Join Us in Phoenix

October 26th and 27th at the Phoenix Convention Center West Building.  

But first….

Use This Toolkit to Make the Case to Attend

• Develop talking points using the needs/benefits table to explain to your supervisor/principal how attending the state convention will help you meet the needs of the school’s/district’s current initiatives.
  
• Customize and send the justification template letter to your supervisor to set up a face-to-face meeting.
  
• Review our talking tips before meeting with your supervisor.
• Finally, use this toolkit to share how this professional development experience will lead to more effective teaching and better learners in the classroom.

 

OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT’S NEED	BENEFITS FROM ATTENDING
Ensure all students are given the best opportunity to meet the local, state and national standards for health and physical education (HPE)	✓Discover dynamic ideas to create and deliver a standards-based curriculum so that students acquire the skills, knowledge and behaviors that will lead to living an active, healthy life ✓ Learn best practices for creating an inclusive environment in health and physical education class ✓ Explore the latest tools in measuring how well students are progressing toward achieving the standards for HPE
Help students become better learners	✓ Increases in academic achievement and test scores ✓ Positive associations with attention, concentration and on-task behavior ✓ Improved classroom behavior and reduced disciplinary issues
Expertise in differentiated instruction to meet the learning needs of all students	✓ Gain strategies to refine your approach to teaching and effectively address all students’ learning needs ✓ Acquire a sharper focus on teaching the essential ideas and skills of various content areas ✓ Learn new ways to assess, reflect, and adjust content and the learning process to meet student needs ✓ Learn best practices for responding to individual student differences that can lead to a more inclusive learning environment (such as learning style, prior knowledge, interests, and level of engagement)
A better understanding of the whole-child approach to education to ensure students are healthy and successful academically	Learn how to implement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and ASCD’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) national model as a framework to improve students’ cognitive, physical, social and emotional development.  ✓ Strategies to address the 10 components of the model, including  using a skills-based approach to deliver health education and promote healthy literacy in schools developing a comprehensive school physical activity program, which includes a well-designed physical education program and opportunities for physical activity before, during and after school. ✓   Resources to implement a skills-based curriculum that will lead students to make healthy choices ✓ Tactics to link CDC’s identified “six risk behaviors” to the teaching and instruction of health education
Guidance on how to maximize opportunities to receive funding for your program	✓Learn how to make the best use of SHAPE America’s resources to ensure that HPE are included in state and district ESSA implementation plans✓ Explore new avenues for funding and support for HPE programs ✓ Identify new communication tactics and key messages to share with various education and community stakeholders to garner support for HPE ✓ Discover strategies for coalition building and creating successful partnerships in support of HPE
Explore the latest technologies to improve student engagement and find ways to capitalize on existing school technologies	Meet the needs of 21st century learners. Attendees will have the opportunity to try the latest products, services and technology tools geared toward HPE and physical activity in schools. Get access to  vendors to address how to: ✓ Maximize student engagement using modified equipment for students with disabilities  ✓ Create a personalized, tech-assisted learning environment ✓ Collect meaningful formative data to assess student learning  ✓ Manage student data related to standards-based curriculum objectives

Justification Letter

<Date>:

 

Dear <Name of Principal or Supervisor>,

 

With more and more evidence showcasing the benefits of health and physical education for students in the classroom, I am eager to tell you about an upcoming state professional development opportunity that can improve my teaching  as a (fill in: health/physical educator) and lead to better learning in the classroom.  

 

This coming October 26th and 27th in Phoenix, my professional organization, Arizona Health and Physical Education, will be hosting its annual State Convention & Expo. As an attendee, I will gain hands-on experience and learn from Arizona Health and Physical Education Teachers of the Year and certified Physical Activity Leaders who will share how I can:

 

• Ensure students are given the best opportunity to meet the local, state and national standards for health and physical education
• Help students become better learners
• Implement a whole-child approach to education at our school so students are healthy and ready to learn
• Incorporate practical ideas for me and my classroom colleagues to infuse more physical activity during the day 
• Meet the needs of all students through differentiated instruction
• Maximize opportunities to receive funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act federal education law.
• Meet the needs of 21st century learners to maximize student engagement using the latest technologies

 

Additionally, the scheduled presentations are research and evidence-based and incorporate the most recent findings on best practices. I will also learn how to leverage existing resources to enhance my program at little to  no extra cost!  Also, administrators can attend the entire convention for FREE so I hope you will join me.

 

I would appreciate the time to discuss this professional development opportunity in person and how you can support my attendance. 

 

Sincerely,

<Full Name>

<Title>

 

Tips for Speaking With Your Principal/Supervisor

1. Request an appointment to speak with your school principal/supervisor.
2. Use the toolkit to match the benefits of attending to specific needs within your school/district. Once the convention program is available online, select specific sessions you plan to attend and share how they align with your specific goals and responsibilities.
3. Read through our ESSA 10 Top Tools to help answer any questions related to the new federal law and how it will affect your school/district.
4. Use your most recent evaluation to address areas you could improve upon by attending the national convention. 
5. After the convention, follow up on how you plan to apply what you learned at the convention throughout the school year. 
6. Offer to hold a brief training session on new tactics and best practices for the staff who did not attend.