SHAPE America Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Roundtable

On Tuesday, April 13th, SHAPE America will be hosting a roundtable conversation on equity, diversity and inclusion in the field of health and physical education to identify and prioritize steps to make the field more diverse, inclusive, and equitable. We would really value your voice and perspective as part of this conversation. I’ve attached the invitation, along with the link if you are interested/able to participate, as well as more information on the background of the development of the roundtable below.

As an organization, SHAPE America envisions a nation where all children are prepared to lead healthy, physically active lives. We believe that to best serve children, we must work to improve the educational experiences and outcomes for students that have historically been underserved and underrepresented in the field of health and physical education.

To advance this vision of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), SHAPE America will host a virtual roundtable discussion on Tuesday, April 13th from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The EDI Roundtable will seek to address the lack of diversity in the field of health and physical education both through representation in SHAPE America, as well as the pipeline of future professionals entering health and physical education teacher preparation programs. We are inviting you and others within your network with experience in fostering equity and diversity across the field of health and physical education to participate in the EDI Roundtable for this meaningful and important conversation! Specifically, we are hoping to have participants with a variety of perspectives and experiences, that are committed to EDI and represent the roles of K-12 health and physical education teachers, researchers, and those with explicit interest in racial diversity and representation within health and physical education.

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. This EDI committee will explore SHAPE America’s process of recruiting members and volunteer leaders, providing professional development opportunities, and developing programs and materials through 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.

Transgender Inclusion

Unified Physical Education