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Teachers show "Brainball" pilot as part of Seeds of Change teacher‑led program
Summary
Two physical‑education teachers demonstrated a Brainball curriculum during the district27s Seeds of Change showcase, describing grade‑level adaptations and plans to share materials with building literacy and math coaches; board members praised the work for building student agency and interdisciplinary connections.
At the April 23 meeting the board heard from two teachers who presented work from the Seeds of Change teacher‑led professional learning cohort and demonstrated the "Brainball" program used in physical education to reinforce literacy and math.
"Hi, I am Kristen Richardson and I am the PE teacher at Sciota Ridge Elementary," Richardson said, introducing the Brainball activities. She and Ryan Vogle of Tyleron Elementary described trial lessons they ran across grade levels, the district‑provided equipment sets (large and smaller "brain balls") and an activity index they created to match games to appropriate grade bands.
Richardson and Vogle said the program mixes movement with academic content: balls marked with letters and numbers let teachers run quick 10‑minute literacy or numeracy activities, or use whole‑class challenges to develop teamwork and leadership. They said the teachers plan to share lessons and resources with math and literacy coaches so classroom teachers can use the materials beyond PE.
Board members praised the showcase. "Seeds of Change because I think the best teachers are those that are committed to ongoing learning," said Dr. Walker, who noted student agency and interdisciplinary benefits of using movement to reinforce academic skills. Other board members said the work gave visible examples of student engagement and creativity and asked staff to help disseminate the resources.
The board did not vote on curriculum adoption at the meeting; presenters described this yearlong cohort as a professional learning model and said next steps include districtwide sharing and support for classroom use.
