Central School's Joan George:
NY Elementary Phys-Ed Teacher of the Year
by Judy Silberstein
 (
October 29, 2002
) It was “Just her way with children,” that
inspired Central School physical education teacher John
Savage to nominate colleague Joan George for a prestigious
teaching award. “Joan has been teaching for twenty-seven
years, but the first day in September is like her first
day of school – she’s that energetic,”
he marveled.
Now, based on recommendations from peers and supervisors,
Joan George has been named the2002 Elementary School
Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the New York
State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation
and Dance. She, and about twenty of her Mamaroneck school
district colleagues and supporters, will be traveling
to upstate New York in mid-November for the statewide
conference and award ceremony.
Reached on the Central School blacktop where she’s
guiding students through the intricacies of double-dutch
rope jumping, Joan George displays many of the characteristics
mentioned by her nominators. As the students struggle
with the difficult task, George calmly suggests different
approaches and prompts the children to recall the need
for collaboration.
“Joan is a master of weaving health related topics
into lessons that involve a high level of physical activity,”
wrote her previous supervisor, Rick Amundson, on the
award application. “If you would visit Joan’s
classroom,” he added, “it becomes obvious
that student learning rules!”
In return, George is quick to credit her colleagues
for whatever success she has achieved. She has been
with the Mamaroneck School district for her entire career
and has taught at all four elementary schools. “In
this district, we talk about all we do, but the bottom
line is, we have good people,” she summed up.
She finds her co-workers willing to take risks and be
creative, involved with the whole picture, and with
the best interests of children at heart.
“I wanted to be a teacher my whole life,”
she recalled, “but after my first year I said
‘I can’t do this!’ With help from
my colleagues, I learned how to deal with children and
their issues.” Taking time for her own child and
family has also enriched and informed her teaching,
she said. She’s found that, “Little children
inherently love to move. My job is to channel that movement.”
To “channel that movement” for all students,
George has learned to adapt her program for children
with a wide variety of needs, including those with physical
and learning disabilities. She makes regular use of
the district circus arts program where children who
may not succeed at traditional sports often excel. With
difficult challenges, said George, “If we just
pull back and think, ‘what’s right for kids,’
we’ll be okay.”
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