Presidential Active Lifestyle
Award (PALA)
Training for Bureau of Indian
Education (BIE) PALA Coordinators
February 3, 2011
Message from the
Director
I want to challenge every BIE school to join President
Obama in combating childhood obesity through the
Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) program.
I believe that physical fitness is a key component to a
happy and successful life. It is known that sound
physical fitness lends itself to better physical, mental
and emotional health.
I am deeply concerned about the statistics facing our
children today when it comes to obesity and other
health related illnesses. I believe that through
Learning, Leadership and Service, we can combat
obesity and other related health disparities to provide
a better way of life for the future of our youth.
It is my hope, that the BIE schools and especially the
PALA Coordinators will lead the way in Indian
Country to provide an example for all of our
communities to follow.
Objectives of Training
• Educate PALA Coordinators on the BIE PALA
Challenge
• Equip PALA Coordinators with tools, support,
and resources to be successful
• Get motivated
Learning Outcomes
• Obtain understanding of the PALA challenge
• Obtain understanding the BIE PALA challenge
goal
• Understand PALA Coordinator Roles and
Responsibilities
• Learn how to use PALA resources and tools
• Develop a school PALA work plan
The President’s Challenge
What is the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Challenge
(PALA)?
• Six week individual fitness challenge
• For everyone (all ages)
How can PALA helps students?
• Commit to daily physical activity-and stick with it
• Set realistic goals to encourage fitness for a lifetime
• Establishing an active lifestyle received direct recognition through
this award
What is the goal?
• 1 Million PALA Challenge
• Develop lifelong habits
What type of activity counts?
• Any activity that causes all or most of the body to move, resulting
in increased heart rate and breathing, can be chosen. Activities
can be done alone, in physical education classes, on a team, or
with friends or family.
Amount of Activity
• Accumulate a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity
(children)/30 minutes (adults). This can be done at all at one time
or in shorter segments throughout the day.
Frequency
• Five days a week is the minimum standard for the award.
Number of Weeks
• Six weeks of eight weeks, five days per week is the standard for
the award.
The Award
• E-certificate signed by the co-chairs of the President’s Council on
Health and Fitness, Drew Bress and Dominique Dawes.
Coordinators will type in student names and information. Other
certificates may be ordered at an additional cost to the school
(optional). Certificates and awards can be ordered at
https://www.presidentschallenge.org/shop/category.php?cat=0
Earning Additional PALA’s
• Participants are encouraged to continue earning additional awards
by tracking their physical activity throughout the year
Other Incentives
• Any BIE schools participating in the General Mills "Box Top for
Schools" program, may contact General Mills and request a Family
Fitness Night kit including posters, info, soft soccer ball, jump
ropes, etc. When the school completes the family fitness night,
General Mills will send them around 125 certificates, patches, and
seal stickers. The Family Fitness night is a great idea to start the
PALA kick-off event at your school
• BTFE_FFN_Guide201011.pdf
The BIE Challenge
What is the goal?
• 25,000 PALA champions across Indian Country
When does the PALA challenge start for BIE?
• Special BIE Challenge: Starts February 14, 2011 and Ends April
11, 2011 (8 weeks to complete 6 weeks of activity)
• Anytime Challenge: Can be started any time on any day and
schools can have as many PALA challenges as they want
• Note: In order to support the 1 million challenge, must complete
PALA by June 17, 2011
Other than the Presidential Award, will participating BIE
schools win anything else?
• BIE schools will compete with each other to see who can get the
most individuals to complete the PALA. In addition to the
President’s Award, schools have the chance to receive a number of
other honor’s, including a school site visit by a professional athlete.
Roles & Responsibilities
PALA Coordinator
• Organize enrollment
• Coordinate special PALA physical
activity events (example: Host a PALA
walk for everyone at your school)
• Distribute and collect paper activity
tracking logs
• Tally results for school
• Submit completed tracking logs to
letsmoveinindiancountry@doi.gov
• Notify
letsmoveinindiancountry@doi.gov of
any best practices, or newsworthy
stories that might be press related
material
Participant
• Individual participants
are responsible for
tracking their daily
individual activity
using the paper
tracking log provided
by their PALA
coordinator and
handing in the
completed form after 6
weeks to the PALA
coordinator
Getting Started
Step 1: Register your school using the provided
BIE Registration Form 2.2.11.pdf
form
Step 2: Help ensure that your school participates in the BIE
PALA launch live via ElkNET on Feb. 10th
Step 3: Plan a PALA Kick-Off event at your school to get staff,
teachers, administrators, students and the community
involved
Step 4: Provide all participants with the tracking log and devise
a schedule during the school day (in partnership with
teachers) to spend time completing the log every day PALA
Info w Log LM Indian Country DRAFTv5AR.pdf
Keeping it Going
• Step 1: Provide your school with a weekly progress
report (highlight best practices, share ideas for new
activities, be a motivator and example for all)
• Step 2: Help ensure that your school participates by
ElkNET in other PALA related announcements
(Dates TBA)
• Step 3: Participate in weekly BIE PALA conference
calls (Dates TBA) to ensure you receive all of the
important updates and support you need to be
successful
Wrapping it Up
Step 1: Collect, tally, and submit final results to
the letsmoveinindiancountry@doi.gov email
address using the final tracking form provided
Step 2: Organize a PALA Awards ceremony
Step 3: Report your school’s success, stories,
highlights to letsmoveinindiancountry@doi.gov