Health Education Evolution

When Shay  steps into her middle school health classroom in Massachusetts, she brings more than lesson plans—she carries a philosophy of education built on relationship, respect, and real-world skills. Her journey to health education wasn't direct; after studying adaptive PE and motor development therapy, she worked as a camp director and YMCA youth program manager before finding her true calling in the classroom.

What makes Shay's approach special is her commitment to creating brave spaces where students feel safe discussing sensitive topics. "We're all different, we're all unique, we all come from different backgrounds," she reminds her students at the beginning of each unit. This foundation of mutual respect allows her sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to engage meaningfully with content that might otherwise feel uncomfortable or intimidating.

The health education Shay provides looks dramatically different from what many adults experienced in school. Rather than simply telling students what not to do, she focuses on decision-making processes, self-advocacy, and communication skills. "It's more positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement," she explains, describing how she helps students understand not just what choices to make, but how to make those choices for themselves. This shift represents a broader evolution in health education, moving away from prohibition-based teaching toward empowering students with lifelong skills.

For new educators entering the field, Shay offers wisdom gained from experience: "Make sure you take care of yourself before you can head into that classroom, because when you go into that door and that bell rings, you're not there for yourself anymore—you're there for those students." This balance of self-care and selfless teaching defines her approach, reminding us all that the most effective educators understand both their students' needs and their own limitations.

Whether she's coaching basketball, translating materials for multilingual learners, or helping students navigate complex social situations, Shay creates spaces where young people can develop the health literacy they'll need throughout their lives. Her story reminds us of health education's vital importance and transformative potential when approached with passion, purpose, and genuine care for student wellbeing.

For more info about our state association:

https://ma-hperd.org/

Chapters

• 0:32 Introduction and Welcome
• 1:28 Shay's Educational Journey
• 4:14 Teaching Health Standards in Middle School
• 5:45 Creating Brave Spaces for Students
• 8:35 Supporting Diverse Learners
• 10:20 Advice for New Health Educators
• 11:44 Evolution of Health Education
• 14:16 Future Goals and Closing

Transcript

Jake: 0:32

Thank you for listening to this podcast, where we talk with educators in the field to hear about their perspectives and experiences. My name is Jake Bersin, advocacy Chair for MAHPERD, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Shay Santiago. Welcome, shay.

Shay: 0:46

Hi, thanks for having me on.

Shay: 0:47

Yes, of course. So I'm so excited to be in this space with you and thank you so much for saying yes to this podcast. Before we get started, I like to ask all the guests this question what's making you smile these days? Before we get started, I like to ask all the guests this question what's making you smile these days?

Shay: 0:59

You know I just got done with a pretty big basketball season. It's my first year coaching at a local charter school and this is one of the first years they've actually had a middle school team. So it was pretty cool to get them almost to the playoffs and have a pretty good record for the first time, considering and just you know getting some time over February vacation and getting to see some family.

Jake: 1:22

So no, that's good. It's always good to see the family check in on them. See what's going on Awesome. So, Shay, tell us more about who you are and how you started your education journey.

Shay: 1:34

So my mom was always an educator from she . She did preschool, . She ended her career doing a kindergarten, . So I kind of grew up around education, um. It was pretty held high in our, in our household. So, I got to college and I wasn't quite sure, what path I wanted to be. I just knew I wanted to work with kids. So I started off working in some summer camps doing, you know, adaptive sports and things like that. And then I kind of realized I'd like to lean into the PE and health world. So I got my undergraduate at Bridgewater State University in adaptive PE and motor development therapy. So from there I actually didn't go right into education.

Shay: 2:18

After undergrad I was a camp director and I also managed youth programs at some local YMCAs. After that I kind of realized I'd actually really like to be in the classroom. So I started teaching adaptive PE and then after a couple of years of that, I went right into um. I worked at a private school, so that was kind of what solidified it for me. I did PE, health and I was the athletic director there. So, um, then I realized, um, you know, my family was really encouraging me to go into the public school system. So, I took my MTELs and I got a job in Revere and it was probably one of the best decisions. I wasn't always keen to health, but then I kind of got into it after teaching it for a little bit, and I realized that's where I really want to be.

Jake: 3:05

So that great . It sounds like you had a lot of different types of experiences with the athletic director and the adaptive PE and the health. That's great.

Shay: 3:15

Yeah, it wasn't really a straight path, but it was kind of got myself there.

Jake: 3:20

And your folks encourage you along the way, which is great, so it sounds like they inspired you to pursue a career in your field. Did anybody else inspire you to pursue a career?

Shay: 3:32

Yes, I grew up playing a lot of sports and when I got to high school I had a lot of great teachers and great mentors there, who also were some of my coaches, and that kind of pushed me in that direction as well, getting involved in clubs and working with those teachers a lot closer after building those relationships. So that kind of gave me that idea of that's something I'd like to do and build those relationships with kids.

