Description
Cultivating champions is a key strategy for advocating for physical education programs in local districts and schools and policy adoption at the state level. Effective policy change and implementation requires strong leadership support and two ways to do that are educating potential champions on the influence of high-quality enhanced PE practices and policies on health, academic, and behavior outcomes and providing them with concrete strategies for addressing challenges to implementation. Illinois Public Health Institute and Springboard to Active Schools will lead participants through a series of case studies on districts that have addressed challenges related to physical education implementation and explore effective talking points that resonate with decision makers. Participants will leave with practical ideas for cultivating champions and communicating information to school leaders about physical education best practice and policy.
Objectives
– Share examples and craft talking points that will resonate with school leadership/elected officials.
– Discuss lessons learned from concrete real‐world case studies on districts that have addressed challenges related to physical education.
– Apply lessons learned and talking points to participants’ own specific context.
Presenters
Sarah Chusid, MPS
Sarah Chusid, MPS, is a Physical Activity Program Manager at the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI) where she provides support to various physical activity, built environment, and physical education (P.E.) policy and system change initiatives. Sarah has been integral to IPHI’s work to promote high-quality enhanced P.E. and supported development of a teacher training program to help implement best-practice P.E. policies and programs—Pump Up P.E.—to more than 1000 teachers across Illinois. She supports the work of the Illinois State Physical Activity and Nutrition (ISPAN) program strategies related to connecting activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations and integrating physical activity into early care and education systems. Prior to her time at IPHI, she worked as a Field Organizer with Organizing for America – OH. Her professional background is in consumer advocacy, working for over six years as Program Director at Kids In Danger, a nonprofit that works to improve children’s product safety. She holds a Master’s degree in Professional Studies in Political Management from The George Washington University.
Janna Simon, MPH
Janna Simon, MPH, is the Program Director, Center for Policy & Partnership Initiatives at the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI). Her work focuses primarily on policy, systems, and environmental changes for obesity prevention through coordination of the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity, enhanced physical education and implementation of the Illinois State Physical Activity and Nutrition program. In her role, she cultivates and supports multi-sector partnerships across public health, healthcare, education, transportation, food systems, and early childhood education to develop policy and systems solutions across diverse interests. Prior to joining IPHI, Janna was a Senior Policy Analyst and Schweitzer Program Associate at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group where she focused on improving the healthcare system for the city and state’s most vulnerable populations. Janna was an adjunct lecturer at the UIC School of Public Health from 2012 to 2018. She graduated from the UIC School of Public Health in 2008 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach in 2006.
Jean H. Sophie, Ed.D/Ed.S/MS.Ed
Contact Kate Holmes at [email protected] for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should register?
Anyone with an interest in physical education and physical activity in schools and who can dedicate a full three hours to the Online Learning Institute for which they register.
Will I get a certificate of completion for each Online Learning Institute I attend?
Yes, you can receive a certificate for 3, 6, 9, or 12 hours, depending on the number of Institutes you attend.
How long is each Online Learning Institute?
Each Online Institute is three hours long. We ask that if you register for an Online Learning Institute, you join us virtually for the entire three hours.
Are there any limits to how many people can register?
Yes. Each Online Learning Institute can accommodate 30 people. Only register if your schedule allows you to join virtually for the full three hours.
Do I have to register for all four Online Learning Institutes?
No. Feel free to register for as many Online Institutes as your schedule allows you to attend.
Are the Online Learning Institutes in person?
No. The Online Learning Institutes are completely virtual. We will be using the Zoom platform and request that all attendees join via video (if you have that technology available).
