“Better than any episode of Sesame Street.”
By Kristin Clark Taylor
Dennis Geniuch, the Director of Health and Wellness K-12 for the Brockton Public Schools in Massachusetts, says he’s witnessed many dramatic changes over the years — not just within elementary education, but within the world itself.
Health and health education are at the top of this list.
“Health is a subject that’s constantly changing, from drug education to mental health and beyond,” he observes.
“There’s always new stuff that we need to learn as administrators and health educators.”
Rapidly evolving, highly sophisticated technology also presents educators with a unique set of challenges as they reach and teach their students.
Says the highly-regarded administrator, “With today’s generation of students, you better be able to put on a good show.”
“If you don’t have resources that are able to engage them with colors, sounds, visuals,” he continues, “you just won’t capture them.”
This is precisely why Geniuch says he’s grateful that his educators have QuaverHealth•PE as a primary resource — and he’s a first-hand witness to the benefits it brings.
“I do classroom visits with all of the health staff,” he explains, “and I constantly see students participating successfully with Quaver.”
In his role as observer and evaluator, Geniuch says he’ll often ask students to describe what they’ve just learned.
What strikes him is not only what they say … but how they say it.
“They always respond to my inquiries with enthusiasm, excitement, and even pride,” he says.
The fact that students are so conversant, comfortable, and confident talking about what they’ve learned is proof that they’re absorbing the material on a fundamental level, “in a way that makes sense to them in their own lives,” he observes.
“Quaver’s ability to really dig in and engage students with visuals, movement, discussion, and hands-on lessons help them own their own learning.”
The curriculum brings value to everyone, he says, because it allows each person involved in the process of learning and teaching to be the best version of themselves that they can be.
“It’s very satisfying to see how effectively teachers are using QuaverHealth to engage their students,” Geniuch comments.
The fact that the lessons are so carefully scaffolded and thoughtfully designed, he says, “makes it possible for a brand new teacher to behave like a veteran teacher, because everything is all right there in front of them.”
Conversely, “a very experienced teacher can jump right in and draw from whatever module they choose, because QuaverHealth also gives them the freedom to incorporate other health resources into their lessons.”
As an administrator who cares deeply about his educators and students, it is clear that Geniuch has an intimate knowledge of the community he serves.
Brockton, he says, is an extremely diverse population and “Quaver supports this environment by providing multiple learning styles and multiple entry points throughout the curriculum.”
Adherence to strict national and state standards is another tangible benefit.
“QuaverHealth is perfectly aligned with the Massachusetts framework and national health standards,” Geniuch observes, noting that this careful alignment was one of the factors that attracted them at the very beginning, when they were first considering the resource.
“The fact that it was perfectly aligned immediately put everyone at ease,” he adds.
But it’s not just the engaging content and sophisticated technology that place QuaverHealth•PE in a league of its own, he says. It’s the connections being made — connections that are visual and visceral — that truly make the difference.
“The bright, adorable characters, the great songs, and the level of engagement, all of these things are components that help young learners understand abstract concepts and make learning memorable.”
He concludes with a colorful comparison that truly captures his feelings about QuaverHealth in the sunniest of ways:
“It’s better than any episode of Sesame Street.”
Ready to try it in your classroom? Visit QuaverEd.com/HealthandPE to find out how!
Kristin Clark Taylor is an author and a journalist.
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