The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the National School Fitness Foundation LIFT American Program compared to a traditional physical education program on students' attitudes toward physical education. The National School Fitness Foundation LIFT American Program is an aerobic/strength training program that is designed to help physical educators teach youth about the benefits of exercise and how to assess and develop their bodies for the duration of their lives (NSFF, 2001). Participants consisted of (N=488) junior high students (7th, 8th, and 9th grades) enrolled in physical education at a junior high school located in the Western United States. The study consisted of two groups of participants. One group of students participated in the National School Fitness Foundation LIFT American Program (n=229) for the entire 16 week semester. The second group of students participated in a traditional physical education program (n=259) for the 16 week semester that consisted of basketball, flag football, ultimate frisbee, table tennis, and soccer units. Each group of students completed the physical education attitude questionnaire developed and validated by Silverman and Subramaniam (1999) at the beginning, mid point, and end of the semester. Luke and Sinclair (1991) and Figley (1985) found that the two most influential factors in developing positive attitudes toward physical education are (1) the teacher and (2) the curriculum. Although not statistically significant, the teacher appeared to have a greater influence on student attitude than that of the curriculum. Initial findings indicate that both groups demonstrated a trend from negative to more positive attitudes towards physical education; however, boys showed a more significant increase in the positive direction than did the girls. Even with a trend toward more positives attitudes, one finding of concern was the overall negative attitudes of both groups. The mean scores for both groups were still more negative than any program would desire.Keyword(s): curriculum development, middle school issues, research