Arroyo Grande High School in California is a bustling school with over 2,000 students. While a majority of the learning happens in school, Arroyo Grande also offers virtual classes and opportunities for students with unique schedules and needs. With a diverse range of learners and interests, Arroyo Grande’s physical education department strives to individualize and personalize students’ physical education experiences regardless of the class or setting.
By leveraging curriculum and technology in PE, Arroyo Grande supports students’ learning in weights, online, and general physical education options. Let’s take a closer look at each setting to see how Arroyo Grande is individualizing the physical education experience for students.
Individualizing Workouts In The Weight Room
While many schools offer a dedicated weight class for teams like football, Arroyo Grande is unique in its 0 and 1st-period “Aquatics Class,” which is comprised of swimmers and water polo athletes. And the water polo and swim programs at Arroyo Grande have seen their fair share of success over the years. For example, the Girls’ Water Polo team hasn’t lost a league game in over twenty years and has won an impressive share of titles.
Although much of the hard work happens in the pool, the aquatics athletes have also committed themselves to the weight room during physical education. Steven Allen, PE teacher and Head Girl’s Water Polo coach says that the focus on strength training has proven invaluable,
“We have always pushed for our aquatics athletes to take advantage of the weight room. Through our commitment to weight training, we have seen a big increase in overall strength, which translates to the pool. Better yet, the decrease in injuries has been one of the biggest differences we’ve seen and why we stress the importance of the weight room.”
Because the program has 9th-12th grade student-athletes, Steven has worked to individualize the weight room experience with the help of PLT4M,
“As a busy coach and teacher, I have turned to PLT4M for high-quality workout programs that are completely individualized for students within the app.”
As a result, Steven explains the progress and improvement that the students in the aquatics classes have seen,
“The students are motivated and can see the hard work pay off as they go from just a few pounds on the bar to gaining strength and adding some serious weight. It has made for an awesome experience in our aquatics classes.”
Congratulations to the Arroyo Grande girls water polo team, Division I champions with a 9-6 victory over Clovis. 🤽♀️👏🏆🎉 pic.twitter.com/cVnWR5Ejn1
— CIF Central Section (@CifCentral) November 12, 2023
Online Physical Education Classes
Beyond the weight room, Steven also manages online physical education classes. The online class allows students with busy schedules or other personal reasons to still participate in the Arroyo Grande physical education program.
In the past, this PE option would require students to log workouts in packets and submit them for credit. But now with PLT4M, Steven can open up a wide range of different programs for students to complete throughout the week,
“Students have to complete at least 3 workouts a week within PLT4M. They have options within PLT4M ranging from yoga to fitness and many other choices. PLT4M has been a huge addition to our virtual physical education program.”
Because the students log workouts within the app, Steven can easily manage and track student participation and completion. In addition to at-home activities, Steven explains how the knowledge components within PLT4M have been a huge addition to the online classes,
“We use programs like fitness literacy, nutrition, and other health education programs to help put together all the health and wellness pieces for our online classes.”
Overall, the classes help support students regardless of when or where they complete physical education in an online environment.
General Physical Education Classes
Although most of the curriculum and technology from PLT4M is used in the weights and online classes, Arroyo Grande also uses the platform in his general physical education classes. Steven explains how the instructional videos help to connect with big class sizes and diverse students,
“Adding demonstration videos from PLT4M is great when teaching different movements and exercises. Students connect and learn from the videos, and we can always go back to the video at any point to check in or review different elements of an exercise.”
As a result, even more students are getting to tap into the power of curriculum and technology at Arroyo Grande. Steven says that having PLT4M as a resource in any physical education class has proven to be beneficial,
“PLT4M is always coming out with new videos, programs, and units. And because of that, it continues to be a great addition for our physical education program looking to individualize and personalize learning for students.”
Example of a PLT4M instructional video breaking down the points of performance of the bodyweight good morning.
Key Takeaways On Arroyo Grande’s Individualized Phys Ed Experience
Arroyo Grande High School in California has committed to creating an individualized student-learning experience in physical education. The school of over 2,000 students is seeing increased engagement, motivation, and participation.
While large schools and physical education departments sometimes struggle to tailor and personalize fitness with so many students, Arroyo Grande has found a path toward bolstering individual student success.
As the school continues to evolve its physical education program, Steven says there are more great things to come,
“We have worked to keep building out how to get more students involved in physical education and athletics, and utilizing tools like PLT4M will support our continued mission to grow and develop students and athletes at Arroyo Grande.”
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