“Unless effective population-level interventions to reduce obesity are developed, the steady rise in life expectancy observed in the modern era may soon come to an end and the youth of today may, on average, live less healthy and possibly even shorter lives than their parents.”
 
What will it take for America to finally address obesity in schools?  When we needed to save the environment, we taught recycling.  We need kids to balance checkbooks, so we pass laws and teach finance.  We pass laws about substance abuse and create DARE, abstinence and even activity in the day!  But if we truly teach NC Healthful Living standards by a certified specialist so that students receive a minimum of 150 minutes per week at the elementary level and 225 at the secondary level, we would not need so many varying laws.  Our children’s lives are at stake.  If students do not spend time in an effective physical education class, where and how will they learn the skills to be active adults?  If students do not learn nutritional, personal safety, communication and mental health concepts how will they know they need help or where to go for help for someone else? 
 
The truth North Carolina has slid backwards.  We were making great progress towards implementing more PE in the school day, until schools were forced to choose between subjects due to lack of funding for education.  No Child Left Behind devalued all subjects except what was tested and so much pressure was placed on students and schools to perform.  The health of our children was sacrificed for test scores.   Even though we know that the life expectancy of our children may not be as long as their parents. (Olshansky, S. J., Passaro, D. J., Hershow, R. C., Layden, J., Carnes, B. A., Brody, J., . . . Ludwig, D. S. (2005). A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century. New England Journal of Medicine, 352(11), 1138-1145. doi:10.1056/nejmsr043743)
 
Schools now will be asked to focus on chronic absenteeism.  The DOE recognizes three major effects of chronic absenteeism:

• Chronic absenteeism may prevent children from reaching early learning milestones.
• Irregular attendance can be a better predictor of whether students will drop out before graduation than test scores.
• Frequent absences from school can shape adulthood.

(Department of Education, CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM IN THE NATION'S SCHOOLS. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2017, from https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html#one )
 
Furthermore, a meta-analysis of 177 primary prevention programs designed to prevent behavioral and social problems in children and adolescent’s showed the following findings:

• Modify the school environment, provide individually focused mental health promotion efforts, and attempts to help children negotiate stressful transitions yield significant mean effects ranging from 0.24 to 0.93.
• Mental disorders often arise for the first time in adolescents or young adults. If they are recognized and treated early, this may increase the chances of a better long-term outcome.
• Professional help is often not sought at all or only sought after a delay.
• Early recognition and appropriate help-seeking will only occur if young people and their “supporters” (eg, their family, teachers, and friends) know about the early changes produced by mental disorders, the best types of help available, and how to access this help.
  

(Durlak, J. A. (1997). Primary Prevention Programs in Schools. Advances in Clinical Child
Psychology, 283-318. doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-9035-1_8)
 
Healthful Living Standard Course of study address each of these and can play a major role in chronic absenteeism. 
 
In a research article by National Association of Elementary and Secondary Principals (NAESP), they site six (6) causes for chronic absenteeism:

1. Bad Grades
2. Bullying
3. Illness
4. Caring for another family member
5. Mental or emotional issues
6. Difficulties w/housing or food

North Carolina Standard Course of Study addresses or has an effect on all of these.  Prevention is a key component of the curriculum.   The article goes further to outline some solutions for chronic absenteeism including to provide resources to:

1. Instill confidence and after school programs, to be involved in something that matters
2. recognize signs of bullying and what to do
3. provide/ encourage good health in and out of school
4. recognize signs and what to do while caring for others
5. recognize and know what to do for mental or emotional issues
6. students and parents for assistance and understanding how and where to get nutritional foods, provide school meals, and safe environments

(The Communicator: NAESP, September, 2016, Volume 40, Issue 1)
 
The Healthful Living Standard Course of Study touches or teaches all of these when taught appropriately. 
 
