Physical education classes are required in both elementary and secondary schools, but teachers and administrators are beginning to realize just how critical that physical activity is for their students, Jordan District Health and PE specialist Tricia Rojas said.

“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 said physical activity has a direct effect on a student’s physical, emotional and mental health, and that it impacts their academic performance.

While secondary school PE classes have a specific curriculum and are taught by certified teachers with specific training, elementary school PE classes are not standardized. The length and frequency of elementary school PE classes varies according to a school’s staff availability and class rotation schedules.

Rojas provides monthly training and observation opportunities for all district PE teachers to help provide students with the best PE teachers possible.

This year, Rojas introduced a new elementary PE curriculum, with specific lessons and activities that meet the state PE standards. She saw the need for a curriculum because only five of the 40 elementary school PE teachers in Jordan District are certified teachers. Most are parents, with no formal training in PE or teaching, hired for a classroom assistant position and asked to run the school’s PE program on their own.

“Ideally, we would have a certified PE teacher in every elementary, and I would love to move towards that, but there are some barriers that keep us from being able to do that,” Rojas said. Barriers include the budget for, and availability of, certified PE teachers. 

Rojas’ curriculum has been helpful for uncertified PE teachers in meeting the physical education state standards, but Rojas said the best PE teachers, whether they are certified or not, are those who put effort and enthusiasm into their program, which motivates the kids to move. She said so many of the classroom assistants are doing a great job of providing students with a great PE experience.

Fort Herriman Middle School PE teacher McKay Probert said even though it is a fun job, being a PE teacher is challenging and there is a lot more to teaching physical education than most people think.

“I know PE sounds like it’s just all fun and games because you see us playing sports, but we do face the same challenges as all the rest of the teachers, with the same students that are wanting to misbehave,” he said.

Probert is a certified teacher of physical education and health. He said the classes he took to earn his teaching degree prepared him to organize his lessons, manage his students, utilize equipment and to understand and take responsibility for his students’ health, progress and safety.

“Obviously we can learn as we go, but overall, taking all these classes and being certified has really benefited me,” he said. “I did not realize how much I actually needed to know about health and the body and the mind. Overall, you’re going to be better if you had that degree to begin with.” λ