MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — On Monday morning, kindergarteners at Bryn Mawr Elementary School in Minneapolis lined up to play tennis in the gym. InnerCity Tennis has been visiting students at the school, teaching them all about the sport.
It's just one of many programs that Anita Chavez has brought to the school during her 28 years as the physical education teacher.
"I try to bring as much as I can to my kids because not everybody's a basketball player, not everybody's a football player. I still have to teach that skill, but I really want kids to enjoy moving their body their whole life," said Chavez, known to her students as Ms. Anita.
Chavez said she had wanted to be a physical education teacher since she was 12 years old — and don't call her a gym teacher.
"There's so much that people don't know about elementary education. Some people are like... 'I could go in that gym and teach a day.' If you're out there, I challenge you. Not a day. I challenge you for one week to come in the gym. It's a lot," Chavez said. "Social skills is a big thing for me. Manners, social skills, and just getting along with people."
Bryn Mawr Elementary was built in 1996. That same year, Chavez was offered a job — five years into her career.
"Twenty-eight years later, here I am. The best parents in the world. The best students in the world... staff, supported by community," Chavez said. "It's a beautiful place to be."
"She's been such an outstanding cornerstone of who we are as a building and as a community," Principal Kevin Oldenburg said.
Oldenburg estimates that Chavez has taught more than 7,000 students in her 28 years at Bryn Mawr.
"Talking about the number of classes that she's had, it's just astronomical. She's brought in so many amazing projects," Oldenburg said. "She's been bringing in people to help our kids and expose them to things that they might not get the opportunity to see all the time."
Chavez has introduced her students to a variety of sports including dance, First Tee golf, biking, snowshoeing, rugby, karate and self-defense classes.
Chavez secured grants to get them a fleet of bikes and thanks to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the school has $25,000 worth of snowshoes. Kids take the trails just behind the school at Theodore Wirth Regional Park.
"Our kids can go right out the gym door and go cross-country skiing in beautiful woods. So, we see the animal tracks and we see the animals in the woods," Chavez said.
Many of the teachers are trained so that their classes can use the bikes.
"They get to know their neighborhood in a way that is really meaningful for them," said Aaron May, a third-grade teacher at Bryn Mawr.
May will soon take over the biking program.
"It's sad to leave but it's time for me. Physically, my body's kind of done after 33 years of getting on a scooter and off. I always said the day I couldn't get down on a scooter and get up was the day I needed to be done. I can get down. The problem is getting up is a little bit of an issue," Chavez said. "So, it's just time for me to go."
Chavez plans to retire when the school year ends June 14.
Earlier this month, she received a surprise from the Minnesota Lynx.
"I just thought our school got free tickets," Chavez recalled.
Pretty soon, she was standing in the middle of the court and receiving a signed ball.
"I didn't have a clue. It was pretty cool... pretty cool to be honored that way," she said.
After 33 years, what keeps Ms. Anita going?
"It's the light bulb moment when you've been trying to get somebody to throw overhand with their right hand and stepping with their left foot. And now all of a sudden, they get it and they're jumping up and down. Even though you don't really care about them hitting a target, they're just trying to doing their best. When they hit it and they're jumping up and down, you're jumping up and down," Chavez said. "The light-bulb moment I think is what's kept me going for for 33 years."
Chavez plans to spend the next year traveling with her mom, visiting historical sites around Minnesota.
"The spirit of her will live on. That gym — she's been the only gym teacher there. The building was put together in 1996 and it's just been Anita," May said. "What she's created in there, her spirit is going to be there a lifetime."
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