More than $458,000 in Federal Funds for East Austin College Prep’s Project FIT to EXCEL Program

Dr. Joe Gonzales, Superintendent of East Austin College Prep was pleased to hear news of the funding. “My experience over the last 50 years as an educator confirms what research shows to be the significant relationship between health-related fitness and academic achievement.  At East Austin College Prep we are always looking for ways to inspire our students to become more active and health conscious, and this grant will boost our school’s physical education program and provide the tools students need to lead healthier lives,” he said.

The program is a comprehensive strategy to increase physical activity school/community-wide:

o       Daily classroom physical activity breaks;

o       Organized after school physical activity programs;

o       Walking and biking to/from school;

o       Access to fitness club-type equipment at school;

o       Gym in the morning before school begins;

o       Intramural sport teams;

o       Evening events for students to engage in physical activity; and

o       Annual campus or community events to heighten community awareness of physical activity and health.

The program will offer before/during school, evening, weekend and summer physical fitness activities and nutritional programs for students, parents and community citizens to develop health-related fitness aptitudes, physical competence and positive attitude about physical activity to overall increase student learning.  Much of the educational work will be spearheaded by East Austin College Prep’s team of highly-qualified P.E. Instructors and Facilitators, and occur during the scope of the school and directly after. However, through partnerships with Boys and Girls Club, Capital Area Food Bank, and 360 Leadership and many other organizations, youth, parents, community residents will be afforded enhanced health, physical, nutritional activities and special extracurricular activities.

Through this project, students will gain increased knowledge and awareness on healthy living, exercise, physical fitness, behavior, attitude, responsibility, and making sound well-being decisions.  New high-tech equipment will be offered to not only motivate students and adults but also to engage them in new 21st century physical fitness practices and exercises using hands on, innovative technology to increase motor skills and physical activities that enhance development. Exercise will be made more appealing and enjoyable via a variety of activities that are interactive and age appropriate so that students are more likely to exercise regularly and form lifelong habits.

East Austin College Prep (www.eaprep.org) is a tuition-free Full Service Community School open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders living in East Austin. The school will open to 9th graders in 2012.  The mission of East Austin College Prep is to inspire students to have clear college aspirations along with the academic skills and passion to fulfill their dreams. As a model school that successfully prepares all students, regardless of economic background, for graduation and success in college, East Austin College Prep stands apart with its extended school day, highly qualified instructors on-call until 9:00 pm each day, 3 week summer session, small culturally relevant classes with individualized instruction, intensive parental and community involvement program, and a college prep curriculum based on award-winning model. Located at Southwest Key’s state-of-the-art Centro de Familia, the school is the central component of the East Austin Children’s Promise (www.swkey.org/promise), a strategy to ensure student success by providing comprehensive wraparound services to meet the needs of the whole family and revitalize the surrounding neighborhood. 

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