Jake: 3:58

So, shay, you're middle and secondary or high school level which level do you teach?

Shay: 4:04

I teach middle school, so I teach sixth, seventh and eighth grade.

Jake: 4:07

Okay. So sixth, seventh and eighth grade Okay. So for our listeners who may not know, what standards or skills do you teach in regards to health education?

Shay: 4:15

What standards or skills do you teach in regards to health education? So I teach the mass frameworks. I do a couple different standards with each grade. So for sixth graders I do a decision-making unit, self-management and goal-setting unit and then a unit on communication, which are some of the practices of the frameworks there. And in seventh and eighth grade I teach the same units and I teach the same practices, but I kind of use the content a little bit different. So I do decision-making, self-advocacy and accessing information with those two grades.

Jake: 4:47

Okay, so while we're talking about students, how often do you actually see your students in Revere?

Shay: 4:53

So we work on a six-day rotation. I myself and the other health teacher we both have 12 classes, so we split the school in half. So I have every two days. I'll have the same class two days in a row and then I'll move to a next group and I teach four classes of each grade. So within that six day rotation I see each group twice.

Jake: 5:15

Twice. Okay, so let me think about this. So, throughout the year, will you see them for a semester, or how many times do you actually see them throughout the year? Like 30 or more?

Shay: 5:24

I teach them the whole school year. So I don't know what that adds up to, but I teach them all two days a week, September to June.

Jake: 5:31

Okay, all right, that's interesting because every school is a little bit different. I know in our district we have the sixth grade they see they have it once a week all year but the fifth grade, they only have it the first semester and the same with the fourth. So it just depends on the district we're in. That's cool. So here's another question how do you ensure that health is a brave and a safe space for everyone, all the students, all the learners?

Shay: 5:57

So whenever I'm teaching anything, I always initially start anything off with.

Shay: 5:58

You know, we're all different, we're all unique, we all come from different backgrounds, we all come from different places. So we need to make sure that anything that we say in this classroom throughout whatever unit we might be doing, and especially in health class, we teach upon some sensitive topics for some folks, but I mean for the general. That's pretty much how we start those classes in general every day, or especially at the beginning of a unit, if I know we're going to do something that might be a little bit, I guess, triggering or something like that for a student. And I also have a pretty strict policy on how we address each other in the classroom, which is it goes along with what our school guidelines are too in that respect too. But we also talk about, you know, if we are going to talk about something that somebody else might disagree with, we need to make sure that we, especially with sixth grade, with the communication unit and conflict resolution. A lot of those kids will use those skills. So that way everybody in the classroom feels welcome.

Jake: 6:57

That's great. So it sounds like you're setting up the environment with your routines and procedures, so we're all on the same page and, like you said, they're talking about conflict resolution skills and decision-making skills. So it all comes into play. That's great. So you kind of answered my next question, which was how do you engage and support your learners? But you explained nicely, you, you know one way you do that.

Shay: 7:16

Any other ways, um that you, you're supporting the learners in the, in the class, either with the content or themselves yeah, um, I, my first thing always going into the school year is making sure I build those relationships with students, um, and looking out for those students who might fall through those cracks, necessarily in the social groups of their friends, not necessarily in the school, but, and you know I also with those relationships.

Shay: 7:42

We have a lot of kids that stay after school with us, which definitely helps in the classroom to have those relationships, to know them outside of just the education setting. So, and then we also have a lot of multilingual learners. So any, any materials that I need to produce. I have some classes who have students who need them translated into different documents so that they get the same experience that the rest of the students do do day to day. And if any issues come up, like with students, I make sure to just address it immediately and work with them to see how we can come to a solution for them, whether it's with another student or it was in the classroom. And that goes right back to those relationship building.

Jake: 8:29

Right, yeah, that's right. Those relationships really build a foundation for the whole year, so that's great. That's great to hear. Shay, what advice would you give someone entering your profession, someone new to the field? What would you tell them?

Shay: 8:43

I'm entering the profession, whether it's PE or health, is just making sure I feel like those kind of blur, the lines of not necessarily like core classes, of like we're going to talk about math today, we're going to talk about, you know, language arts, and then health, and PE is specifically in health. We do touch upon sensitive topics and I think what I've, what I've always told myself, is to the first thing you need to do, especially working with students, is making sure that you take care of yourself before you can head into that classroom, because when you go into that door and go into your classroom for the day and that bell rings, you're not there for yourself anymore, you're there for those students. And I think, as a new educator, that was something that I struggled with is just not knowing, not how difficult, but I guess there are good days and there are bad days and you always have to bring your best self so you can meet those students where they're at.

Jake: 9:38

I love that response, shay. I mean it just goes to show like we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others, and you know, like that that analogy, they talk about the oxygen mask on the plane you got to put yours on before you can up somebody else. So that's, that's really great to hear. So how would you feel change, would you say, since you first started any, any big changes or any, any developments in the field?

