Promote, promote, promote!

Tom Winiecki

Here are some ideas to promote your already good (but no one seems to notice except the kids) physical education program:

• Put an article in your building's newsletter every month.
  • Highlight something that you are teaching, or that your students' are doing every month.
• Get to know the editor at your local newspaper.
  • Make sure that you also send articles and pictures to your town/village's newspaper.
  • The kids will love seeing and reading about themselves.
  • You get a chance to promote your program to a wider audience of taxpayers.
• Learn and use a digital camera.
  • The more that your kids can see themselves in action the more they will stay active in your classes.
  • Post them on the nearest bulletin board, preferably right by the main door to your building!
• Be visible.
  • Be where the kids can see you.
  • Don't hide in your office between classes. If they can't see you, they forget about you.
• Be the topic of conversation at dinner somewhere, every night!
  • This should be your motto.
  • Present things to your classes in such a way that the kids will talk about it at home.
• Make phone calls home.
  • Don't make them the "bad" kind of calls.
  • Rather, make it a goal to make 1-2 phone calls a month to a parent of your students to tell them how well they are doing.
    • Stress their hard work, or the new skill that they are improving on.
  • You will be amazed at the reactions you will get from the parents.
• Get parents in to help out.
  • Get them in to help you count and record for your fitness tests.
  • Have them help out as spotters for your gymnastics classes.
  • You've really made it when you hear them say "We never did this when I was in school!"

Ideas like these will help to get your year off on the right foot; not only with you, but with the kids and their parents as well.