Education is extremely important, but not at the expense of our health.  Our schools should welcome the physical and health educator.  Our subject area is the only one that teaches students to value their bodies.  This alone touches self-esteem, nutrition, fitness, abstinence/ protection, social and emotional mental health, and healthy weight which includes skills to use to be physically active and more.  Isn’t this important for your child to have a certified specialist who has professional development to stay updated and enough time to measure your child’s growth in these areas?  How can people not see that offering an effective health and physical education course most days of the week can help academics, anti-bullying, less discipline problems, and absenteeism?  NC Healthful Living offers so much more than simply giving kids a break.
 
It’s time.  Let our health and PE teachers play their role in addressing skills, concepts, confidence and knowledge for their students.  It’s good for the students.  It’s good for the school. It’s good for the community and eventually the workplace.  This is an urgent call to action.  Please help us take these simple steps to help our children. 
 
We are asking the state to include an already collected measure, the Healthy Active Children Plan, as an accountability measure for school quality in the ESSA State plan.  This is already being collected and adds no new assessments on the school’s part.  But it will help to hold schools accountable for addressing the health needs of our students.

1. Go to: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/newsroom/lets-talk/

• Scroll to the bottom and click on the “Every Student Succeeds Act”
• Choose "comment"
• Fill in the subject and description with your comments (see talking points handout)
• Attached your comments in a PDF
• Please email Morgan Whittman Gramann to let us know you submitted comments! (morgan@ncallianceforhealth.org)
  

My guest blog for Joey Feith - The Physical Educator
​ ThePhysicalEducator.com

I’m always trying to figure out which topics I can blog about that would be most useful to physical educators. I’ve gone over curriculum mapping, standards-based instructional design, assessment, game design and even grading. One topic that I knew could really help physical education teachers is funding. So many teachers out there are desperate for funding to help them create the kind of programs that will best serve their students. However, funding is not within my area of expertise. Because of that, I decided to ask my friend Dr. Kymm Ballard if she would be willing to write a guest post on the topic. Kymm being Kymm, she agreed and I could not be happier with the quality of post she has created for you. Kymm has already poured in a ton of time, experience and expertise into this post, but if you would like to learn even more, check out out her blog at www.kymmballardconsulting.net and follow her on consulting account on Twitter: @physedhelp. That being said, here is Kymm’s blog post on funding your physical education program:One of the biggest issues I hear across the country is that physical education and health education programs are underfunded. Some schools have budgets and others do not. Some teachers are content and others want to improve their programs. And some have written grants and others have not. This blog is hopefully for all of you! I am here to tell you there is funding out there to improve your health or physical education programs. Knowing where to look and what to do are sometimes out of our “PE” lane. Kymm Ballard Consulting was created to network and to provide technical assistance in funding to educators. It is how I contribute to the profession through my work and experience with others, [removed: much] just as others share lessons and assessments.
In most schools across the United States, school budgets are tight, but I am here to tell you, money is out there! It will take work and determination. Some people may be scared or lack the confidence to write a grant. I hope I can help transition our thinking about grants and provide you with confidence to seek and receive funding to improve your program. If you’re reading this, you must have some desire and interest!
When you begin thinking about your programs and whether additional funding will make sense for your program, consider this question: Where is the gap/need, and what can you do to fix it? A needs assessment is critical for evaluating your program and helping establish a need for the funding opportunity. Additionally, it gives you a chance to be sure your program is in order.
The first thing I would suggest is to create a “Funding File.” Once you know the gaps in your program, you can keep it on file with other key information until you find the opportunity that can be successful. Consider performing routine evaluations, like modules of the School Health Index, while waiting for a funding opportunity. Once you have this assessment, you can keep it in your folder until you need it. It will be used to help establish the “need” for the project for which you are requesting funding.
Another important thing to do is find out your grant process and a timeline for signatures. Find out if you need a Principal approval or do you need School Board approval to apply for a grant. What is the timeline for signatures changes depending on who needs to approve it? Are there other requirements your school system has in place for applying and accepting grants?
There is other information that is important to keep and update such as poverty levels, free and reduced lunch, diversity of students, YRBS data, and socio-economic data.
I would be remiss not to mention ESSA as a means of funding your PE program in the US, even though it is not the focus of this blog. [removed: Regular schools] Most public schools receive funds from state and local budgets, but the federal budget can help, particularly in high poverty areas. In the US, this federal funding (from ESSA) is disseminated through the states to local school districts for education purposes in high need areas. For the first time ever, health education and physical education were included in a list of subjects that the funding can be used. While we currently don’t have a budget, funding will eventually come. You can check out my blogs on ESSA here. Additionally, if you want to find out more about your state, check out the ESSA state plans here. This site will be updated regularly.
If you want to make a case for tapping into the state Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), you may want to include data /evidence for how and where you are teaching social/emotional learning and attendance. Additionally, we are seeing the term “chronic absenteeism” come up as a school measure in most of the ESSA state plans. If you want to learn more about how you can connect to this in health and physical [fixed typo: educaiton] education, you can easily research it or I can be available for presentations and assistance. Regardless, I think this can be critical to tapping into the state / district ESSA funding.
Finally, I would like to highlight three funding opportunities any health or physical educator can focus on to fund your programs.

