COVID-19 has changed our world. As we are preparing to start school in the fall, many of us are struggling to understand what our Health and Physical Education classrooms will look like. We are waiting for Governor Burgum and Superintendent Baesler to announce how our re-entry guidelines will look. With COVID-19 case numbers increasing in the majority of our country, many states are backtracking on their reopening plans.
With all of these uncertainties, we are asking many questions. Will we be face to face with our students? Will we be totally online, or have a hybrid model to follow? If we are face to face, what will be the expectations in our classrooms?
While we do not have the answers to those questions yet, we do have some resources available to help us start planning for all of those questions. We will be continually updating this page when information becomes available, so please check back often. Please scroll all the way to the bottom to see the resources that are available.
One thing you can do now to be proactive, is to begin the conversation with your principal. In many states across the country, PE and Recess are being dropped, either from lack of funds for teachers, or the gymnasium being modified to act as a classroom. Currently we have not heard of any of these cases happening in North Dakota, but we need to advocate for these programs to be sure it doesn’t happen here. We have a list of questions for you to begin the conversation with your building principals, as well as superintendents.
- At this time, do you see our year being totally face to face, or are you considering a hybrid model?
- Do you have an expectation on class numbers?
- What intention will there be to be sure our students are receiving the required minutes in PE and Recess if we are modifying our structure?
- According to the CDC and SHAPE America Re-Entry Considerations, we should considerably limit the amount of equipment sharing in PE and Recess. Will there be money allocated to these programs from the ESSER funding? (to see the amount your school/district received, please go here: https://www.nd.gov/dpi/esser-funding )
- The Re-Entry Considerations recommend disinfecting equipment between uses in classes. What modifications will be possible to allow time between classes for this to take place?
- Do you have a vision of what PE class and recess will look like as we work towards maintaining our students’ movement minutes?
- Is there someone on the Re-Entry planning team that represents HPE for our school?
- What assistance can I give to support our school’s Fall Re-Entry?
Resources
SHAPE America
Centers for Disease Control
ND Department of Public Instruction
As we get closer to the beginning of the school year, we will update this page with educational resources for HPE classes to help you efficiently incorporate the Re-Entry Considerations.