Shay: 10:02

I know the framework's got adjusted lately, but Right, right, I guess for me I I kind, of like I said, I got into the education field not necessarily late, but not directly after college um and I took a very different route than a lot of other educators might have taken.

Jake: 10:26

So yeah, no. The question was how is it? How has the field the field changed since you've gotten started and have you noticed any differences or any updates? I know the frameworks just got updated, but what changes have you seen? Maybe in your school or district?

Shay: 10:43

Yeah, the frameworks itself. I mean back when I was in health class myself, these didn't exist and health class was very different. And since getting into education, when I worked at the private school, we didn't have to use those mass standards or the national standards. I kind of use them as a guideline and they were different at that time. So for me it was a big adjustment and change for me to go into the public school setting and to learn those frameworks and to put them into play and I think in general that's a pretty big change that we've seen as educators. So I think for me that would be the biggest change for health education as a whole and for me just something new that I just learned and am able to put into practice now with the things that I've already been able to do.

Jake: 11:32

Yeah, no, that's awesome. I think a lot of people are, you know, learning these new frameworks for health and PE teachers because they just got revised. So it's all a learning curve, it's all a learning process, but the standards and the guidelines are important. I mean, I think everything should be based off the standards, right? So that's great that you're doing that. What are some common misconceptions you think folks might have or do have about your field health education? Sure.

Shay: 11:58

I think, a lot of misconceptions and I can speak to this pretty personally Up until I started working in Revere, which was just a year ago. I started last February and since I got just full time health, no PE or anything else and discussing it with like friends and family. The first question is like how do you do that? That's just, that's so. That's such a hard job, especially with middle school, and not to say that it's not. But I think a lot of people think it's more of like what they had as health in the past of well, you can't do this, you shouldn't do this, this is bad for you.

Shay: 12:33

And now things are framed in the light of. Here are some of the decisions that you could make. Here is what the result might be. Let's figure out how you got yourself to that decision, whether it was to with, like, specifically with my seventh graders you're talking about vaping and things like that and to talk about. You know, yes, it's great to maybe avoid that, but if you are someone who you know presents some risk factors, let's look at that. Let's talk about the decision-making process, of how you could advocate for yourself and decide not to do that. So I think, in general, it's more. It's more positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement, which is what I think a lot of people I'm 29.

Shay: 13:19

And I know that my experience was a lot like that of you know you shouldn't do this, so I think that is a pretty big misconception that I myself have been trying to relate to people that I know in my personal life as well as in the past.

Jake: 13:34

So I love that idea of positive reinforcement because you're right, I mean, people associate the content area with the experience that they had in the past. So you know, we can change that narrative, you know all the better. So that's awesome. That's awesome. What do you hope to see in the future, and this could be either personal or professional. What goals might you have?

Shay: 13:55

I mean personally, I just want to continue to grow in this field. Like I said, I just started teaching health full-time a year ago and this has become a passion of mine and I've kind of dived into it head first and it was the best decision and I just I want to see myself grow and learn those standards to the best of my ability, because I think as health educators we know the standards but I'd like to know them, you know, like the back of my hand, which would help me in the classroom and help students and parents kind of understand what we've got going on Like with those misconceptions. I think parents might feel that way as well and not quite understand that. And I think you know in the field there's so much room for growth for all educators and I know just going to a conference with Mayford recently was really eye-opening and a great experience for me and I'm looking forward to a lot more of those opportunities to present themselves.

Jake: 14:51

That's great. So you went to the conference at the DCU Center.

Shay: 14:54

Yeah, no, I went to the conference in.

Jake: 14:58

It was out in Western Mass, I don't remember where it was I'm sorry, okay, at the public house yes, at the public house right the health educators conference yes oh nice, okay, oh perfect, yeah, that's a beautiful place yeah, it was great that's awesome. So they was, yeah, they were. It was um. Was it dr connelly there? They were talking about the frameworks, the standards. Did you, did you? Yes, yes awesome and I also um Maria Melchionda I.

Shay: 15:25

I met her while we were there um and I realized just kind of at the end that she was actually my professor in college. I kind of recognized her. The name sounded familiar um, so it was a great experience to you know, learn and also you'd reconnect with her and meet some other educators in the field that's right, she's.

Jake: 15:40

She's a Bridgewater. Yeah, she teaches at Bridgewater, yeah.

Shay: 15:43

Yeah.

Jake: 15:43

That's awesome, great, good, good for you. So, shana, thank you so much for sharing your expertise and experience with us. It's been really great chatting with you, connecting listeners. If you have any questions, you can always email us at Mayford podcast at gmailcom. We'll have this episode uploaded soon. Also, we're asking to leave a review if this podcast has been helpful in supporting you in any way, as it does help other folks find it. Thank you all for listening. Have a great week and we will be back soon.