PFA All-Star Teacher Showcase
Betty Kennan & Dennis Morales - 2018 PFA All-Star Teachers of the Year
Betty and Dennis are PE magic! This team goes above and beyond for their students.
Dennis spent many weekends on the campus, with a mower, carving out a track for the students and created a special program to help change the attitude of unruly students. 
Betty created a “Stay Fit Plan” for her students to follow during Christmas Break and Summer Break. They have created an outstanding PE program and are true leaders in their school and community.
Their principal Mrs. Clarissa Ramirez writes to us “These two extraordinary people are a force to reckon with. Coach Betty has a heart of gold. She knows how to reach students who are reluctant to comply with rules and procedures. Coach Dennis is what I like to call the big man on campus. He is disciplinarian and great male role model (father figure) for our students.”
It is with great pride we showcase all they have going on in their school and how they impact and change the lives of the students, their families and community.
Coach Dennis Morales' PFA Teaching Philosophy:
My passion for my students goes beyond the physical aspect. I try to inspire my kids to give me their best in everything they do, to challenge themselves and not each other, to take responsibility for their well-being, and be proud of what they have accomplished…big or small.
Coach Betty Kennan’s PFA Teaching Philosophy:
My philosophy as a teacher of Physical Education is to provide an atmosphere of playtime, fun and fitness in a place where it is safe to communicate, cooperate, and belong. Regardless of their physical skill or abilities, I want my students to know that I care about their whole person and that It is my JOY to teach them how to, and encourage them to make healthy choices.
Our Physical Education Program:
Since receiving the PFA grant our teaching methods have improved. With a higher focus on TCC (Teamwork, Communication, Cooperation) and Chart Challenges we try to plan and implement lessons that will intentionally provide this environment. We have truly enjoy watching our students change from competing against one another to motivating each other to beat their personal best at whatever challenge is given.
Our PE Program in last nine years at Ramirez Elementary has been successful primarily because of our Class Entrance Routine that utilizes music to cue our students. It has created a vigorous to moderate fitness expectation for our students that works. In the hallway, before the students enter the gym, this is on the wall:
WARNING: Exercise has been known to cause good health and happiness. You are about to enter the Fitness Zone.
From the moment our students walk into the gym they know they are entering a place of high expectation and participation. They are challenged in cardiovascular endurance, skill, TCC, and character. But most importantly…Our students are welcomed with a smile and know we are always happy to see them. They are the reason we come to work every day!
Because many of these initiatives have worked for us at Ramirez Elementary: including Project Fit America curriculum, games, and concepts, we were both asked to present our “Best Practices” to the Elementary Coaches of our District. Now, many other campuses have implemented similar entrance routines.
Our Student’s favorite “Can’t Miss” PFA lessons and activities are: $10 Dollars on a Bone, Tallest Tower Challenges, Beat the Ball Covey Style, Chart Challenges: Chinese Jump Rope, Hubba Hubba Hoop, Tennis Ball, Pole Climb, Jump Rope, Step-Up Cardio, Parallel Bars, and more … some of these with some modifications and adaptations. Our #1 favorite is Tallest Tower Fitness Challenge. We did adapt this lesson into many smaller “Tallest Towers” (Tallest Towers Fitness Challenge PDF)
SOME OF OUR BULLETIN BOARDS
Class Entrance Routine
Our “we won’t let go” portion of our PE program is our Class Entrance Routine we created. This 15-18 min. everyday routine includes Cardio, Agility, Cooperation, Locomotor Skills, Listening Skills, Flexibility and Muscle Endurance. It incorporates several songs and music clips that prompt our students for next fitness task. This routine is also key to our classroom management. Our students know what’s expected and look forward to it.
Obstacles we have overcome
One of our main obstacles had been finding ways of implementing TCC (Teamwork, Communication and Cooperation) and “Yellow Brick” acknowledgments. Pam Stroupe (PFA Trainer) told us that we as Coaches are the best example of what TCC and Yellow Brick recipients look like. We motivate, encourage, correct, demonstrate, and communicate! If we would just “let go of the reigns,” watch, listen, and allow the students to motivate and encourage each other, we would have no trouble finding our Yellow Brick students. With her help in a demonstration of several games and activities we have been able to implement them and select several Yellow Brick Students. “Letting go of the reigns” has not been easy for either of us, but seeing it work and watching students rise to the challenge of TCC and desire to be a Yellow Brick Student has been awesome!
Yellow Brick Student Story
One of our Yellow Brick recipients, whose name we’ll say is “Nell” is an inspiration to so many of her classmates as well as her Coaches. She has had many obstacles that include a broken home, abuse, health issues, and a physical handicap. When we first met her, she would not speak to anyone outside of her home. During this time she had a smile that would brighten up any room. She came into the gym ready to try any activity or game we had scheduled.
