Yorkville physical education teacher John Ernser promotes healthy bodies and minds

Yorkville High School physical education teacher John Ernser is seen here in his office.

At Yorkville High School, John Ernser is the head of the school’s Health Division, serves as a physical education instructor and as an assistant coach on school athletic teams.

His goal is to promote healthy bodies and minds while helping students make those all-important social connections and build personal character.

“We’re not worried about whether a student is good at a game,” Ernser said. “We want kids to be socially aware of themselves and find a role in all of the activities we offer students.”

Ernser described the qualities he hopes to instill in students.

“We’re looking for good character; someone who is proactive and not taking shortcuts. That will pay off with success down the road,” he said.

Ernser teaches Yorkville School District 115′s Peer Leaders Adapted Physical Education class and in a sense there are two classes happening simultaneously.

One is for students with disabilities, using an adaptive approach that is designed to provide every opportunity for them to participate and grow.

The other is for the student “peer leaders” who assist those students and receive so much in return for what they do.

Sometimes a victory is measured simply when a student is able to tie their own shoe and run across the gymnasium floor, Ernser said. “There are so many opportunities for success.”

Peer leaders say they find the work rewarding and Ernser a mentor.

“He is always making sure we use proper ways to adapt to all of their different needs, like when we are playing games,” senior McKenna Calloway said.

“I like being around the kids,” junior Kayla Dudek said. “It makes me happy.”

Calloway and Dudek said they are interested in pursuing careers in speech pathology and said they have benefited from Ernser’s instruction in learning to use a touch-screen communication technology on which some students rely.

Yorkville High School physical education teacher John Ernser is flanked by two of the "peer leaders" in his adapted PE class. They are junior Kayla Dudek, left, and senior McKenna Calloway.

Many of the students use wheelchairs or their movement is restricted, but Ernser makes sure they are included in all the activities.

“The social aspect is huge for these kids,” Ernser said.

While the class “looks different and sounds different” from other physical education sections, any teacher would instantly recognize the lesson-planning that goes into Ernser’s course.

The students start with a walk around the gymnasium to loosen up. Then the student peer leaders and their “peer pals” gather around as Ernser gives them a pep talk and on one particular day introduces the group to a new student.

Then a series of increasingly strenuous actives begins that promote teamwork and social interaction, with Ernser offering encouragement along the way.

First comes a simple jaunt across the gym floor. Soon the students are tossing balls and later use racquets to bat balls back and forth over a very low net, one of the “adapted” components of the class.

At the end of the class, Ernser huddles with his peer leaders, reviewing the progress their charges have made and complimenting them on their work.

“You can make a huge difference in someone’s life in every single class period.”

—  John Ernser, Yorkville High School physical education instructor

Ernser, who makes his home in Aurora, grew up in Ripon, Wisconsin, playing on his high school football, basketball and baseball teams.

At Ripon College, Ernser played baseball under College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Gordie Gillespie, from whom he drew inspiration.

“He gave perspective,” Ernser said. “I wanted to make a difference.”

Ernser earned a master’s degree in school leadership from Concordia University in River Forest in 2011 and a certificate of graduate study in adapted physical education from Northern Illinois University in 2013.

Starting his career teaching physical education and health while serving as athletic director at a middle school in Schiller Park from 2005 until 2016, Ernser then joined the YHS faculty. He has been an assistant football coach for seven years and an assistant softball coach for the past four.

Now, as head of the school’s Wellness Division, Ernser delegates responsibility to three teachers to coordinate and guide health, driver’s education, strength and conditioning and, of course, general physical education.

Ernser also performs administrative functions, including responsibility for his division’s budget, and must make sure the curriculum meets state standards.

But interacting with his students on the gym floor is what Ernser clearly enjoys most.

“You can make a huge difference in someone’s life in every single class period,” he said.

Yorkville High School physical education teacher John Ernser offers encouragement in his adapted PE course for students with disabilities.