Stuart Academy Receives Grant for New Fitness Center

The school hopes to have the new fitness center up and running by August. 

Stuart Academy is receiving a $100,000 grant for a new fitness center.. The grant was announced Thursday by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Jake Steinfeld, chairman of the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils (NFGFC).  Stuart is one of three schools in Kentucky to receive the grant as part of the NFGFC DON’T QUIT! national campaign.

“It’s not just about the academics,” Principal Faith Stroud stated, “we want our students to be healthy so they can live a long, productive life.”

Richard Ward, physical education teacher at Stuart, applied for the grant which will pay for $100,000 worth of exercise equipment. 

While the equipment will be housed at Stuart, students from Frost Sixth-Grade Academy, on the same campus, will also have access. Stroud hopes the new fitness center will be ready for use when school starts in August.

“Academics and fitness are about empowering our students with knowledge so they can be the best version of themselves,” concluded Principal Stroud.

Funding for the DON’T QUIT! campaign comes from public/private partnerships with companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Wheels Up, and Nike. TuffStuff Fitness International provides the fitness equipment, which is manufactured in the United States. The DON’T QUIT! campaign has completed projects in over 30 states, and over the next few years will have reached all 50 states. The mission of the campaign is to help improve not only students’ physical health, but their mental health as well, as regular exercise has been proven to improve both.

This story was originally published on June 19, 2020.