Tucson Region

National PE honor for Tucsonan

Gary Lewis of Tucson High School has been selected the nation's high-school physical-education teacher of the year. Lewis received the honor this month from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, which sets national standards for teaching physical education. Lewis has helped update Tucson High's physical-education curriculum, principal Larry McKee said. Instead of the traditional emphasis on organized sports, a visit to a PE class now resembles a trip to a health club. Students can choose to work out with exercise equipment or take activity classes if sports don't appeal to them. "We have Rollerblades, we've got rock climbing, we've got aerobics, we've got yoga," McKee said. "These are atypical things you wouldn't see at a regular high school." The program emphasizes lifelong fitness and was started about two years ago with help from a $180,000 federal grant. Lewis, 41, is in his fifth year at Tucson High School. He will be recognized by the National Physical Education Teachers at an event in Virginia in early May, and will visit Capitol Hill to speak with legislators about improving higher education. Lewis said the older, regimented, one-size-fits-all approach to physical education didn't work for everyone, and didn't always foster positive attitudes about exercise and fitness. The current, diversified Tucson High program is designed to make exercise more enjoyable, Lewis said. "By no means are we a perfect program," Lewis said. "But we're trying to make it more interesting, and move it away from the old school." The principal described Lewis' classes as places where students raise their heart rates without the teacher raising his voice. "He's real low-key, a soft-spoken guy," McKee said. "As the result, I think the kids are comfortable with him."