American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance - AAHPERD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Helps Lead New Era in Youth Fitness Assessment

Presidential Youth Fitness Program Launched

RESTON, VA, September 10, 2012— The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) today announced a new era in youth fitness assessment called the Presidential Youth Fitness Program in partnership with the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN), Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), The Cooper Institute and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Presidential Youth Fitness Program, which will replace the 24-year old Physical Fitness Test for youth, is a comprehensive program which emphasizes health over performance and uses FITNESSGRAM® as the program's student fitness assessment. 

In addition to The Cooper Institute's FITNESSGRAM®, a partnership with NFL Charities as part of the NFL PLAY 60 Program, the Presidential Youth Fitness Program provides:

• professional development and materials from AAHPERD;
• administration of the youth fitness recognition program by AAU; and
• scientific and tracking expertise of CDC.

The major purpose of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program health-related fitness assessment is:

1) to help students understand their fitness data analysis, improve, and/or, maintain their physical well-being;        

2) to develop cognitive concepts about fitness assessment and interpretation of results; and  

3) to monitor and reinforce student learning and achievement in reaching personal fitness goals

AAHPERD CEO E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D., says "The new Presidential Youth Fitness Program will measure health-related components of fitness: aerobic capacity, muscle strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition, and provide professional development and materials to help physical educators safely and effectively implement the program. Important communications to parents will also help them better understand the benefits of physical activity for their children.

"We want every physical education teacher in this country to help children and their parents to understand the health-related fitness outcomes and to assist in the development of individual fitness plans," says Dr. Roetert. "To keep fitness in a positive mode, children's individual fitness scores will not be used as a criterion for grading in physical education class and will be confidential between the teacher, student and parent. Through the new Presidential Youth Fitness Program, physical education teachers will have access to the necessary tools they need to help children develop healthy lifestyles that will optimize their health and educational experience beyond the school years."

Among its first contributions to the new program, AAHPERD will coordinate a Presidential Youth Fitness Program 101:Understanding the Basics free webinar on Tuesday, September 25 at 1 pm EDT, which will be lead by Dr. Jayne Greenberg, district director of Physical Education and Health Literacy, Miami Dade County Public Schools. This will be the first of monthly free webinars about different aspects of the program that will be held this school year. All webinars will be archived.To register for the webinar, go to Presidential Youth Fitness Program.

A nonprofit professional education association, AAHPERD is committed to enhancing the quality of physical education programs in this country. A quality physical education program plays a unique role in teaching students the importance of health-related fitness, as well as developing physical competences and cognitive understanding about physical activity so that students can adopt healthy and physically active lifestyles. Purposeful measurement such as the new fitness assessment program is an appropriate component of quality physical education. For more information about a quality physical education program, visit NASPE/AAHPERD.

According to AAHPERD President, Irene Cucina, D.P.E., of Plymouth State University, "AAHPERD members throughout the country are so proud to play an important role in creating the new Presidential Youth Fitness Program with these esteemed partners. The partners' commitment, energy and resourcefulness is targeted to improving our children's health so that they are better able to learn, have higher self-esteem and are at lower risk for developing chronic disease. I am confident that an exciting new era in children's health awaits us."

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Contact:
Paula Kun
pkun@aahperd.org
703-476-3461

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The vision of AAHPERD is "Healthy People – Physically Educated and Physically Active!" Headquartered in Reston, VA, 25 miles west of Washington, DC, AAHPERD is the largest organization of professionals involved in physical education, physical activity, dance, school health and sport--all specialties related to achieving an active, healthy lifestyle. Its mission is to advance professional practice and promote research related to health and physical education, physical activity, dance and sport by providing its members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources, support and programs to help practitioners improve their skills to further the health and well-being of the American public. For more information, visit www.aahperd.org.