Featured PE Teacher – Kevin McGrath

pe teacher kevin mcgrath

About Kevin:

I teach 550 elementary school students from PreK to 5th grade at Charles Barrett Elementary School. I have been the physical education teacher there for 14 of my 16 years of teaching. I am also the creator and president of Adopt-a-Gym.

Current Lesson Plan/Unit:

We are currently working on team building, cooperative learning & spatial awareness. K-2nd graders are learning how to control their bodies while moving through space.  This includes levels, speeds, pathways and movement styles. The 3rd-5th grade students are learning the value of working together towards common goals. We are also working on creating a safe place for discovery and risk taking, being comfortable with our successes and failures!

PE Focus for 2018:

My focus this year is to be more deliberate with the “Why’s” of my lessons & making sure the activities truly do create the desired outcomes. I’m also hoping to implement Gamification wherever possible because it creates a culture of moving at your own pace and spending their time on the level they really need to in order improve their personal abilities.

featured pe teacher

Favorite Lesson Plan/Unit:

I enjoy every opportunity to spend time creating physically literate, kind, giving, hard working, compassionate individuals!

Do you have a specific program you would like to highlight?

I created Adopt-a-Gym in 2015 because I was frustrated with where the money was really going with the fundraising program we were doing at my school. After attending and teaching in the New York City school system, I knew the amount of inequity there was in terms of funding for physical education programs from school to school. This has a huge negative impact on the quality of the physical education experience at some schools!

Adopt-a-Gym is a nonprofit program where a school raises funds to purchase P.E. equipment for schools in need by students getting sponsored to do a fun fitness event.  Currently we have delivered over $30,000 of P.E. equipment to 14 schools like the Virginia/DC area, New York, Louisiana & even El Salvador. We focused our attention in 2018 on eight schools that were hit by hurricanes in Houston & San Juan, Puerto Rico!

We have nine schools registered to conduct events this school year with many other teachers  showing interest. These teachers want to build philanthropy in their students while being the different in the physical lives of students just like their own!

adopt a gym PE

Anyone interested in being a part of something AMAZING, please go to www.adoptagym.wordpress.com and register as a donor school. Together we can literally change the world of tomorrow!

What is your favorite part about being a PE teacher?

Every time I have the opportunity to put a smile on a child’s face, I jump – no, LUNGE – at it! You never know when it was the only reason they had to smile that day! Having the privilege to be a part of their lives for so many years allows me to see the changes over time and learn how to have an impact in every child’s life!

kevin mcgrath featured pe teacher

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5 thoughts on “Featured PE Teacher – Kevin McGrath

  1. Where do I get information on Gamification? I am assuming the photo you are showing might be one of the activities? Do you do have Stem lessons?

  2. This is the statement you made that literally every PE teacher (or teacher for that matter) should have as their #1 goal: “I enjoy every opportunity to spend time creating physically literate, kind, giving, hard working, compassionate individuals!”

    I see your compassion in your Adopt a Gym program! You are amazing! Keep up the good work!

    • Gay, thank you for your kind words! Every child deserves our fullest!

      Jeff, I’m not sure if you are looking for a unit plan for the year, or maybe something else. Please email me at: [email protected] & I’m happy to give you whatever resources I have!

      Thanks everyone for taking your time to learn a little about me, my P.E. program & AdoptAGym! I hope to hear from you soon to join in on the philanthropy!!

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