Reach teachers through a statewide conference

A story from Utah

 

The Utah Department of Health hosts an annual professional development conference that aims to reach classroom teachers and share information on a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP). We spoke with Sarah Roundy, the School Health Coordinator for the Utah Department of Health’s Healthy Living Program, to learn more about the Healthy Body, Healthy Minds Conference.

Specific to classroom physical activity, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds provides attendees with tools and resources to implement classroom physical activity during the school day. As of 2018, Utah has hosted three conferences, each reaching more than 200 classroom teachers around the state “who are dedicated to figuring out what [classroom physical activity] means and how to get it into their classrooms.”

Key Takeaway

Let classroom teachers lead sessions at a conference. Ms. Roundy asked classroom teachers who were successfully implementing classroom physical activity in their schools to lead breakout sessions at the conference.

“I think it gave [the teachers] the confidence when we asked them to come and teach – [it showed] that they are leaders in their district, they are leaders in the state for this movement for classroom activity. They were a little hesitant at first when I approached them, but giving them that opportunity [to present to their peers at a statewide conference] was a huge success.”

The conference has been well-received from teachers as an opportunity to network, learn new things, and gather new ideas: “We’re reaching a lot of [teachers] who haven’t heard the message or the vision before.” - Tim Best, Healthy Lifestyles Supervisor Davis School District “We really like the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Conference… [Teachers from my district] come back and have really good feedback with what they’ve learned. They get a lot of good ideas and practice and even come back with some equipment they can use in their classrooms.” - Tera Olsen, Health and Physical Education Cache School District “It’s a value to those [teachers and staff] who are new at the district level. Bringing those people together, having them use resources from each other is a huge help. The only way to do that is through a statewide conference. We don’t have the resources to [support teachers] otherwise. It’s a huge benefit in keeping relationships together.” - Sarah Roundy, School Health Coordinator Utah Department of Health