I met with Jeff Kloster of the Texas Education Agency today and it was very eye-opening. It was my first time in the TEA offices and I’m not sure what I expected but the lobby of the building is big and beautiful. Then I got off the elevator and all the walls were a dumpy white. Random photos appeared to decorate the hallways. A lone receptionist was placed in the hallway to direct me to one of the eight hundred cubicles forced on this one floor. I finally found my way back to Jeff’s office and found a little opening in the maze of walls. They even had bagels and fruit!

Jeff is the Associate Commissioner for Health and Safety for the state of Texas. Imagine all that position might include. And imagine trying to attack problems involving both health and safety in every school district, in every city, and in every school in the state of Texas. I feel tired just thinking about it. He has a very small staff. He is constantly fighting for more funds and more help. In fact, I would think that half of his time is spent worrying about from where the resources and help is going to come rather than concentrating on how to help the schools in the state of Texas.

It makes me think of my P.E. teacher from elementary school. Her name was/is Mrs. Casas. You can imagine that I always loved going to P.E. since I’ve made a career out of athletics. So I was always so excited to see her. But I felt, even 20 years ago, that she was fighting an uphill battle. Do you remember that? I always remember her trying to be creative with the few resources she was given. I remember her running around trying to catch up. My memory could be off but I just remember thinking there must be some way to help. And again, this was 20 years ago. Think of how much worse it is now with tightening budgets, increased school populations, and more demanding expectations.

So Jeff told me about some of the things they are working on and things they would like to do. We talked a while and I finally just said ‘how can we help.” There has to be a way to help. He said it would be nice to have representatives like my husband to get out in the community to ask for help. This seems silly to me because I know my husband and he’s just a regular guy, but I realize that it is fun to meet someone who has actually played professional sports. So, great. We can do that. Just tell us where and when. The problem is, what does it mean to help?

I think when I asked him this, Jeff’s brain was about to explode because there really is so much to do. But I think that we can get back to a grass roots effort a little bit more. So these are the suggestions I have. And please understand that these are limited to just what we can do as individuals, not what large corporations could contribute financially.

  1. Write your P.E. teacher a note to let them know they are appreciated. This goes for your administrators as well. No gifts needed. Just a personal note. The reason I say this is that I imagine that 99% of every day for a school administrator or teacher is spent dealing with complaints. Complaints from students, parents, other teachers, politicians, their bosses. It has to get old. Positive reinforcement can do nothing but help.
  2. Next time you buy a ball for your child, buy a Frisbee for the school. Or maybe some lacrosse sticks. It must get old using the same old supplies and playing the same old games. I realize that schools are charities and they have a lot but it couldn’t hurt adding to their supplies, especially if it gives them something new.
  3. Offer to volunteer one hour a week with the P.E. teacher. Home rooms get a lot of parents to volunteer but P.E. teachers have to control a whole class room in a crazy, purposely-active environment. Your teacher will say no because they’re not used to getting offers for help. Just insist and say “I’m coming for one hour this week so when would you like me to come.”
  4. Give a small donation to your school’s P.E. department next time you think of it. Even $10 could go toward buying updated supplies. This year we started a program in which we gave 5% back to the school of each customer’s choosing. Some schools only received a small amount because only a few (or one) of our customers chose that school as a beneficiary. And still, we got thanks from the schools who only received a few dollars. It adds up if we can all give a little.

Hopefully little steps like this will help our teachers and administrators know how important we think physical activity is for our children. If you have any more ideas for 1379 or the TEA, feel free to email me at Lindsay@1379kids.com.