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If you’ve ever walked into a gym with 80 plus students and thought, “How am I supposed to teach real skills, keep everyone safe, and still meet state standards?” you’re not alone. I sit down with longtime educator Wendi Daniels to unpack what it actually takes to run a high-quality elementary physical education program and why  “just rolling out the ball” remains a damaging practice that continues to negatively affect kids. 

 
Wendi shares the story behind her book, Revolutionary PE, created when Texas TEKS standards changed and she wanted new and veteran teachers to have lesson plans that truly work. We talk through how she structures a year with clear expectations, warm-ups, cooperative games, and sport-based units that follow seasons while still staying flexible. You’ll hear practical ideas for differentiation by grade level, equipment modifications, and what it looks like to manage massive classes without losing movement time.

We also get specific about inclusive PE. Wendy explains simple adaptations like the “magic ball,” plus other strategies that keep students with disabilities participating instead of watching from the sideline. Then we dig into assessment and grading systems that reward participation and growth, along with documentation and parent communication that holds up when questions come in.

If you’re searching for elementary PE lesson plans, aligned PE curriculum support, health resources, or digital tools like clickable video demos, this episode is for you!

Please subscribe and share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can find the show.🙏

Resources:

• Revolutionary P.E
• Game Videos
• You Tube Videos
• Book on Amazon
• The PE Specialist

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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If you’ve ever heard a student say, “We just played tag,” and felt that sinking feeling, you’re going to want this conversation. 

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Hilary Glencross, PE teacher educator, curriculum designer, and founder of UBD Movement Lab, about how to make physical education look and feel like real learning without losing the joy of movement. 

We dig into Understanding by Design (UbD) and why backward design changes everything in PE: start with the end goals, align to standards, build assessments with purpose, then choose activities that actually teach something. Hilary explains what a strong standards aligned physical education curriculum looks like, why student voice drives engagement, and how clearer vocabulary and learning targets help kids explain the “why” behind what they’re doing. We also unpack assessment in PE, including cognitive and authentic options that give students more than one way to show growth. 

Then we get practical. Hilary shares her SHAPE America standards to Massachusetts frameworks crosswalk and how it can save districts hours of tedious alignment work, freeing teams up to focus on essential questions and better unit plans. We also talk UDL and SEI supports for multilingual learners in PE, including visuals, sentence stems, word wall cards, and smarter ways to structure partner talk so every student can participate in the moment. 

If you care about inclusive PE, curriculum mapping, standards alignment, and making physical education easier to defend and easier to teach, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with the curriculum challenge you’re trying to solve right now. Check out the site below!

Resources:

https://www.ubdmovementlab.com/#/

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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A well-run gym doesn’t happen by luck. I’m joined by Tom Gelardi, a nationally recognized elementary physical education teacher in New York City, to talk about what strong PE instruction really looks like day to day. We get into the practical challenges every PE teacher faces: big classes, limited space, nonstop movement, and the kind of behavior issues that can derail a lesson fast. Tom breaks down why preparation is the first classroom management strategy, how he sets expectations with students so consequences feel fair, and why a single relationship built outside class can change everything inside the gym.

We also dig into inclusive physical education and student leadership. Tom shares how starting simple (even with something as basic as a balloon) creates early success for all learners, then how he scales equipment and tasks based on observation. He explains how he spots emerging leaders and teaches students to use their talent to help classmates grow, not to show off. Along the way, we talk about skill feedback, purposeful grouping, and why character development and social emotional learning (SEL) often matter more than perfect technique.

Finally, Tom tells the story of how his YouTube and TikTok content grew from rainy-day needs to pandemic remote learning resources, and how being on camera actually made him a sharper teacher. If you’re an elementary teacher, PE teacher, or instructional coach looking for concrete behavior management strategies, inclusive lesson ideas, and real-world professional development, this conversation is packed with tools you can use.

What’s one strategy you want to try in your next class?

Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can find the show. 

Resources:

Insta- @Coachgelardi

YouTube- 

Blueskye

OPEN

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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When a school tries to solve student wellness one office at a time, everyone burns out and kids fall through the cracks. I’m joined by Dr. Jeanie Alter, Executive Director of the American School Health Association (ASHA), to talk about what changes when we treat school health as a coordinated team effort across counselors, nurses, teachers, administrators, families, and community partners.

Dr. Alter shares the story that pulled her into this work early: helping make her high school campus smoke free back in the early 90s. From there we trace how prevention, the eight dimensions of wellness, and community coalition work shaped her research and leadership, and why out-of-school time and home environments matter just as much as what happens during the school day. If you care about student mental health, substance use prevention, and whole child support, you’ll hear practical ways to connect the dots.

We also get real about barriers, especially privacy and information sharing in schools. HIPAA, FERPA, special education, IEPs, and 504 plans create genuine complexity, but coordination is still possible with clear roles, better communication, and shared responsibility. We close with concrete ways to get involved through ASHA committees, the Future Leaders Academy, conferences, and local school health advisory councils, plus one small step you can try tomorrow to build a stronger support network for students.

