Susan Heid is championing abilities with her district’s only adaptive climbing wall.
Susan Heid has supported students through physical education for 29 years. You might expect that she’s thinking more about retirement than classroom innovations — but you would be wrong. With the support of her administration, Heid has installed the district’s only adaptive climbing wall in Beaufort Elementary School’s gymnasium.
“At first it felt like a pipe dream,” says Heid. “We’re a Title I school, and these walls can be incredibly expensive. My principal made it her mission to see our school have a climbing wall, and she told me to choose one.”
The encouragement from her principal went beyond dreaming big for their gymnasium. She also encouraged Heid to advance her knowledge with a master’s degree in Adapted P.E. Heid’s principal recognized a spark in her for students with varying abilities. There were new special education teachers at their school, and Heid had been working to help them adjust to the school. She took her principal’s advice and began researching programs.
“I got so hungry for knowledge,” said Heid. “I was constantly visiting those classrooms, and I wanted to learn how to best support the students. I found the program at the University of South Carolina. It was asynchronous and online, so it very much fit into my life. I’ve loved every class. It has been an incredible experience for me.”
Heid admits that she was a little nervous about starting the program. She completed her first master’s in 2001, so it had been a while since she sat on the other side of the desk. The program enrolls students all over the United States. Heid enjoyed meeting people from other states and learning what practices they use in their schools.
“Professor Taliaferro was amazing,” says Heid. “She was a wonderful resource and a fantastic educator. While Professor Brian began the program, Taliaferro has drawn on her own research and gives us the best of both experts.”
Heid used what she had learned in her classes to research and select an adaptive climbing wall with wide supports and handles in various sizes that allow a student of any ability to practice climbing. One of the most important parts of the wall is that it allows students to build upper body strength and confidence as they choose their path across the wall.
Heid has crafted lessons for students without learning differences as well. Students in AMES her school’s accelerated program for math, engineering and science, were given a challenge of moving across the wall only using certain colored blocks and handles. For example, students can only touch yellow handles as they cross the wall. Heid could see their brains problem solving in real time as they plotted a path with the prescribed limitations.
“These students are our future engineers,” says Heid. “I could take a step back and see them looking at the wall and mentally connecting the dots from point A to point B. It was fun to see them create a plan before completing the challenge.”
Heid recognizes that not everyone had a fond experience in physical education during their schooling. She wanted to change that narrative and be a teacher that is known for supporting students, building them and challenging them in fun and healthy ways.
“I’m powered by a drive of watching students succeed, no matter what the task is,” says Heid. “I want to get behind the student who is struggling with (physical activity) and stay with them until they have the confidence to do any task. I like to joke that I will probably teach PE for another 20 years if they’ll let me. I love my students, and I love what I do.”
To learn more about Heid and her school’s adaptive climbing wall, watch the video below.