WHAT: A structured exercise program that will supplement the Presidential Physical Fitness Award
(PPFA) with the intent of advancing every student toward the established PPFA standards
for their sex and age.
WHERE: Your school classrooms, gym, lunchroom, or playgrounds
WHEN: Starting in September and ending in May,
Daily, on scheduled school days, Monday - Friday,
Between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
For 30 to 40 minutes
WHY: Researchers have concluded that daily exercise improves students’ cognitive functioning,
positive social behavior, and physical well-being.
HOW: Various learning techniques will be implemented to ensure willing, progressive, and
successful achievement of students who are enrolled in the FIT KIDS 2012 structured
exercise program. For example:
* Your school’s administration and staff will serve as models to the students in that every
employee will lead a daily structured exercise program with an assigned group of
children. Modeling will serve as an avenue for observational learning, which will
positively affect students’ behavior towards exercise.
* Models will also strengthen positive behavior through learned industriousness;
reinforcing students who work hard and are persistent during exercise periods will result
in an increase of effort when confronted with difficult exercises.
* We anticipate that the result of positive behavior towards exercise will generalize from
school to home.
* The PPFA standards will establish individual goals for students to work towards during
the structured exercise program.
* Positive behavior will be further perpetuated through positive reinforcement by the use of
a token economy. Students will be on a fixed ratio schedule where they will earn a blue
Presidential Physical Fitness Dollar (PPFD) every time they participate in a structured
exercise class. The blue PPFDs can be traded in at the student store. Students may choose
from an assortment of learning toys or other commodities worth different values.
* In addition, for every PPFA standard that is achieved in each of the five categories,
students will receive one gold PPFD. When all five gold PPFDs are earned, students will
have the opportunity to trade them in for an all-inclusive trip to Disneyland.
