Assoc. Dr. Erin CENTEIO
Past President, Western District, SHAPE America
Chair, Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) Special Interest Group SHAPE America
Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
USA
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erin Centeio is currently an Associate Professor in the College of Education, Department of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science at The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She currently serves as the program coordinator of the Health and Physical Education. Erin’s research focuses on integrating physical activity before, during, and afterschool and understanding the implications of physical activity and fitness on children’s health, as well as the cognitive and psychosocial benefits. As such, she consults with numerous community programmers, physical education teachers and school districts in order to maximize potential for quality physical education and additional opportunities for physical activity before, during and after school. Erin was a member of the U.S. Presidents Council for Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition science board in 2021. She has been a principal/co-investigator on over 8 million dollars in grant funding, authored/coauthored over 110 presentations at National and International conferences, and published 5 book chapters and over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts focusing on integrating physical activity and healthy eating interventions into school and community settings.
Integrating Culturally Relevant Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs
Understanding physical activity and healthy eating behavior outcomes of comprehensive school health interventions is important given the current obesity status of youth and the long-term impact that unhealthy behaviors have on overall health both in their immediate and long-term future. Governmental agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many public health entities have called for comprehensive approaches within schools to combat physical inactivity and obesity issues in the youth population. The purpose of this presentation is to outline results of two Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs, Building Healthy Communities and Dearborn SHINES, and discuss the impact the programs had on the whole child (including behavioral, academic, and psychosocial variables). Additionally, this presentation will discuss a new comprehensive intervention called I Paʻa Ka Huewai Pawehe "So that our prized water gourds are made firm". The I Paʻa Ka Huewai Pawehe initiative has four components: (1) professional development and implementation of culturally relevant and trauma informed teaching strategies; (2) professional development and implementation of quality and culturally relevant health education and physical education, (3) integration of physical activity throughout the school day that incorporates social-emotional learning, science and math integration, as well as Native Hawaiian history and culture; and (4) integration of dual credit courses to help recruit Native Hawaiian youth into health professions and instill the importance of overall health in life. The process of developing a program that focuses on integrating culturally relevant and trauma informed practices into health, physical education, and school wide physical education will be shared.