FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
For further information, please contact:
Becky Smith, Project Director, Prairie Winds
218-681-0900 x107 e-mail: bsmith@NW-SERVICE.K12.MN.US
$490,278 CAROL M. WHITE PHYSICAL EDUCATION GRANT AWARDED TO PARTNERS IN THE NORTHWEST MINNESOTA COUNCIL OF COLLABORATIVES
Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Minnesota legislators have been notified of a $490,278 grant awarded to the Northwest Service Cooperative on behalf of 19 partners in the Northwest Minnesota Council of Collaboratives. Total project costs will approach $668,000. Grant partners will provide the cash and in-kind match to fully fund the Prairie Winds Physical Education project. This grant is renewable for up to three years for a total award of approximately $1.5 million.
The grant was awarded to provide services in 18 school districts in Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Polk and Red Lake Counties and the Red River Juvenile Center in Crookston. The grant partners will work together to provide additional physical development training opportunities for students most at risk for unhealthy lifestyles. The programs will utilize outdoor natural settings in which to carry out physical activities that can be pursued over the students' lifetimes.
The Prairie Winds Initiative includes strategies and community based activities that will emphasize the need for physical education programs that stress enjoyable participation in lifetime physical activities such as walking, biking, and dancing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and not just the traditional competitive sports.
Goals of the "Prairie Winds" project are to increase the percentage of students actively participating in physical education activities, to increase the percentage of students making progress toward meeting state standards, and to foster and support healthy lifestyles and positive social and cooperative behaviors that will persist into and throughout adulthood. Activities at the Juvenile Center will emphasize enjoyable participation and will help students develop the knowledge, attitudes, motor skills, behavioral skills, and confidence needed to adopt and maintain physically active lifestyles that will ultimately decrease their physical aggression and increase their self-esteem and decision-making skills.
Grant activities will be provided at the Red River Juvenile Center in Crookston and in the following counties by school district:
Kittson (Tri-County, Lancaster and Kittson Central)
Marshall (Greenbush/Middle River, Stephen/Argyle, Grygla and Marshall County Central)
Norman (Ada/Borup, Norman County East and Norman County West)
Polk (Fisher, Climax/Shelly, Fosston, Fertile/Beltrami and Crookston)
Red Lake (Oklee, Plummer and Red Lake Falls)
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