Pine View School in Cumberland County has been awarded a Shape the State grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation to upgrade its physical education with hundreds of pieces of new equipment. There have been 20 Shape the State grants awarded each year since 2011 when the program was launched. The grants, valued at $10,000 each, provide the nationally acclaimed SPARK physical (PE) education curriculum, teacher training and equipment for each recipient school. In addition, each school will receive $1,000 to spend on PE, nutrition and wellness efforts. “We have awarded 20 Shape the State grants each year since 2011, and the results from previous grant winners have been overwhelmingly positive,” said Chelsea Johnson, interim director of the BlueCross Health Foundation. “We know physical education will be transformed at these latest schools as well. We look forward to watching the teachers and students at Pine View School achieve success together.” This fall, faculty and staff from the Shape the State schools will gather for training from SPARK professionals to learn how to use the program with their students. In addition, they will receive complete SPARK curriculum materials, as well as 800 pieces of accompanying exercise equipment. SPARK was launched in 1989 after being developed by researchers at San Diego State University. Since then, its evidence-based curriculum has been used in public schools, YMCA’s and other settings across the nation.