1. Crowdsourcing

One of the best sites to visit for small amounts of funding is crowdfunding/ crowdsourcing. According to Philanthropy Outlook, charitable giving is looking to increase 3.6% for 2017. It shows about 70.6% of all giving will be by individuals like you and I. Foundations are estimated to provide 15.8%, Estates expected to provide 8.4%, and 5% from Corporations.[1] Philanthopy Outlook states that Individual giving is the number one source of funding. Usually, churches are the top recipient of funds from individual donors, but passionate stories are not far behind. These stories are told through platforms like Donors Choose, GoFundMe, Fund my PE, Adopt a Classroom, EdBacker, Kickstarter, RockerHub. While these sites vary, most have a simple way of getting a project off the ground and funded depending on your needs.

1. Fundraising

Fundraising is another way to acquire funding for your projects. Many of [fixed typo: your] you participate in Jump or Hoops for Heart as a fundraiser. Another great fundraising sites have come to light also for schools. Action for Healthy Kids’ SuperFit School Challenge provides technical assistance, tools, and an easy way to provide a healthy way to fundraise for your program. Active School Fundraising by Safe Routes to School National Partnership is another popular option. Finally, You Caring is great site for information on fundraising. You usually have to do a lot of promotion around these sites, especially in your city and on social media. If you are interested, there are some great fundraising ideas.

1. Grants

My first advice is to look in your Funding File and brainstorm who may join you on your mission. As you begin, try to have these questions answered before looking for funding.

• Why are you looking for funding (creating purpose)?
• What do you want to do and what types of things do you need?
• How are you going to do it?
• Which partners will you need to involve?
• What do you hope to accomplish?
• How will you spend the money?
• How will you show change, progress as part of an evaluation.?

