Treffer: Closing the Youth Activity Gap through School District-Community Partnerships

A growing divide in physical activity amongst youth, fueled by the privatization of youth athletic programs, most negatively impacts underrepresented students. Intramural-sports programs hold the potential to engage more of our youth in physical activity, including those from marginalized populations. Utilizing a collective impact approach, school-community partnerships can create opportunities for access and strive toward equity in youth health. This study evaluates a partnership between a school district and a regional health care provider that resulted in the creation of a youth intramural-sports program by describing the partnership's implementation strategies and by comparing first year enrollment data. Implementation strategies include: (1) a phased implementation that prioritized schools with the highest ratios of underrepresented students, (2) purposeful and coordinated communication strategies, and (3) utilization of a process evaluation during the first year of implementation. A comparison between program enrollment (n = 695) to grade level enrollment by school and across the district (N = 1873) revealed that the program achieved its goal of expanding access to physical activity for youth from income-constrained households and students of color (SOC). Implications include strategies for youth intramural program development and school-community partnership that support youth development by increasing equitable access to physical activity.

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