(ROCKWALL, TX — May 16, 2018) Janice Longino, Amy Parks-Heath Elementary PE Teacher, was recently chosen to be the 2018 President of the Texas Association of Health, Physical Education and Dance (TAHPERD).
“Janice Longino is a long-time educator who continues to strive for excellence each day. She continuously brings enthusiasm and challenges herself by seeking opportunities to bring innovation into her Physical Education classroom and to our campus,” said Amy Parks-Heath Elementary Principal Megan Smith. “Her whatever-it-takes mentality is truly an inspiration.”
Longino has been a physical education teacher for almost 40 years. Her first year in Rockwall ISD was in 1995 when she helped open Amy Parks-Heath Elementary.
“This is an adventure I’ve really been looking forward to,” said Longino. “It was almost surreal when it happened. It’s been a journey.”
In 1991, Longino was named TAHPERD Texas Teacher of the Year. From there, she went on to compete against 13 other state winners before being named Southern District Teacher of the Year. Out of six national finalists, she placed second in the TAHPERD National Teacher of the Year Contest.
“I have always believed in this organization and have been committed to help make it the best state organization in the US,” said Longino in her speech to the board of TAHPERD. “Serving as an officer, a volunteer, being part of committees, being on the board, and presenting close to 100 times has allowed me to truly be a part of TAHPERD.”
As a member of the Future Directions committee, Longino helped introduce the Physical Active Leaders (PAL) Program, helping future educators become certified in the program, making them better prepared for jobs and more successful as teachers.
“Our next goal is to expand the PAL program to regional areas increasing the number of current teachers becoming PAL certified. A dream, a goal, a destiny, said Longino. “Since the beginning of the program, 5,000 educators have become PAL certified impacting almost 13 million students.”
Gabby Selden, a fourth-grade student at APHE said, “I like Ms. Longino because she is sweet and she’ll us if we’re struggling on something in gym.” Her classmate, Alex Cooley, followed up by saying, “she is nice and she helps us in every way she can.”
TAHPERD is a not-for-profit professional association of individuals in the allied fields of health education, physical education, recreation, and dance.This Texas-based association is composed of over 4,500 professional and student members serving education from kindergarten through college.
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