These answers can be kept in your Funding File until you are ready to write for a grant or use for another opportunity. This will help you target the right foundations.
No one has to do this alone, and a grant committee can help get things done. Collaborating with your Professional Learning Network (PLN) or with other teachers in your school, can create stronger relationships and grants. Additionally, grants usually require a collaboration with other community agencies (in addition to the school). Community outreach and partnership can be with an afterschool program or another area such as recess in school. When pulling your team together, designate individuals to provide specific information, such as school and community data, goals, objectives, and budget. Maybe someone on the team will be a good writer or reviewer, but regardless, I suggest assigning just one person to write the proposal itself. Even if you do not have a team and you write the grant alone, I suggest having an English teacher or someone proofread it for you.
One site I frequent is Get Ed Funding for articles and resources. You can also find more information and articles on grant writing. It helps to save some of this information in your Funding File also.
Now, you are ready to find a grant opportunity. There are four main types of organizations that issue grants: corporations, national foundations, local foundations, and the government (mostly federal but sometimes state). These foundations can be either public or private with a very targeted mission. You will have to read them carefully as you might be required to provide matching funds.
Large grants can be very competitive, but smaller ones are often harder to find. There are some that are known for educational grants such as Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation which is a community program giving away $5 million in grants aimed specifically at schools. Some school districts have a Foundation that will fund programs otherwise not funded in your school. The chamber of commerce in your area may be able to identify companies offering education grants. Teachers Count offers free information on organizations offering grants to schools.
There are also many sites that provide grant information, grant finders, and grant writing tips. I too can assist in finding you grants if and when you are prepared. Finally, Google (and other search engines) can be a very powerful tool. I suggest you search “companies in (insert your state or district) providing grants.” Keep that list in your file because many companies and philanthropists prefer to fund programs in their own back yard. It may take some time, but if you take the time to look through those businesses and see if they fund in the areas of health education or physical education (including anti-bullying, social emotional learning, obesity prevention, physical activity, healthy kids, etc.) and time(s) of year they usually open their RFP, it rarely changes from year to year. This valuable information can help you move quickly and plan ahead for your grant.
Writing the Grant
Most grants have similar components even though the length and amount of information may vary. One great example can be found here.

• Contact information: This page is usually a cover and maybe basic contact information.

• Overview or abstract of the project: This is an introduction to the town or school and is usually a general and broad overview. Most commonly, it provides a demographic description and need of the project. This is something you can keep in your grant folder for easy access when writing multiple grants. It doesn’t change very often although you will have to pay attention to data updates.

• Needs Assessment: Provide information on how you know this is a gap or need through a needs assessment such as the School Health Index. You will have much of this information in your folder. This establishes your need as a priority for funding.

• Goals and Objectives: This lists the goals of your project and the objectives or steps you will take to make it happen. Sometimes this includes a description of the activities and sometimes it may be separate. Usually, this includes a timeline. If you are not familiar with writing SMART Goals, you may want to review this handout.

• Budget: The budget section is the backbone of the grant proposal. As a grant reviewer, I often turn right to the budget before even reading the proposal to see how the money will be used. Program activities drive the budget. The program narrative should match the budget with no “surprises” in a budget. If your narrative doesn’t match the budget, it’s not getting funded. If you make a case for your needs, your budget will match your narrative. It is all about alignment and that is why it’s considered the backbone. Your budget should match your activities which are aligned with the needs you have portrayed in the overview. If you need “in kind” be sure to list the things like your time, materials, and volunteer services of others. Be very careful to see if you need “matching” funds and if any of the matching can be “in kind.” From most of my readings, I believe it is best to build the budget from the bottom-up, not top-down. I believe it’s a mistake for grant writers look at the maximum allowable grant request and start working backward from the maximum amount until they reach zero (top-down). The downside to top down is the ease of adding unnecessary expenses to the grant request just make certain that the maximum amount of funding is requested. For more on building a good budget, start here.

• Evaluation: Funders want to make sure their funds are being used for good. In order to show this, evaluations are necessary. Here are some tips on how to properly measure the activities proposed in the grant. This evaluation detail may depend on the goal of the grant.

Other tips:
Deadline: It’s crucial to send your grant request prior to the deadline (even if you have to send it overnight. Requesting delivery confirmation is always a good idea. Many of the grant providers fund several times per year so if you are pressed for time and miss the first deadline, keep improving it. Send it in prior to the next deadline.
Copies: Check the number of copies required. Some may require several copies. To prove you’re sending an original, have your supervisors use blue ink for signatures (copies are usually black from a copy machine).
Appreciation: It is important to acknowledge the organization providing funding through a media release or at least a thank you note. You can also invite the funder to see your program once it is up and running. If appropriate, you could provide a framed note from the students.
Many factors determine which grants receive grant funding. Identifying the need, finding the right foundation, and working together as a group makes a great recipe for a successful proposal. Collaboration can be very helpful and maybe give you the winning edge.
Don’t be afraid. You will win some and not win some. Step out of your comfort zone of not writing grants. Many times its last minute and you don’t know the process which becomes overwhelming. Once you prepare with your Funding File and do your homework, the grant becomes more possible. Good Luck in your funding journey! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need help.
Dr. Kymm Ballard is an Assistant Professor at Campbell University where she serves as the Health and Physical Education Teacher Education Coordinator. Kymm has been successful for helping to initiate and facilitate millions of dollars to schools to address obesity prevention. Recently, she created Kymm Ballard Consulting™ to assist others in the implementation of quality programs and policies in effort to provide quality research based physical education/activity to schools and organizations around the country. You can learn more about Kymm’s work by visiting www.kymmballardconsulting.net or by following Kymm on Twitter at @DrKymmBallard (personal account) or @physedhelp (consulting account).