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators and families can find it. What’s one cross-role connection you want to make this week?

Resources:

https://www.ashaweb.org/

Email: [email protected]

https://ma-hperd.org/

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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A majority of teachers experience this, but what do we do about it? Apathy doesn’t start as laziness. It starts when good teachers feel drained, unheard, and stuck in systems that keep adding more while taking away the parts of school that actually feel human. I sit down with retired physical educator and lifelong P.E.  advocate Colleen Wegimont to talk about what educator apathy really looks like in schools and why it’s showing up more often in physical education.

We dig into the root causes: burnout from paperwork and shifting initiatives, pressure from standardized testing, lack of funding, and school cultures where special area teachers don’t get the same respect as “core” subjects. Colleen shares what she sees in struggling PE programs and what thriving districts do differently, including listening to teachers, backing them publicly, and supporting meaningful professional development. We also talk about the student side of apathy, including anxiety, bullying fears, phones and social media, and how cutting back on play and specials can quietly remove the joy from school.

In this episode we get practical. You’ll hear strategies PE teachers can use right now: resetting expectations for safety, advocating by inviting parents and administrators to “see it to believe it,” collaborating with classroom and music teachers, and leaning on mentorship and professional organizations to rebuild purpose and community. If you’re a teacher, department lead, principal, or district leader looking for real ways to prevent teacher disengagement and protect quality health and physical education, this conversation offers an honest map forward.

Share this with a colleague who needs a boost, and leave a review so more educators can find the show. What’s one change your school could make this month to reduce burnout and rebuild purpose?

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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Most people think of the school nurse as the place you go for a stomachache. Then you hear what Tami Hale BSN, RN, NCSN actually does before the first bell and all day after that, and the whole picture changes. Tammy is a Worcester Public Schools nurse with decades of experience, and she walks us through the reality of student health in a busy K-12 building where “normal” rarely exists.

We talk about the clinical side of school nursing that families may never see: daily medication schedules, diabetes support that includes blood sugar checks, carb counts, and insulin, plus the constant triage of injuries, illness symptoms, and head concerns. Tami also explains the hidden backbone of the job, documentation in electronic student health records. Those notes are not busywork; they are how schools prove care, track trends, meet state requirements, and keep kids in class instead of sending them home by default. We also get into immunization records and why accurate documentation matters even more for students who move frequently or come from different countries.

Some of the most meaningful moments happen in quieter ways. Tami describes scoliosis screening as a chance to teach body awareness and build trust, and she shares how students bring anxiety, stress, and trauma into the health office. Her approach blends privacy, humor, and a steady presence, while leaning on teamwork with teachers, counselors, and families who know the child in different contexts. The stories land hardest when you hear the outcomes: a student empowered to manage a procedure on their own, and a child seeing clearly for the first time after getting glasses through community support.

If you care about student wellness, school health services, and what it takes to help kids learn, listen all the way through. Subscribe, share this with an educator or parent, and leave a review so more people understand why school nurses matter.

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

Send us Fan Mail

What if the fastest path to better teaching, stronger leadership, and happier learners starts in the brain? We sit down with Dr. Lisa Riegel—educator, researcher, and author of NeuroWell and Aspirations to Operations—to unpack how biology and context shape behavior, attention, and achievement, and how simple shifts can unlock agency and joy in classrooms and teams.

We dive into NeuroWell culture—safe, supportive, and proactive—and why emotional and intellectual safety are as critical as locked doors. Dr. Riegel shares concrete routines that work tomorrow: 10‑minute learning sprints with choice-based brain breaks, “fizzy or flat” check-ins to normalize regulation, and inquiry learning that lets answers emerge from challenge. You’ll hear a standout story of a student who demonstrated mastery through modern dance, proving how emotion and experience cement memory far better than lectures alone.

Behavior gets a powerful reframe, too. Think of the thalamus as the data manager and the limbic system as security; when alarm takes over, the cortex steps out. Consequences still matter, but coaching self-awareness and regulation changes outcomes by design, not by chance. We also connect movement and the vagus nerve to sharper focus—why a quick walk before testing or PE before math can lift performance—and explain the science so students can use these tools in life, not just class.

For leaders, Dr. Riegel lays out the Eight Cs: culture, clarity, coherence, cadence, collaboration, celebration, coaching, communication. It’s a practical roadmap that turns "buzzwords" into behaviors, aligns initiatives, and sustains change with authentic, specific recognition. If you want less noise and more learning, this conversation maps aspiration to action with brain-based strategies you can utilize today.

If this episode resonated, grab NeuroWell and Aspirations to Operations, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a comment to tell us which brain-savvy move you’ll try first.

Resources/contact:

Dr. Lisa A. Riegel, Ph.D. Author, Speaker, CEO Educational Partnerships Institute, LLC
www.lisariegel.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisariegel/
www.epinstitute.net
https://calendly.com/lisariegel/60min
Amazon author page

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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What if physical education shifted its focus from selecting standouts to elevating every learner? In this conversation, we sit down with Jarrod Robinson—founder of ConnectedPE and the original The PE Geek—to explore how a learning-first philosophy can reimagine PE as a space where all students thrive, not just the most athletically gifted.

