IMPACT was developed by an elementary physical education teacher in San Diego Unified. She saw the need for students to get more physical activity throughout their school day and improve their physical fitness skills. The program was developed to be an enhancement to the standards-based physical education curriculum that was being taught. It was developed to be implemented by the classroom teachers separate from the physical education class.

As the program was introduced in the district, the original target was schools that didn’t have physical education teachers. Over time, it became available to more schools, with or without physical education teachers. As grant funding became available to increase the scope of the IMPACT program, additional schools received the necessary equipment and training to implement IMPACT.

Through a partnership with UCSD Athletics, the IMPACT program was introduced and modeled by visiting athletes from multiple sports. The athletes were inspirational in both their words and actions as they spoke to classrooms and modeled excellence in sportsmanship and physical fitness.

Students at Kearny High School in San Diego Unified embraced the project and developed station cards which outline the curriculum throughout the year. The Kearny students studied the biomechanics of each skill and created visuals and instructions for each card.

Interns at San Diego State (SDSU) Dept. of Kinesiology, created video links to provide modeling to students prior to completing the stations. These videos are valuable teaching tools for the classroom teacher and provide additional reference instruction for the students. These interns created new fitness activity videos for secondary students as well.

In 2019, San Diego Unified partnered with Cal Fresh Healthy Living, Health and Human Services Agency to improve and enhance physical education for all students in the district over the course of three years. The IMPACT program is a primary focus at the elementary level.