This is the final of a three part series of blogs on funding for physical education. As noted prior, there is no doubt funding will be less visible without PEP. We know ESSA may bring some funding if prepared and diligent, though probably not enough to overhaul a program as PEP did. However, ESSA can help you sustain a great program that you built.

So my third tip for funding will center around "Be prepared not scared". It's no secret that writing grants can be scary and may not be a strength for some who need it. Being prepared for a grant opportunity when it comes along can be a high benefit! A little grant prep "homework" can go a long way.

Grantfinders on websites are a dime a dozen. Some even make you pay for the free information! Regardless of how it's presented, one big issue is the amount and process of how funding for PE will change. It's not as simple as simply looking up a grant on a web based grantfinder (although helpful). Many of you may know I have been a human grantfinder for many years and have helped hundreds of individuals and organizations (schools, out of school, local orgs, etc.) find funding. While I haven't been 100% successful, I would venture to humbly say I have been at least 80% successful in finding them funding. Sometimes the funding wasn't immediate nor the total amount, but in all but a few cases, I found a solution! Being prepared definitely helps.

Being prepared:
1. Do your SWOT or SHI every 3 years and have in file.
2. Check and know the procedures for writing and receiving grants in your district.
3. Know a general timeline (some take months if they need Board approval or signatures).
4. Know what you want vs need so that you can clearly make decisions and justify what you align to standards.
5. Think about how you would assess it, follow up, and sustain the opportunity. In other words, how will it make a difference.
6. Have support ahead of time. This could be from your principal, LEA, supervisor, partners, or anyone that you may need support.

I also have to prepare, do my homework. I research the funding trends, various types of grants, and what the actual opportunities may be, which takes hours of my time. I have created a unique system over the years and can often share at least 3 opportunities at any given time. It's my way to help my profession and people trust me because I am not a sales person. I am NOT saying there is anything wrong with sales people funding funding at all! I certainly assist sales persons to do this as they have to make a living also (it's a win win). But I believe it's my personal calling to be honest, up front, and look after your best interest, not the bottom dollar.

While funding will change for PE, it's not impossible. Don't give up! Great programs can happen without grants, for sure. But if you have some support, funding may be possible. I will leave you these final thoughts:
Make friends before you need 'em (pt 1 of 3)
Make 'em smart before you make 'em mad (pt 2 of 3)
Be prepared not scared (pt 3 of 3)

I look forward to working with you in the near future.

In my last blog, I wrote about ESSA and advised to "Make friends before you need 'em." Today, the message is to "Make 'em smart before you make 'em mad". Sharing information, your plans, and your needs assessments could help pave your way, especially if aligned to priorities, standards, and other subjects.

I would bet just by reading my last blog about HPE being part of ESSA, you know more than many Principals and Superintendents and most teachers. Sharing the news that Health and Physical Education are now part of the 50 year old federal education law is getting out slowly. And, many folks are only focused on Title IV. However, being listed as part of the "well rounded education" allows schools to spend any of the title money in HPE anywhere it lists "well rounded education" is appropriate. So Title I, typically used for accountability and core subjects, can now be expanded to include Health and PE. The focus of the Titles didn't change, only what subjects have access to it. I know of one district recently who just ordered equipment from that pot of funding. However, you have to pave the way with strong curriculum and with finance officers as they are not aware this is allowed either. (Make friends before you need 'em).
​
Title II is for professional development and well rounded education is a focus there also. Here you really need to "Make 'em smart" so that Principals know and plan for your professional development.

