Before the pandemic, school based telehealth was surging of its own accord; being able to access so many children in one place, especially the high risk populations, was an easy target for an array of specialties: dentistry, nutrition, behavioral health, and physical education (to name a few). Arkansas has plenty of school-based physical education programs (e.g. the UAMS Public Schools Program where physical and emotional well-being of students is promoted through digital technology), but the state is also home to CDC Cooperative Agreement Program Manager, Audra Walters. She works for SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) America, an organization that represents over 200,000 health and physical education professionals across the U.S. Their website defines the group as an “extensive community includes a diverse membership of health and physical educators, as well as advocates, supporters, and 50+ state affiliate organizations.” She works virtually from Northwest Arkansas and supports health and physical educators across the nation.
So what does remote/virtual health and P.E. look like? It’s all about “creative strategies,” says Walters. “Health and P.E. are suffering right now in the pandemic, but it’s more important than ever” and she’s doing her best to support health and PE teachers so they can provide quality health and physical education instruction to their students, whether that’s in-person, virtual or a mix of the two. She assists these professionals remotely by providing training and resources that support standards-based instruction.
Audra will be assisting the SCTRC with our Telehealth Round Up webinar series early in 2021.
