Health and Physical Education faculty Andrea Hope, Ed.D., associate professor; Tamara Rial-Faigenbaum, Ph.D., specialist professor; and Staci Drewson, Ph.D., chair and associate professor, recently published “All Stars Moving Together: A School-University Partnership for Shining Youth” in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Dec. 2024). The service spotlight article highlights the work of the All Stars Moving Together (ASMT) program at Monmouth and its impact on physical activity levels of local elementary school students.
In the article, the authors establish current challenges in meeting the recommended amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for youth and adolescents in the U.S. In addition to lack of time dedicated to MVPA within the average school day, programming is also disproportionally available to minority and low-income students, with the authors noting that “as family incomes decrease, access to [MVPA] and sports-related resources decreases.”
In addressing the needs of these communities, the authors examine the work of Monmouth’s ASMT program, a cost-free school-university partnership with local parochial elementary school Our Lady of Carmel in Asbury Park, NJ. Currently, the elementary school’s student population is 66% Hispanic, 30% African American, and 4% white/mixed race, with 89% eligible for free/reduced lunch and 80% speaking a language other than English in the home.
To increase the elementary school students’ MVPA while simultaneously providing experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students, ASMT worked to develop during- and after-school programming that encouraged physical activity and actively promoted an appreciation for exercise and sports at the youth level. Over time, the partnership has evolved to meet the expanding needs of this community, offering programming focused on nutrition and providing mentorship and social support.
Established in 2016, ASMT was funded and initiated through the Monmouth University Strategic Plan application submitted by Drewson; Hope; Jen McGovern, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology; and James Konopack, Ph.D., former associate dean of the Marjorie K. Unterberg School of Nursing and Health Studies. Drewson developed the PE-350 School-Based Physical Activity course through which Monmouth undergraduate students can participate in ASMT and meet their experiential education requirement.
“The successful implementation of this program would not have been possible without the dedication of Dr. Jen McGovern, who played a pivotal role in the program’s development and execution,” the authors acknowledged, with additional thanks to Kiameesha Evans, DrPH, MPH, specialist professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education, for her collaboration and co-authorship of the 2024 Diversity and Innovation Grant, alongside Hope.
The authors concluded, “The program has received more recent and invaluable support from additional members of the Department of Health and Physical Education, including Drs. Rial-Faigenbaum, Pigman, and Silverio. Graduate students Robert Milano, from the OTD program and Vibhushan Raju Guduri, from Information Systems-Management, program have also contributed to the program’s success. Ongoing support from Dean Shannon ‘Nikki’ Clifford has been instrumental in sustaining the program and supporting research generated from the ASMT partnership. We are grateful to our community partner, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and all who have contributed to the ASMT program’s growth and success.”
Read the full article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine online.