Finally, where funds will go will also depend on school improvement plans which will be based on needs assessments, and the accountability programs. Luckily, this accountability system calls for one "non academic" item opens the door for many possibilities in HPE. You should check with your state department of education to see if this is a possibility. Many states have their drafts posted already. Advocacy is extremely important. You can also check with your American Heart Association or state AHPERD organizations as they are working on this in many states.

These sound bites may help; however, if I can help your district or state, feel free to contact me. Meanwhile, here are two other great resources:

Resources at the bottom of page at ASCD
http://www.ascd.org/public-policy/essa-updates.aspx

Help continue to advocate for funding and see your state toolkit here!
​http://www.shapeamerica.org/advocacy/

With PEP grants gone as we knew them, where will funding come from for Health and Physical Education? For years health and physical educators have fought to receive any little bit of funding for their programs. We put on events, fundraisers, write grants, even beg, at times we have even had to go against something we may believe in order to provide needs for programs (such as putting in a new Coke machine so that the revenue could go to our program). I will focus my next series of blogs to address this as I know it in order to help you. I will start with the obvious, ESSA.

While the landscape may be changing, we do have hope. PEP may be gone as we know it, but we need to still advocate for it as its part of Title IV ESSA. I am sure that SHAPE America is preparing another quality instructional day meeting on this during SPEAK Out Day (April 25-26 http://www.shapeamerica.org/events/speakoutday/).

Because ESSA includes Health and PE as part of the Well Rounded definition, this also allows us to use other monies within ESSA. I can share more if needed. I believe the key here is to tie into your school priorities. I often say in my Keynotes, we need to "make friends before we need 'em". I encourage people to go now and talk to your principal and coordinators and enlighten them that health and physical education are now included in the definition to use those funds. You will be surprised how much you can enlighten people with just a few bits of information. (Contact me for more if needed). Tell them about your program standards and outcomes and how you play a role in the school priorities. Don't underestimate how important this is. Share with them the links to evidence of activity and academic performance (http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/) and include yourself as part of the team. Finally and most important, share yourself as a solution, not a problem. We are the only curricular area that teaches mental health, empathy, social skills, and stress management. Can't this relate to a healthy and safe school?

But we still have a lot of mountains to climb. In part 2, I will share more thoughts on other various funding. As always, my goal regardless where I work, live or play is to help make a difference in my loved profession. So if I can help you, let me know.

I have been exploring with voxer in my higher ed courses and so far, its been a tough go of it.  I am open to ideas and suggestions of others as I share how I have tried to introduce voxer to my students.
I usually begin asking my college students if they ever heard of voxer and the response has been so far, "Yes Dr. Ballard, I used it when I was 14."  Yikes!  Why had I not heard of it when he was 14?  Maybe I was not paying enough attention (lesson #1 - let the students tell you what technology and apps they use).  The second question I asked my self was how can I show them how much I love this app and how much they will need it once they are teaching?  Well, that's a hard one because they don't know - what they don't know.  Its hard to relate to something you have never seen, felt or experienced.  I tried first to use it to communicate with them, but honestly, text was easier and they received the info immediately where they had to go look at voxer (lesson #2 cut off notifications).  The next thing I tried was to add some voxer teachers who were willing to help me advise etc.  I had some great volunteers, but my students didnt respond well and I had to recommend them to go and answer responses by the voxer volunteers.  Next, I gave an oral test so that they would hear each others answers (more like a quiz)  That worked better and was set up at a certain time and date to respond (lesson #3 - provide a specific assignment on a date and time).  Finally, I had a new group this year where I had them video themselves discussing that the SHAPE America standards are and then discuss on voxer so the experienced teachers could chime in also.  This really worked well - except the video was a little tough to show if they truly knew what the standards mean (lesson #4 having them reflect on their work with experienced educators to assist was excellent!) 
I am not sure where I will go next - I would like to establish more of a presence but if they are not interested, I feel at least if I introduce them to it, one day they may return.  Thoughts or comments? 

