#109 Quality PE Program with Mario Reyna

Mario Reyna has come from the same neighborhoods as the children he taught for so many years. He was born in San Juan, Texas, just a few miles from the border with Mexico. Like many families in the area, he grew up in poverty but always remained proud of his heritage. As a child, his family migrated to the Texas Panhandle area, Oklahoma, Colorado, Illinois and Wisconsin each summer. Since he was too young to
work, Mario spent many countless days in a car in the heat and surrounded by gnats. He feared leaving the car because of the presence of rattlesnakes. During this time, the desire to get a higher education and to be highly driven germinated. On many occasions, Reyna was told he could not:
• play high school basketball because of his physical size AND he ended up starting on his varsity team;
• get a college degree because of his low ACT scores and College entrance exams AND he ended up graduating with a 4.0 GPA in his master's work;
• umpire college baseball AND he umpired at the college level for 10 years;
• become state President of TAHPERD because he is a Hispanic AND he was elected to President in
2010; and,
• He would not be a leader because he is soft spoken/quite in nature AND the rest is history...
Reyna graduated from the Pan American University in 1981. He earned a Masters of Education degree in 1990 from the University of Texas - Pan American. He worked as a physical education teacher for 22 years. In 1997, he was selected the Elementary District Teacher of The Year. To date, he is the only physical education teacher to be selected as District Teacher of The Year. As an administrator for 14 years, his highlights include:
• TAHPERD Honor Award;
• TAHPERD Texas K-12 Administrator of The Year;
• SHAPE America Channing Mann Physical Education Administrator of The Year;
• TAHPERD President;
• Carol White Physical Education (PEP) grant ($1.9 million) and,
• McAllen ISD Board Recognitions
At the state level, Reyna has participated on the TAHPERD Curriculum Framework and TAHPERD Legislative Team; he also participated in the Fitnessgram Trainer of Trainers program. At the local level, he helped to create the Rio Grande Valley Health and Physical Education Leaders group with the purpose to collaborate on issues that impact our professions.
On February 25, 2014, Reyna was invited to the White House by Michelle Obama. On March 23, 2014, former First Lady Hillary Clinton applauded the McAllen ISD and the partnership with the Let's Move! Active Schools and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (AHG). In September 2015, Dr. Howell Wechsler, CEO of the AHG stated, "Congratulations to your amazing Health, Wellness and Physical Education leader Mario Reyna. Your leadership has been critical to making this historic (McAllen ISD's successful award-winning participation with the AHG) achievement possible."

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