First-year physical education and health teacher Sven Strom already knows the rewards of helping kids be physically active. A teacher at Brownsburg, Indiana, East Middle School, Strom believes that setting a standard for active lifestyles and creating a “culture of fitness” benefits both young people and communities alike.
“The most rewarding thing for me is being able to inspire and lead my students to who they want to be,” said Strom, a 2024 graduate of the physical education teacher education (PETE) program at IU Indianapolis. “In sharing knowledge about the importance of physical activity in overall health, I’m helping them create the best possible life for themselves.
It’s a lesson that’s becoming increasingly important for children and adolescents in Indiana. From 2014 to 2022, childhood obesity in Indiana increased by nearly 36%, according to a report released in 2023 by the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. One in five Hoosier children between the ages of 2 and 19 is considered obese.
As an antidote to these alarming statistics, Strom and fellow graduates are trained not only to engage others in exercise but also to be strong advocates for the benefits of physical activity.
“When we start talking about the health of the state of Indiana, and particularly the health of our youth, our graduates are needed now more than ever,” said Associate Professor Mark Urtel, Ed.D., chair of the Department of Kinesiology. “Physical education teachers provide children with fundamental physical literacy for a lifetime, fostering essential skills that allow them to be comfortable and competent in movement and motivated to be physically active.”
As the longest-running physical education program in the United States, the program, which originated with the Normal College of the American Gymnastic Union in 1866, has been part of Indiana University since 1941. Graduates receive a B.S. in kinesiology and are dually prepared to teach both physical education and health education. They receive a license in Indiana to teach at all grade levels (K–12). Job placement for graduates is nearly 100 percent annually, and students report the highest entry-level salaries of School of Health & Human Sciences undergraduate programs.
“We have a historic program that prioritizes excellence in teaching, gets students into schools early, and we’re in a phenomenal location with numerous school districts nearby,” Urtel said. “These are the factors that make our program and our graduates successful at what we do.”
Seeing firsthand what it takes to be a successful physical education teacher has been an important advantage for Isabel Ison. A second-year student in the program, Ison started observing in physical education and health classrooms during her first year.
“I’ve always liked helping kids learn new things, but seeing teachers do it in the real world provides a whole different perspective,” Ison shared.
With aspirations to teach physical education and coach volleyball, Ison is the recipient of two program-specific scholarships—the Rudolph L. Memmel Scholarship and the Dr. Carl B. Sputh Scholarship. These scholarships combined will provide her with $18,000 to help offset her college costs.
The Sputh Scholarship dates back to the 1960s and honors one of Indiana’s earliest advocates for physical education, Dr. Carl B. Sputh. Dr. Sputh, a graduate of the IU School of Medicine, was one of the individuals responsible for ensuring the physical education teacher education program had a home at IU.
Supporting students interested in physical education teaching careers remains an important priority for the Sputh family.
“We get letters from scholarship recipients every year, and we enjoy reading about how the scholarship fund is still helping people achieve their dreams in physical education,” said IU alum Edward Sputh, Dr. Sputh’s grandson. “The hope was that this scholarship would help students long into the future, and it has done just that.”
Despite the program’s success, there is more work to be done. The collective efforts of graduates, donors, and advocates remain essential for addressing Indiana’s growing health challenges. By building a culture of fitness, educators like Strom and Ison, as well as Urtel, are not just addressing today’s health challenges but laying the foundation for a healthier, more active generation.