Quarterly Digest
Educators
Letter from the Editor
By: Alex X. Martínez
Welcome to the first edition of the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD)’s Quarterly Digest, our new quarterly supplement designed especially for educators who are seeking for information to make their classes inclusive for students with disabilities. Physical education settings are recognized as the best environment to help students engage in physical activity. It has been documented that physical activity has a profound positive impact on health outcomes. Physical activity plays a vital role in student’s physical, emotional, and social development. As teachers, we strive to provide our students with lifelong experiences so they can live a healthy life. Despite the documented benefits of physical activity on health, students with disabilities face many barriers that exclude them from full participation in physical activity through physical education, recess, sports, and exercise.

We want to help PE teachers, recreation specialists, and coaches make their classes inclusive and fun for ALL students. The Quarterly Digest is a new hub of information where you can find material related to best PE practices, adapted equipment, sports, technology, assessment, classroom behavioral management, and many more. I hope you enjoy this first issue and do let us know if there are any topics or ideas you’d like to see covered in the future. Please share our newsletter with other teachers and colleagues so we can promote equal opportunities for all youth with disability.
What Nutritionists Pack Their Kids for Lunch
A group of nutritionists showed what they pack in their children’s lunch boxes, and they shared their general guidelines and kid-approved dish ideas. To read the article, please click here.


Parent Engagement in Physical Activity
Parents can help promote physical activity to their children by reinforcing and practicing at home what the students learn during physical education. To review resources and tips that support parent engagement, please click  here .
Active for Life Resources
Educators, caregivers, camp leaders, and after-school program leaders who are looking for additional resources may want to consult the following websites and external links. These websites and organizations also provide excellent activities, lesson plans, and guidance on delivering physical literacy to children. To review these resources, please click here .
NCHPAD Resource Table
In the Spotlight
Are you a teacher or part of a physical education program with great ideas for inclusion?In this section, we want to highlight those who are going above and beyond to promote inclusive PE. Please submit a brief article describing your success stories. We want to know what are some of the strategies, practices, or novel ideas you are using in your classroom to help students with disabilities. Feel free to send videos and pictures along with a brief article that can be posted In the Spotlight section of this newsletter. We will love to hear from you or anybody that deserves to be in the spotlight. If you are interested in sending us your information, please email us at alexm@lakeshore.org   
Highlighted Resource: Discover inclusive Playgrounds
Throughout this guide, you will find evidence of how playgrounds support child development, the importance of inclusive design, and resources on inclusive playgrounds. This guide provides information that will help you create learning environments at playgrounds from both design and usage perspectives. The information is specific and tailored to teachers, administrators, parents, caregivers, recreation specialists, and health professionals that utilize playground settings for emotional, cognitive, and physical child development. Click here
Discover Inclusive Physical Education 
Discover Inclusive Physical Education provides training to help educators to create an inclusive environment for students of all abilities. A successful learning environment should foster a lifetime of healthy habits and sports participation for all students. This training will cover topics such as legislation in regards to physical education, knowledge on specific disabilities, effective communication, assessments, and samples of classes and activities. This training includes videos and scenarios related to physical education and disabilities and highlights resources from NCHPAD. Click here .