Engage teachers to become wellness champions in their classrooms through a staff wellness program

A story from South Carolina

 

“Sometimes, it’s a lot easier for teachers to focus on their own wellness before they get into the world of trying to implement wellness initiatives for their students and their classrooms.”

Erica Ayers, School Health Coordinator
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

We spoke with Ms. Ayers about her experience focusing on staff wellness programs to encourage classroom physical activity.

Key Takeaways

Start with a staff wellness initiative. If Ms. Ayers was struggling to kick start a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) at a school, she would focus on building support for a staff wellness initiative.  For Ms. Ayers, starting a staff wellness initiative is “how you get buy-in from teachers.”

Encourage teachers to build on their personal successes from the staff wellness initiative. Ms. Ayers found that teachers engaged in the staff wellness initiative were often those “providing a lot more physical activity in the classroom for their students the next year. And, the year after that they take it a step further, providing additional opportunities for student physical activity outside the classroom, engaging families, and welcoming community members.”

A staff wellness initiative allows for teachers to focus first on their personal health and their comfort with physical activity.  Once they become comfortable moving and see the effects that it has on their own lives, they may be more willing to use physical activity in other settings, including in their own classrooms.