October 2024 | Vol. 10 Iss. 10
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NEW CURRICULUM IS A GAME-CHANGER FOR PE TEACHERS By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com
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PE teachers use whatever equipment they have to organize games that develop students’ physical skills. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)
hen Morgen Rosenkrantz took the job at her children’s school to teach PE rotations for all grades, she had no experience except that she was a mom who enjoyed being physically active. She had to build the PE program at Antelope Canyon Elementary from scratch and on her own. She searched through online resources, registered for national fitness programs and connected with other PE teachers to create a curriculum that would meet state PE standards and engage students. “There’s a lot more that goes into it than just having kids come into the gym and scream their heads off for 40 minutes,” Rosenkrantz said. PE is a required subject in both elementary and secondary schools. While secondary schools exclusively hire certified teachers who follow a specific curriculum, elementary school PE programs have fewer requirements. Tricia Rojas, Health and PE specialist for Jordan School District, said there is no specific amount of hours or frequency requirements for elementary PE classes. The length and frequency of PE classes are de-
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termined by the size of the school, the staff budget and the number of other class rotations in the schedule. She said administrators are realizing the importance of movement, and in addition to PE rotations, many are trying to incorporate more movement in the classroom or in afterschool programs. Rojas believes movement is an important part of a student’s physical, emotional and mental health and that it directly affects students’ academic performance. “Movement is important,” Rojas said. “I think the cell phone and how much time kids spend in front of the screens, they’re seeing that affect behavior, and I think they’re seeing that they need to replace that with something that actually improves their academics. And so movement is just a no-brainer. We’ve been hearing it. We don’t need any more research. The research has been there, and I think it’s just evident in our classrooms now that the kids need to move.” Rojas provides monthly training for all PE teachers in the district and prioritizContinued page 11