Program Overview

All Kindergarten through grade 10 students are required to take Health and Physical Education by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). Health and physical education courses provide opportunities for students to engage in:

• Collaboration
• Critical and creative thinking
• Problem solving

Together health and physical education empowers students to make healthy and safe life choices for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Physical Education

The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Program of Studies (POS) for Physical Education teaches students how to be movers. They develop skills necessary for involvement in physical activity throughout life. After students complete grade 10 physical education, they can:

• Analyzing their personal fitness levels
• Set personal fitness goals
• Plan to maintain or improve their fitness

Students play a variety of sports and take part in other activities outside of school to find other areas of interest.

Adapted Physical Education

Students with disabilities may be eligible for adapted physical education services.

Health Education

Health education includes the topics:

• Body systems
• Nutrition
• Physical health
• Disease prevention/health promotion
• Substance abuse prevention
• Safety/injury prevention
• Mental wellness/social and emotional skills
• Violence prevention
• Community/environmental health. 

In addition, students learn and practice skills in:

• Communication
• Decision making
• Conflict resolution

At the elementary level, health education is taught by the classroom teacher.  In middle and high school, health education is taught by a health and physical education teacher. Other elective courses are available to high school students.

Virginia Administrative Code

• Virginia Administrative Code:  Instructional program in elementary schools
• Virginia Administrative Code:  Instructional program in middle schools
• Virginia Administrative Code:  Instructional program in secondary schools

Scope of Impact (2021-22)

School Level	Number of Sites	Number of Students Served
ES	142	91,334
MS	26	28,989
HS	28	Grade 9: 15,444 Grade 10: 14,598

Actions and Measures

Updated for the 2022-2023 school year.

Goal 1

By the end of SY2023-2024, 80% of students in K-10 physical education will have a personal wellness-related SMART goal recorded in Welnet. 

Strategic Actions 

• Develop and implement a communication plan to teachers on using goal setting in planning in Welnet.
• Provide multiple opportunities for teacher professional development on use of Welnet for SMART goals.
• Develop turn-around trainers to help facilitate professional development.
• Work with Focused Fitness on data collection from Welnet. 
• Support teachers with challenges they identify.

Measures

• Percentage of students with a SMART goal recorded in Welnet.
• Percentage of teachers that participated in professional development.  
• Teacher feedback on challenges they identify when having students enter SMART goals.

Goal 2

By August 2023, revise physical education POS and instructional resources based on the 2022 Standards of Learning for Physical Education for teacher use and implementation. 

Strategic Actions 

• Develop crosswalk document of 2015 SOLs and 2022 SOLs.
• Revise Standards, Benchmarks, and Indicators (SBIs).
• Check/revise alignment of resources in Curriculum Repository (CR).
• Revise existing resources and develop new resources to align with SBIs.
• Professional development for teachers to understand and implement changes.

Measures 

• SBIs are aligned to Virginia SOLs and available to teachers in eCART.
• Instructional resources are available to support each instructional standard.
• Teacher feedback on needed resources to support instruction.
• Percentage of teachers who attend professional development.

Goal 3

By August 2023, revise driver education POS and instructional resources based on the 2022 Standards of Learning for Driver Education for teacher use and implementation.

Strategic Actions 

• Revise SBIs.
• Check/revise alignment of resources in CR.
• Revise existing resources and develop new resources to align with SBIs.
• Professional development for teachers to understand and implement changes.

Measures .

• SBIs are aligned to Virginia SOLs and available to teachers in eCART.
• Instructional resources are available to support each instructional standard.
• Percentage of teachers who attend professional development.