Our initial reaction was to slow her down so she wouldn’t get hurt. It wasn’t long before we knew we didn’t need to be concerned with that. She tried to do the pole climb in our Project Fit America Outdoor Fitness Center. She received bronze in the push-up challenge. She built tallest towers with her fitness team. She even challenged me to a race from white line to white line!
One of my favorite things was her walking into the gym and immediately looking for me just to step on my foot with her arm crutches and watch me pretend to be in extreme pain. Oh how she laughed out loud! She would chase me as fast as she could to do it again and again! Her classmates seemed to enjoy watching her have so much fun and move so fast. THEY even volunteered to get stepped on. After nine long months of no words . . . it happened! She began to talk.
She had already won our hearts, but there are no words to describe the joy we felt in knowing that she trusted us enough to now use her voice. We had been teaching our students about what a yellow brick and half yellow brick student was. Shortly after she began to talk, she was awarded a Yellow Brick. Her classmates cheered and applauded in agreement. She was now, not only leading by example in effort, she was communicating and inspiring others to work harder! I jokingly say that after nine years of working together, “Nell” is the only one who has been able to inspire Coach Morales to do push-ups in class. (He has a bad back from a vehicle accident) She brought us both to tears.
Outside of our PE program /Growth of our program and outreach
We have several initiatives that have been implemented over the years that have become part of our school culture. For example:
Our Mighty Lynx Crew is a team of students in 5th grade that changes ever six weeks. This club promotes TCC (Teamwork, Communication, Cooperation) and teaches our students to give back and serve as they help “set-up” for events such as school wide assemblies, Thanksgiving Luncheons, or Fun Friday. Principal Clarissa Ramirez shares with this “This Club started because Coach Morales was trying to help change the attitudes of a group of unruly students. He felt giving them responsibilities and leadership roles their attitude towards school and themselves would change. As the year progresses we saw the difference it made in the students’ mindset and attitude. The Mighty Lynx Crew has remained in place every since.”
- Fitness Club that meets once a week after school and parents are welcomed at a “Bring your Parent to Fitness Club” event.
- PTO meeting that highlights our PE program and use of PFA equipment
- Wellness Fair open to the whole district for PE program demonstrations.
- The City of Edinburg 2 Mile Fun Run. For the past seven years, we have received top awards for the MOST student/family participation. We also help advertise and promote their after-school and summer programs through word of mouth and flyers.
- City of Edinburg Parks and Recreation Seasonal Sports
- Beginning Fall 2019 for Parental/Community Involvement: November Turkey Trot, December Reindeer Run, Spring Rabbit Race
- Along with after-school activities, we designed a 2 Week Exercise Plan. This is a list of exercises on a chart that a student, along with family members, can check off daily. This encourages students to “Stay Fit” during Christmas Break, or utilize during Summer Break. Students then bring filled out and signed forms to be display in Gym. We are working to develop this more and encourage students to involve their siblings and/or parents
THANK YOU!!
#1 is our Wonderful Principal Mrs. Clarissa Ramirez. She loves our students and knows the importance of their overall wellness. She encourages campus wide participation. We could not get all that we do done without the support of our administration, teachers, paraprofessionals, office staff, cafeteria, library, custodians and parents who are motivated and participate in Wellness and PE events.
Many others play a role in making our program a success also such as Texas Agriculture Rep. Miss Rachel, who comes to campus to give a 5 day Nutrition Lesson to our K-5 P.E. students every two years; Brandy Nelson with the American Heart Association Kid’s Heart Challenge; Peter Cribb, who brought the CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health) program training to our District this year; Lolli with Fuel Up to Play 60; USTA Net Generation’s Katy Rogers and Ainsley Williams bringing Tennis to our Schools and Community; the City of Edinburg who invites our students to participate in after school sports every season and 10K/2 Mile Fun Run every year; Eric Larson who came from Colorado in association with AHG and held a summer in-service/training for large class games/activities; Leo Reyes our PE Coordinator who is phenomenal in advocating for PE teachers and our programs; and last but not least, Pam Stroupe who believes in our program and nominated us for this great honor. We are so grateful for all we have learned from her and look forward to a long relationship with her and the PFA Team as we continue to grow as PE teachers with the hope of always making a positive lifelong difference in the lives of all of our students. What an honor. We have the best JOB in the world.
A very SPECIAL THANKS to the ones who made it possible to have Project Fit America at Ramirez Elementary . . . Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation. You set the standards high and we enjoy rising to the challenge. Your work and donations are not in vain here at Ramirez Elementary.