Table 3.

Themes Identified in the Study

Themes	Findings	Sample Quotes
Success is critical and possible	High quality distance learning is necessary	School Health Expert: “I hope that the advocates are in place at the right times to say, No, educating students in physical education is critical.” School Health Expert: “Kids are able now to be able to be tested on knowledge, of concepts, of fitness that some teachers were able to do before, and others kind of bypassed because they did not want to come into a classroom.” Teacher: “They just need to understand that moving is important. The kids need to move, they are going to learn better.”
Creating a learning environment	Personalization: teacher and student created lessons, videos, reflections Creativity: use of technology and resources Inclusiveness: flexible policies and practices	Teacher: “But distance learning offers a really unique opportunity for teachers to provide much more personalized and impactful feedback for students in physical education, in a way that was just never possible before.” Teacher: “If you want to have an effective class, you have to be in front of the screen, talking to them, saying their name. You have to be present.” School Health Expert: “I know the problems, those are the families where the parents are working multiple jobs and they are essential workers. And the 12‐year‐old middle school student who comes home all the time, becomes the familial caretaker. And you know what, when you are watching 2 siblings, you do not have time to do distance learning. But it's doing the best you can to get the technology into the home to at least create the opportunity.”
Resources for success	Professional development Administrative support Equipment	Teacher: “… using your district's professional development. And learning new strategies as, how can I maybe share my screen and record a video at the same time, or push out lessons where I'm teaching them, and then doing a voiceover on something?” Teacher: “… a feeling of support and the feeling of like that it's a valid subject from the top down, from administrative level, from the board level that it's a valued and important part of the curriculum.” Teacher: “They did not all have a jump rope, they did not all have a ball. So, either a barrier to being able to do something at home and not having the equipment or not having the space. So, not having a yard big enough to throw a ball far, that kind of thing.”
Lessons for the long term	Lifelong skills Focus on state standards Professional growth	Teacher: “So, I feel like the online physical education, if it's effective and it works well, you implement something for a lifetime as opposed to something that is just while they are younger.” School Health Expert: “… it [distance learning] will help us get some of our teachers … to actually think about the physical education content standards as they teach them.” School Health Expert: “So, I think it's making teachers step outside their box and realize there's other ways to do it. And I think they'll continue to do a lot of that as we get back to normal.” School Health Expert: “Teachers are stepping up and doing things I never thought they could do before. … You need to step out and say, “I gotta change. Let me see what other people are doing. Let me learn.” There's so many resources out there that teachers can learn from if they are willing to do it.”