SHAPE America EDI Committee

SHAPE America seeks to serve and represent all teachers in the health and physical education field, as well as the diverse population of students they teach. The EDI Committee will explore SHAPE America’s process of recruiting members and volunteer leaders — and help ensure that SHAPE America develops and provides programs, resources and professional development opportunities using an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) lens.

The committee will research, discuss and apply best practices in EDI and draw from advice of experts in the field (including those outside of the actual committee) to recommend changes to SHAPE America’s processes and practices.

What does the EDI Committee do?

  • Review nominations and recruitment process for SHAPE America Board and volunteer leadership positions and make specific recommendations to the Board of Directors on how to best incorporate EDI.
  • Review SHAPE America awards process and make specific recommendations to the Board of Directors on how to best incorporate EDI.
  • Create an EDI rubric for councils, task forces, and staff to use when producing new programs, tools, or resources to ensure an EDI lens is applied prior to publishing.
  • Identify EDI member recruitment strategies and member benefits that will appeal to a diverse population of educators, as well as educators serving a diverse population of students.
  • Commit to continuously pausing to reflect and consider the impact of recommendations previously made by the committee and whether revisiting them makes sense.
  • Commit to working to create a community where all members (paid and unpaid) feel included and welcomed.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Roundtable

In April 2021, 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?
  • How can we foster a sense of belonging and inclusion 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.

You can read more about the roundtable and learn how you can support EDI in the cover article from the Fall 2021 issue of Momentum magazine, “EDI in Health and Physical Education: Breaking Down the ‘What’ and ‘How’ … So You Can Find Your ‘Why.’”

Amanda Amtmanis
Middletown Public Schools (CT)

Vernise Ferrer
Alexandria City Public Schools (VA)

Joel Frye
KIPP DC: Discover Academy (DC)

Kanae Haneishi
Valley City State University (ND)

Brandy Lynch
University of Central Missouri (MO)

Lennie Parham
New Jersey Department of Education (NJ)

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)

Why I Care About EDI

Amanda Amtmanis photo

Amanda Amtmanis

Middletown Public Schools (CT)

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.

While I can’t solve systemic racism, a small action I took in this case was to create a Black history fitness trail and invite my superintendent to visit it. This work is always ongoing but little things can make a difference, and I’m grateful to have sensitive, intelligent students who help me grow too.

Joel Frye photo

Joel Frye

KIPP DC: Discover Academy (DC)

In the community where I teach and serve, sport and physical activity opportunities are not as readily accessible as you might find in a more affluent neighborhood. The lessons I learned as a child through my participation in sports and physical education have helped guide me my entire life. As 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 photo

Kanae Haneishi

Valley City State University (ND)

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.

That is why I am passionate about EDI in sport and physical education: It helped me to become who I am and get to where I am today.

Brandy Lynch photo

Brandy Lynch

University of Central Missouri (MO)

I am committed to EDI work because I see a need in our field, at both the K-12 level where students have historically been underserved, and at the university level where certain racial/ethnic groups continue to be underrepresented in our PETE programs. From a personal standpoint, I strive to be a change-agent in education for my daughter and other kids like her, who should never experience the feeling of being treated differently because they happen to have two (awesome) moms (or dads)! Education, especially physical education, should be a safe and inclusive space for all students.

Lennie Parham photo

Lennie Parham

New Jersey Department of Education (NJ)

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.

Victor Ramsey photo

Victor Ramsey

City University of New York, York College (NY)

My personal and professional life is grounded on the belief that equity, diversity, and inclusiveness are part of the fabric of our society that trickles into the school communities I serve. I am proud to be able to have a voice and presence for this work, and that attitude is important and vital to the growth and development of all the students I am responsible for educating.

The work of EDI should be embedded in everything we do, and this approach will hopefully help make this world a better place … one day at a time.

Tara Blackshear, Chair (MD)

Brandy Lynch (MO)

Tilsa Rodriguez-Gonzalez (NY)

Mijoo Kim (MD)

Tom Moran (VA)

Jonathan Jones (MD)

Kennedra Tucker (MD)

Brian Culp (GA)

Teasha Jackson (ND)

 

SHAPE America Board Liaisons

Terri Drain, President (CA)

Jo Bailey, Director (WI)

Luciana Zuest, Director (MD)