Maximizing Opportunities for Physical Activity through Joint Use of Facilities

Recent studies have emerged linking physical activity with improved academic performance, classroom behavior and school attendance among children and youth.1 Yet, some communities lack safe and accessible places for children to play and some schools lack adequate facilities and resources for physical activity and physical education programs.2 A strategy to expand physical activity opportunities, programs and services for students, staff and the community involves the district or county office of education (COE) jointly sharing recreational facilities with another governmental agency, community-based organization or the community before, during and/or after the school day. This strategy involves sharing program costs, liability, maintenance and operations. This approach is commonly known as “joint use ” because the school and other entity jointly use one or more facilities, such as gymnasiums, pools, playgrounds, school yards, playing fields, tracks and/or multi-purpose rooms. Policies and practices that provide opportunities for physical activity, such as safe and available open space, indoor/outdoor facilities and physical activity programs and equipment, can help promote healthy behaviors, improve academic outcomes and prevent childhood obesity. In a time of shrinking budgets for school districts/ COEs and local governments, joint use projects provide an opportunity to work together to identify creative solutions to achieve shared goals and priorities (see CSBA’s sample board policy BP 1330.1 – Joint Use Agreements). Common examples of joint use include: 1) The district/COE opens existing school recreational facilities for public use during non-school hours. For example, San Francisco Unified School District and the City and County of San Francisco have an agreement that allows the City to unlock the outdoor playground areas for open, unsupervised use during non-school hours when such use does not conflict with educational or school co-curricular activities. (To see the agreement, see appendix 1 a