APE Teacher Interview

Teacher Background:
The teacher that I interviewed was Charlie Rizzuto(@RizzutoEd) and he currently teaches APE
and health science in a school in New York. Charlie has been teaching 14-15 years, and his
education consisted of a MS physical education, MS health education, and a BS in psychology.
He stated in the interview that he always wanted to teach and work with young individuals
growing up, which lead him to the position where he is at now. He originally wanted to become a
school counselor but changed his mind later in life to pursue PE to connect more with young
individuals. One accomplishment that he highlighted was that in 2020 he won New Yor
Secondary PE Teacher of the Year award.

What is your Job responsibility as an APE teacher?

When it comes to Charlie’s job responsibility as an APE teacher is to keep all of his paperwork
in order and up to date so that he does not fall behind. He also mentioned it is an APE teacher’s
job help students with high need develop physical skills and abilities of students with
developmental deficiencies by implementing district approved curriculum.

What are some strategies developed over the years for streamlining paperwork in APE &
surviving in the day-to-day operations of being an itinerant teacher?
On a typical day Charlie arrives to school/ work around 7:15 am. Charlie teaches about 6 classes
a day. That class would consist of APE at different levels(9th and 10th), exercise science, and
health/nutrition. Majority of his class is scattered throughout his facility which requires him to
move around frequently. He believes that his work schedule is chaotic but still loves his job.
Charlie also works as an adjunct professor at a university at times. When it comes to Charlie’s
organization methods, he said that he utilizes google drive services a lot. This is because it is
very versatile, online, and very easy to share materials with others when needed.

Do you use any technology?

Charlie utilizes a lot of technology he teaches in his class. For his PE class he uses heart rate
monitors and activity trackers too. He also mentioned that he feels grateful that the school he
teaches at has so much great technology that he can provide to his students. He also uses a lot of
the google platform apps since it is really convenient and cost efficient too. Another thing that he
uses too are video analysis apps too such as hudl techniques, which helps him analyzes
movement in great detail.

Do you collaborate with other APE teacher at your school?

When asking Charlie if he collaborated with PE teachers, he said that he does not. He does not
because they have their own separate period. The ape teacher at his facility only teaches for one
period and usually leaves right after that.

What strategies have you developed for working effectively with others?
One thing that Charlie stands by is that starting a strong culture with the children. Without a
strong connection students will most likely act out and not be as engaged. He recommends it
strongly because it will make the teachers and student relation that much better, and a lesser
chance for disruption.

What strategies have you developed for working effectively with other professionals on the
multidisciplinary team (i.e., IEP team)?
When it comes to strategies deleted while working with other professionals, Charlie does not
collaborate much as I expected. But when he does it typically happens because of an individual’s
behavior. He reaches out to the school PT/OT or other teachers that works closely with the
student. He asks for advice from them and tries to get a gauge on their behavior in other classes
they have , so he can implement strategies that other teachers/professionals use that may
potentially help improve problematic behaviors.

Is there anything about your school that makes it unique?

One thing that I found out that Charlie mentioned that was interesting, was that he does not refer
students to ape. Students that are in a special disability program is automatically placed into APE
so he does not have to refer students to APE.

Do you have any tips for future teachers?

A tip that Charlie gave me was that never stop growing even after positive validation. He says
never stop yourself from growing if you think you learned enough or revived enough positive
validation. He also said to ask "why" and "how" question a lot when teaching. This is because he
believes that those type of open-ended question will keep the class constantly participation, not
short answer, and causes the class to really think about their responses.

How do you handle classroom management?

Charlie is a strong believer in establishing a culture with students. He believes that this is
important because it helps create a better connection with students and teacher. It also helps set a
tone for the class and less disruption for the class. Another tip he gave was not to punish the
child if they are not participating or being disruptive. Rather punishing try to make a connection
and understand the child to see why they are acting the way they do. He says that punishment
does work but temporarily but does not correct the behavior long team. He would rather take his
time and try to understand the individual and work with them.

Reflection/Summary:
Overall, I thought that the interview that I had done with him was very inciteful and eye opening.
I learned a lot of useful information from Charlie, and after the interview I kind of see him as a
role model. He has worked hard his whole life to get to where he is now. I learned that he used a
lot of the technology we used in this class and how he utilized it. I can see myself in the future
using similar technology/applications in the future too. I really respect his idea on student
culture, and I definitely agree with him on that too. Establishing a strong connection with
students is very important especially in the first meeting. I'll always keep that in mind once I start
teaching. I also feel like that it is a strong key in classroom management. One thing that I found
interesting was how ape worked at his school. APE teachers and PE teachers do not collaborate
at all. Due to there being only one ape teachers at where he teaches, and he leaves right after
class is over. Another thing that I thought that was interesting was that the way students got into
ape at his facility was different from California. Instead of getting referred to ape student must
already be in a specialized disability program to be placed in ape. I learned a lot from this
interview, I found Charlie's story inspirational, and he gives me motivation become the best
teacher I can be.