Cobb Elementary Teachers Train for 'Power Up for 30'

From the Cobb County School District

Cobb County School District was the first Georgia school system to volunteer for Power Up for 30, a statewide drive to integrate 30 additional minutes of physical activity into every school day.

A part of the Georgia SHAPE initiative to reduce childhood obesity, Power Up for 30 empowers teachers and school leaders with strategies to get kids active during the instructional day.

Three-member teams consisting of one physical education teacher, one classroom teacher and one administrator from each Cobb elementary school recently participated in training sessions conducted by the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH). Facilitators shared ways to create movement-friendly school policies, structure recess activities, and integrate physical activity into classroom lesson plans.

CCSD Health and Physical Education supervisor Mark Anderson told GDPH, “Power Up for 30 helps all teachers address the belief of incorporating movement before, during, and after the school day to reach national recommendations,” Anderson said in a release.

“Classroom teachers are finding the benefits of providing movement during the day to help increase student focus and attention. Students who move during the day also show fewer signs of stress. Providing movement opportunities is not just the physical educators’ job, but that of the whole community,” he said. “Once teachers actually see the academic benefits that movement provides their students, they are our biggest champions.”