Barton Hills Elementary is one of only 525 schools in the nation to win the Let’s Move! Active Schools National Award for creating a physically active school environment.
Let’s Move! Active Schools is an initiative of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! program that awards schools for integrating 60 minutes of physical activity before, during and after school.
To earn the award, a school must meet significant benchmarks in five areas: physical education, physical activity before and after school, physical activity during school staff involvement, and family and community engagement.
“Congratulations to our Barton Hills Elementary school students, staff and the whole community for committing to having an active learning environment at our campus,” said Barton Hills Elementary Principal Kati Achtermann. “Keeping fit and healthy is so important for learning every day.”
Barton Hills participates in Marathon Kids, which requires students to run four marathons during the course of a school year. The school has also hosted a 100 Mile Running Club and family running activities for the past two years.
In addition, all classroom teachers create opportunities to incorporate activities in the classroom that get kids moving.
Barton Hills was provided with a banner, a certificate and a letter of congratulations from Obama for improving children’s health and academic performance.
The Let’s Move! Active Schools collaborative works together to transform the physical activity and physical educationculture in America’s schools.
By streamlining the selection of programs, resources, professional development and funding opportunities and delivering each school a customized Action Plan, Let’s Move! Active Schools results in children moving for the nationally recommended 60 minutes a day.