Heath Mueller and the students at St. Matthew's School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa have been using the Heart Zones Move Solution since August of 2015. As the first Catholic school to use heart rate technology and only the second in the state to use Heart Zones, St. Matthew's has been an incredible pioneer for the Smart PE Movement.
Check out this incredible news story that a local channel did on Heath and St. Matthews, then hear from Heath himself below about how the Heart Zones Move Solution has impacted him, his students, and his school!
How did you first hear about Heart Zones and how did you get the funds to purchase the Heart Zones Move Solution?
From the start of Health Mueller's career in physical education, he was determined to get heart rate monitors for his classroom. In college, Heath first encountered Heart Zones when attending an Iowa P.E. convention and speaking with Beth Kirkpatrick who passionately shared about heart rate monitors and their benefits in schools. According to Heath:
Seeing the way this technology impacted Physical Education, and how passionate Beth was about it, made a lasting impression that changed the way I viewed Physical Education.
St. Matthews PE students stretching to warm up with the heart rate monitors PC
From year one Heath was asking his principal about purchasing heart rate monitors.
The first response was not hopeful at all: a simple no was my answer. Still each year I asked again, listing the benefits and chipping away at the possibility of what this technology could do for my school.
It was not until during his third year of teaching when Heath asked about heart rate monitors that the principal seemed more hopeful. Later that year, the St. Matthews principal came to Heath saying that he may have possible donors.
He and I went to the donor’s house and explained what we were trying to do. They seemed very receptive and said they would get back to us. Unfortunately, there was a member of the family who voted against giving us the money.
PE students playing under giant parachute wearing heart rate monitors PC: Rebecca F. Miller
Heath then turned to the parent teacher association at their school for help with the cost, showing them the benefits of heart rate technology and how it would positively impact their school.
Being such a big cost the parent association was going to need time to determine if they would be able to pay for the heart rate monitors. By the time we got back to the parent association with the cost our quote was changed by a couple thousand dollars more.
But Heath didn't let that stop him. In the mean time he drafted a letter to send possible donors, like local businesses, any amount they were willing to give would help. With all the setbacks, Heath was starting to get discouraged thinking that getting heart rate monitors for his school would take much longer than he originally expected. Then Heath meet Beth Kirkpatrick at the Iowa P.E. Convention in 2015 when everything changed...
Beth was with a new company —Heart Zones— that had heart rate monitors that went on the arm, instead of around the chest. This was always one of my biggest concerns, next to cost. Any physical educator I spoke to about heart rate monitors loved the idea, but didn’t like chest strap. Not only was there no chest strap, but the cost was half of what I was looking at with another company. Half the cost and no yearly fees made this a possibility.
PE students moving parachute up and down while wearing monitors
Heath was very excited to share about this new opportunity with his principal. By now, the St. Matthew's principal was on board with Heath and equally passionate about getting heart rate technology into their school.
I was hoping this would take us one step closer to getting “in my opinion” essential technology. I never imagined my principal would tell me we had the money in our technology budget. At least every other year we have a Tech Walk to raise needed funds for our continuously changing technology needs. The money came from this fundraiser with matching donations.
Why did you choose the Heart Zones Move Solution?
St. Matthew's PE student wearing heart rate monitor on forearm
In the end, there were several reasons Heath chose to purchase heart rate monitors through Heart Zones.
The first reason I chose Heart Zones was Beth Kirkpatrick. With Beth being one to the first P.E. teachers in the nation to use heart rate monitors in schools and with all of her experience and knowledge, I knew that this technology was the best fit for our school. Of course cost was another issue. Being at a small Catholic school funds are hard to come by. The overall cost was half that of their competitors, with no yearly fees. This made it possible for us to purchase the heart rate monitors. The last reason is that this system does not utilize a chest strap. This has always been a major concern as to how we’d use them for my elementary students. The arm strap is a game changer.
What are the most important features of the Heart Zones Move Solution for your program?
The most important features of the Heart Zones Move Solutions for my program are the “big board,” the instant downloads, and the simplicity of the system. The big board is essential because it allows the students and teacher to receive instant feedback. Not only can a student see how they are doing, but it also allows the teacher to motivate students and adjust the lesson.
Heath showing St Matthew's students their heart rate on the Heart Zones' Big Board
The instant downloads make this system time efficient and effortless. As soon as you stop the class an email is sent to parents with exact details on how their child did in class. I have had multiple parents tell me this has led to interesting conversations with their children. The last feature that is crucial is the simplicity of the system. There aren’t numerous places you have to go to look for data or continuous adjusting you have to do to the system.
St. Matthews PE teacher, Heath Mueller, with his students
What have the kids liked most about having the Heart Zones Move Solution?
The kids like having the big board. Students like that they can see how hard they are working while they are active. Having goals and being able to know how they did on their goals have been extremely motivating to my students. I always have students at the end of my class want to see their graphs that will be sent to their parents.
St. Matthews PE students putting away their heart rate monitors after class
What have the teachers liked most about having the Heart Zones Move Solution?
The part of the Heart Zones Move Solution that has impacted my program the most is having data on my students. No longer do I only have observational evaluations, peer evaluations, or self evaluations. I now know how hard a student is working in every class on record. This has changed my parent teacher conferences and my grading. To be able to show parents exactly how hard their child is working has changed the way my profession is viewed.
Want to know more?
If you would like to learn more from Heath Mueller about how he and his school are using the Heart Zones Move Solution you can email him at hmueller@stmatthewcr.org! OR if you want to know how you can get the Heart Zones Move Solution for your school, contact the Heart Zones' team below!