Outride attended the national SHAPE conference in Cleveland last month alongside hundreds of Health and Physical Educators – the life force behind our school-based cycling program, Riding for Focus (R4F). On top of connecting with many of our incredible R4F champions, two of whom were nominated for SHAPE PE Teacher of the Year, and another who just wrapped up a year as one of the 2023 National Teacher of the Year Finalists (learn more below!), we soaked up knowledge about the importance of incorporating social and emotional learning in the classroom, and reveled in the strong presence of cycling-related programs at the conference. Most importantly, we were continually in awe of how hard our PE teachers are working to support their students despite receiving little recognition for the essential impact they have on students' lives. Read on to learn more about each of these three themes (SEL, School cycling programs, and the importance of Physical Educators)!

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL):

Our team was excited to see so many educators advocating for the importance of SEL in the classroom, as it is ingrained in Outride’s mission to improve the social, emotional, and cognitive health among all people through the power of the bicycle. Check out the new 2024 SHAPE Standards here which focus on using movement to develop social skills, personal benefits, skills, and a passion for activity!

Sarah Mosley from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse advocated for the importance of “Training the Trainer” in SEL by providing mental health trainings to teachers so they can better serve their students. They shared great resources on mental health literacy instructional units, developed with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. They also shared the “How Am I Doing Today…?” check-in tool below which boosted our mindfulness and offered an opportunity to reflect on how we may honor our health a bit more – especially when traveling and taken out of our typical routines! Check out their presentation here:

We also took home some strategies from Dr. Brittany Russell Belcher on the CASEL framework and how integrating SEL in the classroom positively impacts students. Some of these benefits are:

Increased ability to form relationships
Better Group Processing
Cooperation
Responsible decision-making

How are you working to integrate SEL in your programming? We’d love to learn more!

Strong interest in bike programming throughout the conference!

It was an incredible surprise to see strong representation from the biking community at SHAPE and to meet many teachers interested in bringing a biking program to their school! Check out some of the amazing programs below:

Bike Bus World: We transform communities and our planet through the simple act of riding bikes to school together. This effort is spearheaded by Sam Balto, PE teacher and bike bus leader and advocate!
All Kids Bike: We're on a mission to teach every child in America how to ride a bike In Kindergarten PE. This program focuses on providing cycling education for elementary school students, with a newly-developed Inclusive Learn-to-Ride curriculum available for all ages.
Discover Traffic Gardens: Check out the Traffic Garden Handbook to learn about how you can bring more safe places for kids to play and adventure to your community: https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/SDOT/SRTS/Traffic-Garden-Handbook_2023.pdf
Check out Outride’s presentations (slides located in the Downloads section):
- Implementing Cycling Education During PE: Scenes From Programs in Action Across the Country
- Evaluating a middle school cycling education program using the RE-AIM framework
R4F Champion, John Glodek, and R4F Curriculum Developer, Ben Rollenhagen (Central Michigan University) presented on the nuts and bolts of bringing a cycling program to your school.
- Riders Ready: Bringing a Bicycling Education Program to Your School
Alex Clark, R4F Champion, presented on the importance of fostering stronger Teacher-Student connections.
- Be Slow to Speak, Quick to Listen
Ryan McKinney, R4F Champion, presented on his PE interventions (including mountain biking) which have improved youth behavioral and academic successes at his school.
- Physical Activity as an Academic and Behavioral Intervention

In addition, we were excited to meet with many other Outride R4F Champions, Ambassadors, and partners in attendance, and hear all about both the successes of their programs, and opportunities for further support, including innovative ideas to support school bike maintenance, engaging students beyond the school day, and more. A huge thanks to Susan Searls (Davenport School of the Arts, Florida) and her husband Mike (who also volunteers as the school bike mechanic and trail builder!), Jermar Rountree (Center City PCS, Washington DC), Lisa Schneider (BCM Biotech Academy at Rusk, Texas), Leah Wheeling (Simle Middle School, North Dakota), John Glodek (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, Maryland), Alex Clark (Dunbar High School, Washington DC), Ryan McKinney (Spooner Middle School, Wisconsin), Diana Hildebrand (Outride Ambassador, Bike Cleveland), Ben Rollenhagen (Central Michigan University), and Rich Butterworth (Heart Tech Plus) for taking the time to share valuable feedback with us. We were also thrilled to be joined by Rick Holt (Early Childhood Mobility Coalition) and Sam Balto (Bike Bus World), and hear about the incredible work they’re doing to get even more youth riding in communities across the country (bike bus anyone??)

Big THANK YOU & Shoutout to our Physical Educators!

Attending this conference made it clear that PE teachers are involved in life-changing work, and often do not receive the recognition or praise that they deserve for all that they do! From supporting students' mental health and well-being, to helping foster and grow students' lifelong love for activity, our PE teachers are shaping physical and mental health outcomes for future generations. As students' health and well-being is negatively impacted by psychosocial factors such as stress and inactivity, meeting kids at school and ensuring they are equipped to meet daily recommended physical activity levels in a positive and supportive environment is essential. And our PE teachers are doing just this – meeting kids where they are and encouraging them to live active and healthy lifestyles while developing self confidence, building peer relationships, and much more!

Finally, we want to give an extra shoutout to our wonderful Riding for Focus Champions who were awarded with the 2024 SHAPE District PE Teacher of the Year – Ryan McKinney from Spooner Middle School (Midwest District Middle School Teacher of the Year) and Alex Clark from Washington, D.C. (Eastern District High School Teacher of the Year). Ryan also went on to win National Teacher of the Year - CONGRATULATIONS!

In addition, we’d also like to recognize R4F Champion Jermar Rountree from Washington D.C., who was one of the 2023 National Teacher of the Year Finalists - a huge honor! We are lucky to work with such amazing teachers dedicated to sharing the positive benefits of the bicycle with their students!