Katherine Pelle's Teaching Philosophy
 My name is Katharine Pelle, and I am the Physical
Education (PE) Teacher at Foresthill Divide Middle School
(FDMS) and Foresthill Elementary School (FES). I attended
college at University of California Davis; my undergraduate
degree is in Exercise Physiology. I chose to continue
my studies and earn my Masters Degree in Education because
of my strong belief that exercise can enhance one’s
life, not only physically, but mentally as well. I
also know firsthand that participation in sports, with
its time commitment and grade point standards, can help
keep a student from getting into trouble. This, in
turn, can help ensure greater personal success in all entities
of life.
 As a PE teacher, I have found
that my relationship with my students is unique. I
have the opportunity to reach students on a personal level, which in turn helps
to promote success in my classes. As educators, we have the ability to
instill confidence and promote achievement in our students. With this power
comes great responsibility, and it is our job to help our students realize their
full potential. This achievement can filter into
lifelong practice, and if I can get my students to apply
the philosophy that exercise improves well being, then
I am doing my job.
 I am one of the
lucky PE teachers in California whose school received a
specific grant designed to help subsidize the salary for
physical education teachers, and an administration in Foresthill
who believes that physical education is important enough
to continue in their schools given the severe budget cuts
our state of California is facing.
This is my third year
working in the public sector, and I feel blessed that both
schools that I have been a part of have received a generous
grant and support from Project Fit America (PFA). This
grant is extremely special because not only did it come
with state of the art equipment that promotes fitness,
PFA sent out trainers to help teachers build a program
that encompasses the equipment. I
teach grades K-8th, and not a day goes by that I don’t
use the outdoor equipment, stacking cups, or games and
philosophies taught to me by the PFA trainers. My
lesson plans are riddled with PFA values, and I have become
a better and more efficient teacher because of the training
I have received from Project Fit America.
 This year a major
goal of mine was to improve school wide upper body strength. I
am achieving this goal by using the PFA equipment, personal
best cards, and the “Chart
and Challenge” approach. It still amazes me
how even 8th graders will work harder to have the opportunity
to see their name on the wall charts. I
am so excited to have my students ask if they can have
the opportunity to improve their score in PE that day.
Living
in Northern California, and working in Foresthill means
that I must deal with elements like snow. Fortunately,
FDMS has one of the best gyms I have ever seen in a middle
school, yet there are times that I only have use of half
of it for up to 60 students. This is where the stacking
cups are especially useful. One of my favorite PFA
games for my middle school students is “$10
and a Bone”. I do a unit where we learn major
bones in the body which is followed by a quiz, and I find
my students benefit greatly by participating in this game
during this piece. My elementary students, K-4th,
love it when I create obstacle courses for them to do so
they can earn cups. It
is great to see them sweat, work together in teams, and
develop fine motor skills during these lessons… all
while they are having fun!
  I feel that I am continuously growing as a teacher, and
the generous gift that my school received from Project
Fit America has greatly contributed in this growth. Given
that, I would like to sincerely thank PFA for helping to make me a better teacher
which in turn has contributed to my students becoming fit and well rounded. The
support and guidance received by your organization is priceless. I would
like to thank Sutter Medical Group for providing the funds that enabled Project
Fit America to outfit FDMS with the equipment and support. I would especially
like to thank Steve Cox, the PFA “guru”, who came into my school
and gave me the skills and confidence to create a better PE program that included Chart
and Challenge, PFA equipment, Breakout, and “yellow brick students”. Thank
you, I really appreciate this nomination for the National All Star Teacher of
the Year and your belief in me. It is quite an honor,
especially coming from you.
 Foresthill Divide Middle School is a very special place. We really feel
like a family, and operate as such. Given that fact, I have many people
to thank there. I will start with Shannon
Jacinto, she is the most amazing
administrator I have known. Her support and guidance of the staff and students
is remarkable. I wouldn’t be working at FDMS if it weren’t
for her support of me and my program. In the last year with budget cuts,
our custodial and office staff has been cut in half. Yet, both entities
have supported the PE program even when they are so busy it is hard to breath. So,
thank you Luellen, Mondo, and Lenora for helping me to
be more efficient. I
know that I can be a pain sometimes. Thanks to our tech
guy Chris, for
helping this computer challenged teacher become more “techie”. The
teachers I work with are really remarkable. Not only do I feel supported
by them, I really like being with them and they are always working for the good
of the students. I feel the same way about the staff and administration
down the road at Foresthill Elementary School, so thank you for all of your support! Jim
Roberts, the Superintendent/Principal, has been very proactive in keeping a PE
program available for his students. Thank you so much to Jim for keeping
me on during these tough times. I also
want to thank the School Board for voting in favor of keeping
the PE program.
Finally, I need to thank my family. My husband and kids are
always supportive of my job, even when it means that they have to take on extra
duties to help out. Thank you, thank
you, and thank you.
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