Aldine ISD Awarded $34,000 from MD Anderson to Continue Active Kids Program

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Grant expands health and wellness opportunities for students at six Acres Homes-area campuses, giving more students access to activities that support healthy habits.

Students from Goodman Elementary School show off their Active Kids T-shirts.

Aldine ISD continues its partnership with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to help students build healthy habits.

The district recently received a $34,000 grant from MD Anderson to continue the Active Kids after-school program, which gives students opportunities to be physically active while learning about nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

The program is part of the broader Be Well Acres Homes initiative, a community-based effort led by MD Anderson and community partners to promote health and wellness and reduce cancer risk in the Acres Homes community. MD Anderson describes Be Well Acres Homes as a collaborative effort involving more than 30 organizations and community residents.

This marks the third year of funding specifically for the Active Kids program in Aldine ISD, with the initiative continuing to serve students in the Acres Homes area. This year, the program is expanding to include kindergarten and middle school students, broadening the number of students who can benefit from opportunities to be physically active and learn about healthy choices.

Six Aldine ISD campuses will participate:

• Anderson Academy
• Caraway Elementary School
• Goodman Elementary School
• Harris Academy
• Hoffman Middle School
• Reece Academy

The program will run from September 2026 through May 2027, with approximately 240 students participating. Students will meet weekly for one hour, with participation limited to 40 students per campus to help ensure students can remain active and safe during each session.

Kindergarten students at Reece Academy and sixth-grade students at Hoffman Middle School will participate this year, while the elementary campuses will serve students in third through fifth grades.

Two Campus Champions at each participating campus have been selected to facilitate the weekly after-school lessons. Following a warm-up and brief nutrition lesson, students will participate in activities designed to improve cardiovascular endurance while strengthening social-emotional learning.

Campus Champions will lead the nutrition lessons. Students will also receive nutritious snacks from the Aldine ISD Child Nutrition Department at the end of each session.

The program’s impact is already evident in student outcomes. During spring 2026, 86% of participating students demonstrated an increase in cardiovascular endurance, as measured by the PACER assessment.

More than 500 students participated in the Active Kids program during the past two years, and feedback from parents and teachers has been positive. Ninety-seven percent of parents and teachers reported that the after-school program positively affects their students’ health.

The program addresses identified health needs in the Acres Homes community. According to Kenneth Hernandez, Aldine ISD coordinator of health and physical education and grant program manager, a 2023 study found higher rates of obesity and poverty in the Acres Homes area. The study also identified limited opportunities for physical activity among young children as a factor contributing to negative health outcomes.

Providing students with opportunities to be active at an early age is an important component of Aldine ISD’s approach to educating the whole child.

“Part of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model is physical activity,” Hernandez said. “The Active Kids program is another way Aldine ISD is ensuring students have opportunities to be physically active, increasing their chances of being healthy, lifelong learners.”

Grant funds will support the purchase of additional physical education equipment, tablets compatible with the program’s existing heart-rate monitors, and shirts for participating students, as well as stipends for the Campus Champions. The heart-rate monitors will continue to track student activity and progress.

Principal Ladon Ward also expressed support for continuing the program.

“We applaud the implementation of evidence-based interventions focused on active living, healthy eating, as well as the ongoing commitment to resident feedback and long-term sustainability. We are delighted to have the opportunity to provide after-school activities that will help our students thrive,” Ward said in a letter supporting continuation of the Active Kids program.

The Active Kids program builds on the success of earlier work funded through Be Well Acres Homes. MD Anderson reports that the original Active Kids after-school pilot, which included 389 students, resulted in 87% of participating students improving their cardiovascular fitness by the end of the program.

Aldine ISD also continues to implement the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) program at all PK-8 campuses, supporting healthy eating and physical activity throughout the school environment.

Aldine ISD has received more than $500,000 from MD Anderson over the past five years through various health and wellness initiatives.

Through continued support from MD Anderson, Aldine ISD is expanding access to physical activity and nutrition education while helping students develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime.