EDI in Health and Physical Education Breaking down the ‘what’ and ‘how’ ... so you can find your ‘why’ By Audra Walters @audra_walt
E
quity, diversity, and inclusion … also referred to as EDI. You’ve probably heard this phrase used more frequently in the last few years, but are you still unsure about what it really means and how it is relevant to health and physical education? SHAPE America’s vision is a nation where all children are prepared to lead healthy, physically active lives. But it’s not possible to carry out this vision — no matter how hard we try — unless we center our work around the painful reality that not all children have access to the same opportunities to succeed. It’s no secret that there are some challenges regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion in education, and the health and physical education field is no exception. There continues to be a marked difference in the racial diversity of public school students compared to the diversity of the teachers who serve them. Our role as a national organization is to lead and support change. We know how important representation is, which is why we must work toward the
goal of having all students feel a sense of belonging in health and physical education classes through culturally sustaining instruction. In addition, we want all health and physical educators to feel a sense of belonging and empowerment within their school
environment and their professional membership organization. But before we can work together to achieve this vision, it’s important to define what equity, diversity, and inclusion mean for this work. (continued on next page) Fall 2021 • Momentum
17
E D I I N H E A LT H A N D P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N (continued) (continued from previous page) EDI: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? SHAPE America staff and volunteer leadership recently completed equity, diversity, and inclusion training through CommonHealth ACTION, which included adopting a common language for our work using the definitions below: Equity: Providing all people with fair opportunities to attain their full potential. Diversity: The collective mixture of differences and similarities that includes characteristics, values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, and behaviors. It encompasses our personal and professional histories that frame how we see the world, collaborate with colleagues, and stakeholders, and serve communities. Inclusion: The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity, including intentional policies and practices that promote
Kid-friendly, educational podcasts that students listen to while walking!
`
For all types of educational settings (classrooms, afterschool, summer camps, and more)
`
Standards-aligned podcasts also feature health messages and highlight character values to support social and emotional learning
`
Easily maintain social distancing or use remotely A perfect fit for ESSER funding!
the full participation and sense of belonging of every person. Equity, diversity and inclusion are interrelated and all three are vital to create a sense of belonging both for students in the classroom and for educators in the field. It is that sense of belonging that allows students, and educators, to thrive and reach their full potential. A PATH FORWARD Three years ago, the SHAPE America Board of Directors made an intentional commitment to foster greater equity, diversity, and inclusion within our programs, resources, membership and leadership. One of the first steps was creating an EDI Task Force, which has now officially become a committee that is a permanent part of SHAPE America’s structure. The EDI Committee has reviewed internal processes and policies that might unintentionally exclude some health and physical educators from joining SHAPE America, taking on leadership roles, or receiving awards from the organization. They have also provided invaluable guidance as we work to diversify the health and physical education (HPE) community and lift up practitioners from historically marginalized groups. This fall, the committee will launch a new podcast that will focus specifically on equity, diversity, and inclusion in HPE. IDENTIFYING INEQUITIES In April, SHAPE America hosted a virtual roundtable with K-12 health and physical educators, PETE/HETE instructors, and leaders from state affiliates, school districts, and state departments of education. We were fortunate to have an advisory team of leaders from the field who planned and facilitated this roundtable conversation to address questions such as: • How can we best serve diverse student populations in schools across the country?
18
Momentum • Fall 2021
• How can we foster a sense of belonging for all students? • How can we support the development of health and physical literacy, so students are able to live their healthiest lives? The goal of the roundtable was to inform a shared vision for EDI in health education (HE) and physical education (PE) and identify short- and long-term priorities to advance EDI. During the discussion, participants identified five major areas of inequities and structures which hold them in place. Those areas are listed below, along with some examples that were shared by participants: 1. Lack of diversity and representation in the HE/PE field: • No representation in the teaching staff (no people of color, nonwhite, etc.); • Recruitment and retention of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) professors; • Lack of diversity of organizations at the leadership level (e.g., Executive Boards); 2. Failure to invest in and prioritize HE/PE by administrators, districts, and/or states: • Lack of prioritized resources and understanding of the value of HE/PE and how it benefits the whole child and supports their readiness to engage in learning; • Courses not aligned to the standards result in inequitable experiences; • Emphasis on athletics rather than HE/PE. 3. Inequitable practices and/or curricula: • Evaluated on skills/abilities that are not represented by all students; should be teaching kids to be movers in the bodies they have; (continued on page 20)
‘Why I Care About EDI’ The EDI roundtable advisory team has been instrumental in determining the vision of what equitable and inclusive health and physical education can look like and how SHAPE America can be the leading voice in moving toward that vision. Below, several members of the advisory team share their “why.” Amanda Amtmanis
Lennie Parham
Middletown Public Schools (CT)
New Jersey Department of Education (NJ)
When one of my students was finding the adjustment to kindergarten difficult, one of his observations was that “being white is better.” At 5, he had already been bombarded with messages that made him acutely aware of systemic racism. His specific grievance of the moment: the fact that Band Aids are designed for white people. Hearing a kindergartner make this observation is heartbreaking, especially when we know there are students who don’t have the words to describe what they are feeling. What is even worse is not being approachable as an educator and/or doing nothing to address these very valid concerns. This EDI work is always ongoing but little things can make a difference.
