On October 14, 54 educators from 39 rural Louisiana schools joined EatMoveGrow at Pennington Biomedical Research Center for the 2026 Teacher Summit, The 60-Minute Mission. Their mission: find more minutes of movement in every school day, so every child moves closer to 60 minutes a day.

The event by the numbers:

• 54  Educators trained, including 42 PE teachers
• 39  Schools represented
• 15  Rural parishes reached
• 288 Hours of continuing education
• $13,650  In PE equipment, $350 for every school
• 35  Minutes of movement logged during the day
• 100%  Agreed the Summit was a good use of their time

Event Highlights

• Movement teachers can use tomorrow. Teachers practiced five movement breaks that take five minutes or less and need no equipment. The room logged 35 minutes on the Movement Barometer, more than double the +15 goal.
• Teachers learning from teachers. A panel from seven schools shared how Marathon Kids walking clubs add minutes to the school day.
• Aligned with the state. The Louisiana Department of Education briefed teachers on the Presidential Fitness Test and Louisiana's draft PE standards.
• Nutrition that works. Louisiana Team Nutrition showed how EMG's Fruit and Vegetable Superheroes raised students' fruit and vegetable intake.
• Healthy staff, healthy schools. EMG launched Daily Difference, an October to May wellness challenge for every adult in EMG schools.
• Equipment where it counts. In EMG's resource survey, new or replacement equipment tied as the top need schools named. Every school went home with $350 in PE equipment.

Results we can measure

• Teachers left more confident and ready to act:
• Confidence to find 15 extra minutes a day rose from 62% to 91%.
• Confidence rose on all nine skills taught.
• 44% plan to add 11 or more minutes of movement per day.
• 79% will use rainy-day movement activities this semester.
• 85% were returning Summit attendees.

Those minutes add up. Fifteen extra minutes a day equals 45 more hours of movement for each student over a 180-day school year.

"I appreciate the resources, ideas, and strategies shared throughout the summit. It is always beneficial to learn new ways to keep students engaged, active, and motivated while promoting their overall health and wellness."

PE teacher, Evangeline Parish

"Your guys' positivity sets the mood for an enjoyable day that I look forward to every year!"

PE teacher, St. Mary Parish

Three more years of EatMoveGrow

We are excited to share that HRSA has funded EatMoveGrow for three more years through the Delta States Rural Development Network Program. This funding keeps EMG working with 45 schools across 15 rural Louisiana parishes. Together with Pennington Biomedical Research Center, LSU AgCenter, the Louisiana Rural Health Association, Southwest Louisiana AHEC, and Bunkie General Hospital, we will keep building a culture of health in rural schools.

Thank you to every teacher who gave a day to this mission. EatMoveGrow is here to support you every step of the way!