Keheley Receives Georgia SHAPE Grant

Keheley Elementary School announced Wednesday that it received a $5,000 SHAPE Grant to help students benefit from knowledge of their current health-related fitness levels, along with a capacity to develop and implement strategies for personal improvement.  

The grant received by Keheley includes funds to support the efforts of the school’s garden leader, garden support teachers, the teacher leader of the student wellness club, and fitness instructors. The grant also includes funds for the purchase of garden fencing and supplies, as well as fresh fruit for staff and students once each month. The grant even includes resources that will enable the school to acquire an Apple iPad and an Apple iTunes gift card for fitness related music and/or apps.

“Georgia SHAPE is an exciting initiative to improve Georgia’s future, beginning with our state’s most vital and important asset, our young people,” said Liz Jackson, Keheley Elementary School principal. “We know all children will benefit from learning about their current levels of health and fitness, setting goals for improvement, and finding paths to meet those goals in a healthy way.  

“Georgia SHAPE is a network of partners, agencies and athletic teams that includes the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and the Georgia Department of Education,” said Stephanie Lawson, physical education teacher and wellness chair at Keheley Elementary School. “Each of these partners is committed to improving the health of our young people by offering assistance and opportunity to achieve a greater level of overall fitness.”    

Georgia SHAPE begins with a basic, benchmark measurement of fitness among our students called FITNESSGRAM. The FITNESSGRAM tool used for SHAPE’s annual standardized fitness assessment evaluates five different parts of health-related fitness, including aerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition using objective criteria.

It also generates reports providing valuable individual, school, and state-level data to empower parents, schools, and the community to best access the current health needs for children in Georgia. The report is delivered confidentially to families and aggregate results are reported to create a true “snapshot” and highlight areas for improvement.

Georgia SHAPE takes the next step in offering resources to learn more about FITNESSGRAM, healthy recipes and a first-of-its-kind Fitness at Your Fingertips app to locate local health and fitness activities throughout Georgia.

When schools participate in the SHAPE initiative, their physical education teachers receive professional training about testing protocol and data entry, and they will be supplied with the equipment, software and technical support needed to conduct the assessment in their school. Participants will also be eligible for the governor’s award and recognition program, which will provide exciting incentives for teachers and schools.