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Granite School District spotlights adapted PE program at Harpixon Elementary
Summary
In a brief hallway-minute segment, Superintendent Horsley and adapted PE teacher Rochelle Dieter highlighted adapted volleyball, a weekly bike day with modified trikes and 3D-printed foot pegs, and a student who achieved independent riding after two years of practice.
Superintendent Horsley visited Harpixon Elementary in a brief hallway-minute segment to highlight an adapted physical education class where elementary students practiced adapted volleyball and took part in a weekly bike day using modified trikes.
Rochelle Dieter, the adapted physical education teacher for elementary students at Harpixon Elementary, said, "This is my adapted volleyball lesson, and the kids can go across from each other and hit it back and forth so they can just hit it themselves." She described students moving between activities, including scooters and adapted trikes, to get exercise and build life skills.
Dieter said the program focuses on practical abilities families can use at home. "We can teach kids life skills. We like them to be able to do that at home with their families," she said. She noted that the program runs a bike day once a week and that some students have progressed to racing the teacher on the trikes.
Dieter described equipment and modifications used in the classroom: the district obtains commercially adapted bikes and uses a 3D printer to add foot pegs to regular trikes when students cannot keep their feet on pedals. "A regular trike, if kids can't keep their feet on, we're able to actually add some foot pegs on there for them so we can strap their feet in and help them be successful," she said.
Dieter highlighted measurable student progress. She described "one little gentleman who has a leg shorter than the other, and it took two years, but he is riding 100% independently, and his family's just in the room." Horsley praised the work, saying, "I just think it's one of those amazing things that we don't get to see very often about how the opportunities that our kids get to have to learn those life skills."
Dieter added that she previously worked for Special Olympics Utah as a program director and co-runs an after-school sports program with a colleague, Vanessa, that has also operated for 12 years. Horsley closed the segment by thanking Dieter and the staff for their work with students at Harpixon Elementary.
No formal actions, votes, or policy changes were discussed during the segment; it was a short informational spotlight on an existing adapted-PE practice at the school.
