Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS) was funded by the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) initiative of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation (PdNHF) in 2015 and again in 2016 for the first two years of their Healthy and Fit project. The overall goals of Healthy and Fit are to reimagine physical activity in schools (PE classes, classroom activity breaks, optimal recess practices), create a system to educate students about health across all grade levels, develop a workplace wellness program that helps LCPS employees make the healthy choice the easy choice, and to create long-term sustainability of the system changes funded through this multi-year HEAL grant.
Healthy and Fit site wellness champions (2016)
The vision of Healthy and Fit is that students of Las Cruces will have an internal understanding about personal health, nutrition, and physical activity. In addition, through an integrated instruction model, students and LCPS employees will champion community change. To date, the employee wellness component has added after-school fitness and health classes for staff at many campuses. In addition, new PE and health curricula are being integrated for K-12. LCPS is leveraging the funding from PdNHF to obtain additional funding from national and regional organizations like the US Tennis Association, the Professional Golf Association, and New Mexico Game and Fish.
LCPS elementary students engage in a tennis lesson. In 2016, the US Tennis Association provided $30,000 to supply LCPS schools with tennis equipment and instruction
LCPS was created in 1954, combining what had at one time been 17 different rural and urban-based school districts. The school district’s vision is to exemplify a world-class educational system where all students are prepared to succeed in a diverse and increasingly complex global society, and to affirm that a high-quality education is the fundamental right of every child. The school district works closely with education; business and community partners; and with students, parents, and families to fulfill its mission to provide a student-centered learning environment that cultivates character, fosters academic excellence, and embraces diversity. The second largest school district in New Mexico, LCPS serves nearly 25,000 students across 40 schools and is also the third largest employer in Doña Ana County (3,700).
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