Starting over is often hard.  However, in some cases its a blessing.  Many wonderful things have happened during a very difficult time of my life.  The PE community has shown its heart to me and it leaves me speechless.  I know, give me a glass of wine and that speechless part will go away! LOL!  Seriously, I have seen the hearts of so many people; how giving people are by sharing everything with others, supporting each other at the drop of a hat on voxer or Twitter.  Once, I heard a young panic voice on voxer saying they had to move their field day inside and had no idea what to do!  In less than an hour, veteran PE teachers shared ideas and a new field day was quickly created which eventually turned out to be the best day they had ever created!  Its a place to sometimes rants about the lack of time or respect our profession receives, but they usually finish the conversation knowing there are hundreds of others listening going through the same thing and supporting them.  There are hundreds of stories of these amazing hearts.  Is it any wonder?  Our profession is about building strong hearts! 
I identify myself with my work.  Its one reason I work so hard.  So when something changes beyond your control, its personal to me.  Now this doesn't mean someone did something wrong, in contrary - I believe I have received a blessing!  I work so hard I neglect myself and because I am so committed to my work, I often stick in there without acknowledging things change.  This is not courageous but cowardly. My dear friend shares with the world about "moral courage" and as much as I tried, it is difficult in some situations.  There are things I should have done but I won't discuss. I wont discuss because of respect and grace.   I only work where I know can make a positive and meaningful change in physical education, regardless if that's through advocacy, working for a company, or the courses our students need to have a degree to teach.  I have done that all my life. 
Upon leaving NCDPI, I wrote a job description based on what I thought was needed to propose to a company.   The position wasn't one they had seen before and they took it to find something close to edit, and took a chance on me.  Currently, I am preparing another one of those descriptions to see how I can make effective change in our profession.  I still believe the same and in the same things, changing roles doesn't change that.  But a special friend shared one day this quote and I remember it at all times:  "The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."  I am not walking past the standard, but I will do something about it.  My journey is not complete, I am just taking another turn.  More to come.....
Much love to my PE community who have reached out and supported me.  I intend to always be there for you just the same! 

Amazing.  Fascinating.  Stunning. International. Significant.  Important.  All words that come to mind when I think about my Saturday 24 hour PLN and the amazing people who shared their time, energy, knowledge and resources.  Free.  Over 1000 people signed up across the world and many more will come back over the next few weeks and review.

For me, I was out of my comfort level.  At my grand ole age (lets just say over 50), technology can be quite challenging and overwhelming.  I didn't grow up with it.  I did have TV, but I had to get up to change the channel.  I did have a phone, but the cord was so long I could walk around the corner in the kitchen to sit in the pantry to talk (privacy, because there was only one phone and it wasn't portable).  I played in the street and road my bike until dark when I was expected to be home.  My mom couldn't text or call me, she went out and yelled for me.

So to have this concept of talking in real time to so many people who feel as passionate about quality physical education as I do, is quite daunting. Now, I am on social media and I love innovation.  But for me, the "tozzl" and all of the links to website and apps put my mind in a tailspin.  I was possessed!  I didn't sleep!  I was scared I would miss something as if it wouldn't record.  I even was driven to create this web page all by myself.  

I have been bitten by the bug, just as I was at 21 knowing I wanted to be the best physical education teacher I could be.  I wanted to make a difference in this world and now, I feel renewed in that challenge.  Thank you Physedagogy team - for having the vision and foresight for this Summit.  Thank you for working with an old woman like me!  Thank you for your work ethic and tremendous heart.  You are what love and teaching are all about and I am so honored to be a part of 3.0.