Growing up, my family moved a lot to air force bases across the country — and I used sports as a social bridge to make friends, escape the academic struggles of new classrooms, and fulfill a dream of eventually coaching college athletics. During all my sporting experiences through college, never once did I have a coach of color or a male teacher of color to guide me. I never saw, heard, or received the perspective of an educator of color to motivate and inspire me. None of my coaches or professors could say, “I know what you’re going through. I’ve walked in your shoes and have shared the same struggle.” This would have made an enormous impact on me mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I am committed to the core principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion because I know firsthand what it feels like — experientially — not to have it.
When his school went virtual during the pandemic, HPE teacher Joel Frye met with students individually at the local track to stay engaged and maintain relationships.
a result, I take full responsibility in offering my students a chance to learn these same lessons. As an EDI practitioner in health and physical education, I accept the importance of my position as a Black male, and the impact my representation has not only on my students, but also on my peers and the surrounding community.
Kanae Haneishi Valley City State University (ND)
Pre-pandemic, physical educator Amanda Amtmanis created a Black History Fitness Trail and invited her superintendent, Michael Conner, to visit. Students served as tour guides.
Joel Frye KIPP DC: Discover Academy (DC)
In the community where I teach and serve, sport and physical activity opportunities are not readily accessible. The lessons I learned as a child through my participation in sports and physical education have helped guide me my entire life. As
I am an Asian female from Tokyo who speaks English as a second language. When I face obstacles as a minority person in many ways, “sport” (women’s soccer in my case) has been a tool and force for me to meet people and pursue my career that I love and am proud of. I know and have witnessed that sport (including physical education) has a power to bring people together and foster EDI.
Additional advisory team members include: Vernise Ferrer Alexandria City Public Schools (VA) Brandy Lynch University of Central Missouri (MO) Victor Ramsey City University of New York, York College (NY) Tanya Robinson-Freeman Union Intermediate School (NC) Tilsa Rodriguez-Gonzalez City School District of New Rochelle (NY) Sue Scheppele Wharton PK-8 Dual Language Academy (TX) Mara Simon Springfield College (MA) Jenny Withycombe Portland Public Schools (OR) Fall 2021 • Momentum
19
E D I I N H E A LT H A N D P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N (continued) (continued from page 18) • Black and brown students held to a different standard in behavior (e.g., higher suspension rates, grading policies used as punishment, racialized interactions, etc.); • Not having student voice. 4. Limited resources and capacity to advance and prioritize EDI: • School funding formula — designed intentionally to create “have and have nots”; • Lack of knowledge and understanding of how to advance EDI; • EDI needs to be more than a committee that is in the organization — needs to be the line that goes through everything they do; 5. Non-inclusive, white dominant culture: • Environments that do not allow BIPOC to thrive once recruited; • There is a need to deconstruct current thinking about what qualifies as a good teacher; valuing the person when recruiting; • Large indigenous populations in the state but rarely at the table for HE/PE conversations; need to engage more diverse audiences and stakeholders. AREAS OF SYNERGY After developing short- and long-term priorities to advance equity in their specific areas of the health and physical education field, roundtable participants identified areas of synergy and opportunities for collaboration, which included: • Improve access to resources and capacity-building to advance EDI
20
Momentum • Fall 2021
Personal Action Plan: How YOU Can Support EDI At the conclusion of the roundtable, participants were asked to share a personal commitment they could make to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion within HPE. Do any of these ideas resonate with you? Create spaces for continued EDI efforts to keep the ball rolling. Continue the conversations with all stakeholders (e.g., LEA admins, teachers, communities, organizations)
Empower others to have a voice and a seat at the table to drive change.
Engage in ongoing self-reflection because “when you know better, you do better.”
Center marginalized students in my planning. Continue to learn and take workshops. Integrate aspects of EDI in all my courses. Explore funding sources to keep EDI in HPE work moving forward Do you have ideas of your own? How can you work to incorporate an EDI lens in your instruction this year? What’s one hope you have for a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive HPE field? Share with us on Twitter using #SHAPEedi.
• Engage in a sustained conversation and action to shift paradigms and encourage culture change • Establish shared knowledge and collective action • Advocate for and reframe HPE with an EDI lens Although there is much more work to be done and there will be continued conversations diving deeper into the results of the roundtable to create actionable next steps, our hope is that this will help move the entire community forward by identifying concrete steps to make lasting change in the field and foster a sense of belonging for all.
WE ALL HAVE A ROLE The work of equity, diversity, and inclusion is a lifelong journey which requires us to bring our whole selves and whole experiences into the conversation. Good people can participate in racist systems unintentionally, and everyday practices and policies are influenced by implicit biases that we all carry with us. Regardless of where we find ourselves on the continuum of learning about equity, diversity, and inclusion, we should be mindful of using an EDI lens in all we do. Audra Walters is a program manager at SHAPE America. She can be reached at awalters@shapeamerica.org.