updated 11/3/09
Off Campus Physical Education New Agency Approval Process is closed for the 2009-2010 school year and will resume in April 2010.
Off Campus Physical Education Waivers for the spring semester 2010 are due no later than midnight january 5, 2010
You may fax your PE Waiver to 414-0035.
If you are a new student to AISD your PE Waiver is due no later than midnight January 12, 2010.

The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Physical Education has allowed AISD to write a curriculum that is in direct alignment with the Moving Into The Future: National Standards for Physical Education, which supports the goals of Healthy People 2000. The TEKS for Physical Education is the result of a purposeful process of consensus building that has included a variety of efforts designed to obtain a broad range of expertise.

Because our state document is a direct link to the national standards and our AISD Curriculum Framework document is a direct link to the TEKS, our curriculum is based on input from hundreds of physical education professionals throughout the country. These individuals bring a diversity of expertise to the development of the physical education standards and include both elementary and secondary physical education teachers, authorities in curriculum and pedagogy, as well as measurement and evaluation specialists.

All of the experts involved in the writing of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Physical Education are involved in activities that keep them on the "cutting-edge" of physical education. Therefore, we feel our district Physical Education Curriculum Framework document is among the best in the State of Texas and is designed to provide the students of AISD with the most comprehensive physical education program available.

Elementary Highlights

The elementary curriculum is based on skills and concepts that are introduced and implemented when developmentally appropriate.

All skill activities include variety and sizes of objects:

• Basic Eye-Hand Coordination
• Eye-Hand Coordination With Extensions and Targets
• Basic Eye-Foot Coordination
• Eye-Foot Coordination with Extensions and Targets
• Striking with An Implement (Short/Long Handled)

An umbrella of skills and concepts are also integrated throughout the year.

• Cooperative, Personal, and Social Skills
• Movement Concepts
• Wellness
• Safety Practices and Procedures

Physical Fitness is assessed throughout the school year based on the district wide adopted program called Fitnessgram. This program assesses and measures the three major components of physical fitness:

• Aerobic Capacity
• Body Composition
• Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility

Middle School Highlights

The middle school curriculum is placed under the following umbrella of activities that are ongoing throughout the year:

• Cooperative and Social Skills
• Team Building Skills
• Cultural Awareness
• Conflict Resolution
• Wellness Issues
• Nutrition
• Basic Healthy Habits
• Stress Management
• Smoking/Drug Education
• Safety
• Physical Fitness Components and Assessment
• Critical Thinking Skills and Problem Solving
• Locomotor/Non-locomotor Skills
• Anatomy and Kinesiology
• Lead-up Games and Small Group Activities

The curriculum encompasses developmentally appropriate activities that lead students from simple to complex skill development. Students will:

• learn to measure their own performance and develop plans
  for improvement.
• participate in a variety of activities that provide them with enjoyment, challenge and encouragement to be physically active for a lifetime.

High School Highlights

The high school curriculum is placed under the same umbrella of wellness activities as the middle school document. All students must take the Foundations of Personal Fitness Course as a prerequisite to all other physical education courses. The class is designed to motivate students to strive for lifetime personal fitness with an emphasis on the health-related components of physical fitness. The course is taught along with a state-adopted textbook, "Foundations of Personal Fitness: Any Body Can…Be Fit".

The curriculum then allows students to choose special areas of interest (they must, however, choose a different option for each of their remaining credit requirements). The course selections of lifetime activities are:

• PE II, Aerobic Activities
• PE III, Individual Sports
• PE IV, Team Sports
• PE V, Adventure/Outdoor Education

Many AISD Secondary Schools have adopted Physical Education Uniforms. Uniforms are being used at all middle and high schools. Please contact your child's physical education teacher for more information about purchasing the uniform.

Questions regarding the physical education programs in the Austin Independent School District may be directed to Michele Rusnak at 512-414-9779 (Fax: 512-414-0035).