Jarrod reflects on his journey from thoughtful experimentation in his own classroom to cultivating a global movement, illustrating how intentional design, structured reflection, and purposeful technology can transform games from mere activity into rich, enduring learning experiences.

We unpack a mindset shift that elevates PE: treat it as a classroom with objectives, evidence, and progression. Jarrod shares practical strategies you can use tomorrow—like a 60‑second end‑of‑lesson reflection—to help students name what they learned, not just what they played. We dig into the SAMR framework with vivid examples, from slow‑motion video for technique feedback to augmented reality models that make complex concepts tangible, all without sacrificing movement time.

The conversation also spotlights the human edge of PE. Strong relationships, belonging, and clear purpose create a space where students try, fail, and try again. Jarrod explains why digital fluency and backward design matter now more than ever, and how Connected PE connects educators with tools, experts, and community across 35 countries. By aligning activities to standards and gathering visible evidence of growth, teachers can change how colleagues and families perceive the subject.

Walk away with a concrete action steps: upgrade one task with SAMR, capture one short video for feedback, and add one reflective prompt to every lesson. Question everything, test ideas in your context, and keep what works. If this episode sparks a shift, share it with a colleague and subscribe so you never miss a new conversation—and check out Connected PE to explore resources that make movement meaningful.

Resources:

ConnectedPE

Linkedin

 [email protected]

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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What if PE class felt like a place where every student belongs—and every choice builds confidence? We sit down with veteran elementary PE teacher Will Westphal to unpack a practical, research-driven approach that turns movement into meaning. Will’s core promise is simple and bold: movement can make your life better. From there, he shows how autonomy, challenge, and connection create the conditions for real learning and lasting joy.

Will brings human motor learning out of the lab and into the gym with the OPTIMAL theory: enhance expectancies so students believe they have a chance, give authentic choices that act as differentiation, and promote an external focus so kids feel their impact on the environment. Instead of body-part cues, he uses vivid prompts like “make thunder on the wall,” helping learners self-organize and find success. He also reshapes units around structures of play—turn-based, synchronized, side-by-side, oppositional—so students can choose contexts that match their temperament while practicing the same strategic ideas found in invasion and net/wall games.

Data fuels the culture. With quick daily reflections on fun, success, challenge, and classmates, Will surfaces patterns that typical checklists miss. AI-assisted analysis revealed high achievers, socially sensitive students, and a “silent middle,” leading to new routines: student “anchors” who lift the room, prompts that vary from mild to spicy to deepen thinking, and a practice of naming the peer who made a difference. 

Families hear about the play structures their children prefer and why it matters, turning PE into a powerful space for identity and agency. Along the way we talk Standard Four, meaningful PE, precise field days, and advocacy that earns trust without chasing edutainment. If you want a PE program where students move to move—not feel made to move—this conversation is a roadmap. 

Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more educators find the show.

•  Resources:
• HPE Collective
• Meaningful PE (Amazon)
• Social Media (X)
• Dig Deeper:
• Justen O’Connor Research Article on game classification
• OPTIMAL Theory
• Meaningful P.E Lit Review

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

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What if schools stopped rewarding quiet compliance and started designing for how kids actually learn? We sat down with Shannon Milliken—founder of Play Education and former P.E teacher turned systems leader—to unpack how movement, health, and belonging can shift classrooms from survival mode to true learning. Shannon’s story traces the arc from overachieving student to educator to advocate, and it reveals the cost of “one size fits all” schooling on kids who think, move, and thrive differently.

We dig into the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework and why it’s a practical bridge between education and public health. Instead of adding another program, Shannon shows how WISC gives schools a vetted roadmap: build a School Health Advisory Council, align partners, read the data, and create an infrastructure that outlives staff turnover. Her team’s pilot school demonstrates a best-practice model—then reverse-engineers it for districts with fewer resources, ensuring sustainability and equity rather than quick fixes.

Shannon also names what COVID made clear: inequities hit rural districts, students with chronic conditions, youth in foster care, and unsheltered families hardest. Centering underrepresented voices means precision—who is excluded here, and how do we co-design supports that work in real life? From modeling vulnerability and accountability to replacing “safe space” with “brave space,” we explore leadership behaviors that open honest conversation and drive change. Finally, we tackle policy: why stable funding for physical and health education is essential if we’re serious about academic achievement, mental well-being, and long-term outcomes.

If you’re ready to rethink learning through movement, and to build brave spaces where every child is seen—this conversation will give you the tools and courage to start. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more educators find us. What’s one change you’ll make this week?

**In this episode, we reference [CDC, ASCD and the Colorado Legislature] as part of our discussion. This mention is for informational purposes only and does not imply endorsement, sponsorship, partnership and does not represent official positions of the Colorado General Assembly.” The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the hosts and guests.

Resources:

Website    Instagram

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.