Associate Professor Erin Centeio, of the College of Education Department of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science (KRS), received the Curriculum and Instruction Honor Award at this year’s Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America conference in Seattle, Washington. The largest national health and physical educator organization, SHAPE America is the voice for more than 200,000 health and physical education professionals across the United States.

Centeio, who is the most recent SHAPE America Western District Past-President, was nominated for the award by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Associate Professor Kevin Richards and University of New Mexico Assistant Professor Karen Gaudreault.

“It is such an honor to be nominated and recognized by my colleagues in the field of curriculum and instruction,” Centeio said. “I work hard to help prepare future and in-service teachers to integrate culturally-relevant physical education programs in schools and to understand the implications of those programs on the health, well-being, and academic achievement of our youth.”

For more than 12 years, Centeio has worked to integrate health programs that directly align with curriculum and instruction in the school setting. As the KRS Health and Physical Education Program Coordinator, her research focuses on physical activity and healthy eating opportunities before, during, and after school and on understanding how these comprehensive programs impact children’s academic success.

“Each program has its own unique design based on the community it serves,” Centeio said. “I have been blessed to work with many schools in Michigan and Hawaiʻi and have had an impact on changing the school culture to include more health and wellbeing.”

During her presentation at the Seattle conference, Centeio reflected on all of the programs and curricular interventions she has been a part of and said she was inspired by the success the teachers and schools have had and the work they have accomplished together.