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By Marjorie Mader
Kate Cox, a physical education teacher at Portola Valley’s Corte Madera School for the past six years, says she’s “so lucky to get up mornings and teach at Corte Madera.”
Parents feel lucky, too. “Kate brings a wonderful level of energy, support and commitment to class each day,” says parent Sandy Lee.
Ms. Cox impresses upon students that they don’t have to be star athletes to stay in shape; they just need to find an activity they enjoy.
So, she encourages students in grades 4-8 to try a variety of activities, from capture the flag and step aerobics to dancing.
Recently, her teaching skills were affirmed when she attained certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She is one of only nine PE teachers in California to achieve this certification since the program started 21 years ago. Certification is intended to “recognize and reward great teachers — and make them better,” says Joseph Aguerrebere, president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
In one year, she completed the rigorous assessment process that typically takes up to three years. It’s the equivalent of earning a master’s degree, she says.
Ms. Cox developed four portfolios for the certification, including videos of her teaching and managing a classroom. The final requirement: Passing a written test that assessed her knowledge, ranging from principles of fitness and biomechanics to working with students with disabilities, and integrating technology in the curriculum.
In gaining certification, she relied on support from the California Physical Education-Health Project. As part of the first cadre of candidates sponsored by the project, Ms. Cox attended three weekend-long support sessions in Ontario, California.
She found the program so helpful that she signed up to be a support provider for the 2009 National Board candidates in PE and health. The credentialing experience, she says, caused her to shift her philosophy “from what I’m teaching to how the students are learning.”
She also plays a “pivotal role” in Corte Madera’s character education program, says Anne Campbell, superintendent of the Portola Valley School District. She offers “inspiration and commitment to making sure students embody the core values of respect, responsibility and service,” Ms. Campbell says.
Life-long learning
Ms. Cox says she sees each student as an individual with different skills, both social and physical. Designing lessons that engage each of the kids takes a lot of planning, much more than “take out the balls and play,” she says.
Her goal is to teach skills and knowledge that enable students to be competent life-long learners who discover “learning is fun,” she says. Physical education at Corte Madera has changed dramatically during the past 15 years from the “rigid, unforgiving and competitive program” that was great for kids who were well-coordinated and athletic, but hard on those who were not, say parents of former students. Ms. Cox, then Kate Hennessy, was hired in 2002 when the Portola Valley school board decided to hold PE classes for seventh- and eighth-graders every day instead of every other day. Corte Madera was her first teaching position after graduating from UC Davis, where she played small forward on the women’s varsity basketball team and majored in exercise science, a route to pre-med and physical science opportunities. Growing up in Concord, she “always loved sports,” she says, and played sports year-round.
A turning point for her was one summer when she had an internship with a physical therapy group and also taught swimming to kids in the East Bay. She discovered she loved teaching swimming but not physical therapy.
She decided to get a teaching credential at Sacramento State after graduating from Davis and before coming to Corte Madera.
At Corte Madera, she integrated dance into the comprehensive PE program, developed by Dan Flahavan, who was recruited 15 years ago as Corte Madera’s PE teacher.
Both are co-athletic directors of the school’s after-school sports program that offers tennis, soccer, and track and field in the spring; cross country, flag football and volleyball in the fall; and basketball in the winter.
About 80 percent of Corte Madera’s 374 students participate in at least one after-school sport, said Mr. Flahavan.
Ms. Cox also has launched a leadership class at Corte Madera, involving seventh- and eighth-graders who will be leading a school-wide service project later this spring. Last year, the leadership class spearheaded the school’s “Spring Cleaning Drive” that collected more than two tons of used clothing and $4,077 in “Cash for Change” to support Trust for Education projects in war-torn Afghanistan.
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Kate Cox photo by Marjorie Mader. -
Athletic director and physical education teacher Kate Cox leads her fifth-grade class at Corte Madera School with a warm-up activity called Calorie Tag. “The purpose is to get the students moving and elevate their heart rates so they are actively engaged while learning about macro nutrients,” she says. Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac.
