CAROL M. WHITE PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

Description: The Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to initiate, expand and improve physical education for students in grades K-12. Applicants are required to develop, expand and improve existing physical education programs and address state physical education standards.

This competition has five priorities -- one absolute priority, two competitive preference priorities and two invitational priorities.

Only applications that meet the following absolute priority will be considered:

• Under the absolute priority, an applicant is required to develop, expand or improve its physical education program and address its state's physical education standards by undertaking the following activities:
  • Instruction in healthy eating habits and good nutrition.
  • Physical fitness activities that must include at least one of the following:
    • Fitness education and assessment to help students understand, improve or maintain their physical well-being.
    • Instruction in a variety of motor skills and physical activities designed to enhance the physical, mental and social or emotional development of every student.
    • Development of and instruction in cognitive concepts about motor skills and physical fitness that support a lifelong healthy lifestyle.
    • Opportunities to develop positive social and cooperative skills through physical activity participation.
    • Opportunities for professional development for teachers of physical education to stay abreast of the latest research, issues and trends in the field of physical education.

Applications that meet the following Competitive Preference Priority 1 will be awarded an additional three points:

• Competitive preference priority will be given to projects that provide services to students enrolled in persistently lowest-achieving schools.

Applications that meet the following Competitive Preference Priority 2 will be awarded an additional two points:

• Competitive preference priority will be given to applicants that include in their applications an agreement that details the participation of required partners. For a local educational applicant (LEA), this partnership agreement must include the LEA, at least one community-based organization (CBO), a local public health entity, the LEA's food service or child nutrition director and the head of the local government. For a CBO applicant, the partnership must include the CBO, a local public health entity, a local organization supporting nutrition or healthy eating, the head of the local government and the LEA from which the largest number of students expected to participate in the CBO's project attend.

Applicants that meet the following Invitational Priorities will not be given a competitive or absolute preference over other applications:

• Invitational Priority 1: Projects that propose to align their programs with the the following design filters. Programs should:
  • Strive for universal access.
  • Include a range of age appropriate activities.
  • Aim to reach the recommended guidelines on dosage and duration.
  • Be engaging and fun for kids.
  • Be led by well-trained coaches and mentors.
  • Track progress, both individually and for the group.
  • Provide consistent motivation and incentives.
• Invitational Priority 2: Projects that provide services to students enrolled in priority schools. In general, priority schools represent the lowest-achieving five percent of a state's Title I schools.

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Applicants must align their project goals with identified needs using the School Health Index.
• Grantees must develop, update or enhance physical activity policies and food- and nutrition-related policies that promote healthy eating and physical activity throughout students' everyday lives.
• Applicants must link their project with local wellness policies and with federal, state and local initiatives.
• Applicants must create, update or enhance their physical education or nutrition education curricula.
• Grantees must create or use existing reporting mechanisms to provide information on students' progress, in the aggregate, on the key program indicators, as well as on any unique project-level measures proposed in the application.

Fit for public broadcasting: Local stations fit the definition of a community-based organization and are therefore eligible to apply as the lead applicant for this grant. This is also a partnership opportunity. LEAs that apply will be more likely to receive an award if their application describes their community partners. Local stations may be able to provide programming that will be helpful to LEAs that are creating and implementing programs to teach students about nutrition and healthy eating habits. The program also allows for applicants to train physical education teachers, and public broadcasting stations may be able to provide media and educational expertise in that area.

Eligibility: Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are considered LEAs under state law, and CBOs, including faith-based organizations, are eligible to apply. Only LEAs and CBOs that do not currently have an active grant under this program can apply. For the purposes of this program, a CBO is defined as a private or public nonprofit organization of demonstrated effectiveness that is representative of a community or significant segments of a community and provides educational or related services to individuals in the community.

Anticipated funding: The Administration's budget request for FY 2013 does not include funds for this program. In places of this and several other, sometimes narrowly targeted, programs that address students' safety, health and drug prevention, the Administration has proposed to create, through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, a broader Successful, Safe and Healthy Students program that would increase the capacity of states, districts and their partners to provide the resources and supports for safe, healthy and successful students. However, the U.S. Department of Education is inviting applications for this program to allow enough time to complete the grant process before the end of the current fiscal year, if Congress appropriates funds for this program. The estimated range of awards is $100,000 to $750,000, and the estimated average size of awards is $375,000. An estimated 95 awards will be granted.

How to apply: Applicants can obtain an application package online. Applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov. Online submission requires registration, a process that usually takes three to five business days but can take as long as four weeks. Be sure to visit Grants.gov and begin registering well in advance of the deadline. In order to do business with the U.S. Department of Education, applicants must register their Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) and must maintain an active CCR registration while the application is under review and, if awarded a grant, during the project period.

Resources:
Program notice
Program website