted with an experienced physical educator to support districts in developing proposals and budgets, as well as to assist with training coordination and technical support for grantees. Interested districts will be connected with this resource.
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If our district is selected, what level of training requirements can we anticipate?
At the beginning of the grant, districts will be required to attend a day-long training developed by Colorado Department of Education called "Unpacking the Standards," which introduces the new Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards. The district physical education coordinator or district curriculum and instruction director should attend along with teachers who will be helping develop the district standards and curriculum.
Each curriculum has a required set of trainings to ensure that schools are implementing the programs with fidelity and therefore can expect to see optimal results. Funding will be available for districts to fulfill all training requirements of a given curriculum.
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How will grants be evaluated?
At a minimum, funded districts must report on the following data points:
- Total number of kid benefiting from the newly-implemented program
- Average physical activity time per student
Additional evaluation is encouraged, but not required. Many standard curricula recommend evaluation components, or districts may propose additional evaluation activities as deemed appropriate and useful (e.g. student surveys, teacher surveys, student activity logs.) Funding is available for fitness assessment training and software, like FitnessGram, if a district is interested in understanding student fitness gains. [ Download the Physical Education Quality Improvement Evaluation Tools resource]
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Does every school in the district need to participate in order to receive funding?
Competitive proposals will include all, or the majority of, schools in the district. Multiple years of support are available for districts that make a case for staging the roll-out of the new curriculum over time. For districts that do not have 40 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced lunch, funding could still support district-level curriculum and training efforts. However, equipment funding may only be available to high-need schools within the district.
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What is the recommended amount of physical education time?
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education recommends physical education for 150 minutes/week for elementary students and 225 minutes/week for middle and high school students. The amount of time districts and schools offer physical education varies. While the Foundation encourages districts to increase the amount of time dedicated to physical education, it is not a requirement of this funding opportunity. Districts can still increase student activity and fitness levels by developing a standards-based curriculum and providing quality instructional trainings.
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What is the recommended amount of physical activity time for children and adolescents?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week for children and adolescents. The majority of the 60 minutes should involve moderate to vigorous activity.
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What is moderate physical activity?
For moderate-intensity physical activity, a person's target heart rate should be 50 to 70 percent of his or her maximum heart rate. Moderate physical activity refers to activities equivalent in intensity to brisk walking or bicycling.
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What is vigorous physical activity?
For vigorous-intensity physical activity, a person's target heart rate should be 70 to 85 percent of his or her maximum heart rate. Vigorous physical activity produces large increases in breathing or heart rate, such as jogging, aerobic dance or bicycling uphill.
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Can my district apply for the physical education quality improvement funding opportunity and the active play areas funding opportunity at the same time?
Yes, the Colorado Health Foundation encourages districts to apply for any health and wellness activities that have been identified as priorities. The Foundation promotes overall healthy schools, as outlined in the Healthy Schools strategy.
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What other funding opportunities do you have to support healthy schools?
School districts and other nonprofit organizations are welcome to submit proposals that best meet their needs AND align with the Foundation's strategies. In addition, the Foundation is looking for applications in the following areas:
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