President Donald Trump announced the re-establishment and restoration of the Presidential Fitness Test on July 31, 2025, when he signed an Executive Order revitalizing the test along with the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Since then, the Trump administration also announced the Presidential Fitness School Innovation Challenge, a competition which invites “schools, districts, and youth-serving organizations to design and execute creative, repeatable models that inspire student participation, teamwork, and enthusiasm for the Presidential Fitness Test (PFT).”
One school that could serve as an example for others to follow and may be a top contender should they enter that challenge would be Prescott Junior High School in Modesto, California. The school overall has a great reputation, but it is best known for their P.E. program. Current teachers Jason Avelar and Garrett Beal are two of the teachers for this program, but its legacy as a fitness-focused juggernaut goes back nearly a half-century.
Beal, who also served as a police officer for a period of his life, played sports as a kid but credited a high school wrestling coach for introducing him to the weight room.
“It was the first sport where I saw that being strong helped,” he said. “I fell in love even more with fitness than wrestling.”
Avelar was bitten by the iron bug while playing football in his high school days but also found he had natural leadership skills as a linebacker. His coaches confirmed this and could have played a role in him becoming a gym teacher.
“I had a few coaches and teachers pull me aside and said, ‘Hey, I think you’d be a great teacher.’”
THE ROOTS OF PRESCOTT RUN DEEP IN THE COMMUNITY
Both Beal and Alevar are reminded often about the history they are a part of. Modeled closely after the La Sierra High School Physical Education Program (the famous 1960s President’s Council on Physical Fitness model) Prescott’s program has challenged junior high students for decades using a high-standard and military-inspired structure.
In 1973, then Prescott P.E. teacher Mark Wilson saw a demonstration of a high-intensity, physical fitness-based curriculum. Wilson was inspired by the concept and used his own version on his students, challenging them to make fitness a priority at an early age.
There is a color and points based system to help gauge the students’ progress and motivate them to work harder. All students start with zero points and white trunks, and there are 20 different fitness tests. Each test offers one, two, or four points for their performances. Once a student achieves 60 points, they earn red trunks. However, the scoring goes back to zero because they are at a new level with harder challenges. Once they work back up to 60 points, they then earn blue trunks.
“The tests at that point get very challenging,” Avelar said. There are also gold and purple trunks for those students that do very well in the program. Prescott even has a P.E. Hall of Fame, where students can be recognized. Avelar acknowledged one student who even cleared the purple trunk scoring early, meaning they had to create a new level just for her.
“We decided on custom trunks. Once you pass purple, you get to pick your own.”
The bars may be seen as super high for some, but Avelar and Beal share that either students rise to the occasion and reach it, or they get closer than they may have had there not been that high bar in the first place.
The results speak for themselves. One student ran two miles in 12 minutes, 27 seconds. Another performed over 6,000 continuous sit-ups, and multiple students have reportedly performed over 1,000 unbroken pushups. The Prescott program has had a generational impact in Modesto.
Beal said, “I wear my Prescott shirt anywhere around town, and people stop to talk to me about when they went there.” He even met one man at a book club, and he recognized the last name on their Hall of Fame wall.
“He told me, ‘Yeah, my grandma.”
THE PASSION FOR FITNESS STAYS WITH THEM
Other teachers at Prescott were also students there, and both Beal and Avelar confirmed that they strive to be the best examples possible by making their wellness a priority. They also said that even though the high school P.E. programs may not have as intense of programs, the students who went to Prescott continue their fitness journeys after they move on. Others may take the school for granted but realize what they were a part of later on.
Avelar said, “As they leave, they realize ‘Oh crap, this is a super special place.’”
Both teachers take great pride in not only what they are a part of but having added their own chapters to the Prescott story. They are reminded of how important their work is every day, and they definitely don’t take the positions they are in for granted.
Avelar stated. “The fulfillment I get from showing up to school every day and seeing kids reach their goals, push themselves, do things they’ve never done before, and seeing the excitement on their faces is why I do it.”
Beal added, “This is such a special place to be,”
There is no official word on how many schools will enter the Presidential Fitness School Innovation Challenge, but both Avelar and Beal were pleased that the Presidential Fitness Test has been reinstated, and they hope that it can serve as a catalyst for other P.E. programs to do more to help their students embrace fitness, pushing themselves, and taking on great challenges. As they have seen first hand, the impact goes beyond the school walls and can last for many years to come.
To learn more about the PFT or the School Innovation Challenge, go to fitness.gov.
You can follow the Prescott program on Instagram @prescott_standard and Beal and Alevar on LinkedIn.
M&F Senior Military Editor Rob Wilkins contributed to this Fit to Serve article.
