Physical Education Teacher
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Rachel Stanley is a two-time graduate of California State University, Long Beach, where she received her bachelor's degree in Fine Art and her teaching credential in Physical Education. She has been a substitute teacher with Long Beach Unified and Los Alamitos Unified School Districts since 2017, with a particular focus on middle school, and has also been a swim instructor for 13 years. She comes to IVA after spending the past two years as a long-term substitute in middle school PE with Long Beach Unified. Ms. Stanley credits her lifelong love of the water and the outdoors with sparking her passion for physical education. In addition to swimming, she spends much of her time running, walking, and cycling around Seal Beach and Long Beach. She also loves music and dance, and fits them into her PE classes whenever possible!
"I was drawn to IVA because I enjoy the chance to build relationships, both with my students and with other teachers, and realized a smaller school with a more tight-knit community would provide better opportunities to connect. I share IVA's vision of helping students get to know themselves through identifying their own interests, strengths, and needs for growth, and equipping them to live well in their teen and adult years by teaching them how to develop their own fitness and health goals. To help my students develop positive connections with physical activity, I teach a variety of skills and activities, and use games or music to make it fun and engaging. When students find movement activities they genuinely enjoy, it empowers and motivates them to make exercise and fitness a part of their daily lives."