Top Teacher Keeps Students on Their Toes

The way Laguna Road Elementary School students go on about their heart rate, lung capacity and teamwork, you’d think they were professional athletes.

But these youngsters are doing physical education under the teachings of Chris Heusser, who has been named this year’s Orange County Outstanding Elementary Physical Educator by the California Assn. for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Heusser’s pupils at the Fullerton school learn to run, jump, juggle, dunk and score but, at the same time, they are developing lifelong habits aimed at keeping the body and mind healthy, she said.

“I see physical education as part of the academic curriculum,” said Heusser, who stretches and exercises with her students. “Physical activity promotes clear thinking. It positively affects test scores. It develops motor skills and movement concepts, such as force, and it’s a social arena.”

Her pupils say class is so fun they don’t realize they are learning something.

“Miss Heusser always tells us not to give up and to try our best in every activity,” 11-year-old Sylvia Ruiz said. “She makes sure we’re always fair and encourages us to communicate.”

Physical education is 10-year-old Christine Kim’s favorite subject. “I know about my hamstrings, quadriceps and triceps and how fast my heart should beat and what’s healthy to eat, and I love P.E.,” she said.

Each year, Heusser’s students participate in the American Heart Assn.’s “Jump Rope for Heart” benefit campaign. Her school has been the top fund-raiser in the campaign for years.

Heusser, a mentor instructor who teaches a course on “movement and the child” at Cal State Fullerton to future teachers, also heads Laguna Road’s Families in Training program, in which 180 students and their families participate in physical activities after school.

In addition, Heusser is involved in the Orange County Physical Education Fund, which offers grants and support for school physical education programs.

“Chris is a physical education specialist, an expert,” Laguna Road Principal Harold Sullivan said. “She really looks at the total child and goes beyond just playing ball. . . . Her program is a model and a big reason why Laguna Road won a California Distinguished School Award this year.”