Educational excellence is something every Poudre School District educator strives for, and that was recognized this month as three district teachers won state awards for health and physical education.
Laura Barnes and Melissa Matz, both from Fort Collins High School, and Mark Bartlett from Irish Elementary, were all named Teacher of the Year in Health and Physical Education by SHAPE, the state organization for health and physical education. Matz and Bartlett won best high school PE teacher and best elementary school PE teacher respectively while Barnes won best high school health teacher. The three teachers were all given their awards during an event in Denver last week.
“Mark, Laura and Melissa are all outstanding teachers delivering high quality Health and Physical Education instruction to our students in PSD,” Jo Dixon, Teaching and Learning Facilitator for K-12 Health and Physical Education. “They are all willing to contribute to curriculum, professional development, and are outstanding leaders in their field. I am so proud they represent PSD and our K-12 team.”
Barnes, Matz and Bartlett all agreed that while they were honored to be given the awards, they felt it was a testament to the people they work alongside at their schools as well as the entire group of health and physical education teachers at PSD.
“I think all of us see it as a team,” Matz said.
Barnes said health and physical education are a vital part of students' education, saying what they teach “shows up in every classroom in every setting.” Bartlett added what they do is about all aspects of student well being, from physical to mental to emotional to social.
“Health and physical education are such important, foundational elements of every student's education, and it makes me overwhelmingly proud to know the hard work of our educators is being recognized statewide,” said Superintendent Brian Kingsley. “Congratulations to these three wonderful teachers, and thank you all for making sure our students are healthy and ready to take on every day!”