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Darla M. Castelli, Ph.D., is associate professor of physical education 
pedagogy in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
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Educating the Student Body
University of Texas at Austin. She has been working with school-age youth 
in physical activity settings for more than 20 years, leading several physical 
activity interventions (e.g., FIT [Fitness Improves Thinking] Kids, Active + 
Active Healthy = Forever Fit, Fitness4Everyone). Dr. Castelli has received 
teaching awards in both public schools (the Maine Physical Education 
Teacher of the Year) and higher education (University of Illinois Teaching 
Excellence Award). As a fellow in the American Alliance for Health, Physical 
Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Research Consortium 
and past Young Scholar award recipient from National Association of 
Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education (NAKPEHF and 
AIESEP, her study of children’s physical activity and cognitive health has 
been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Robert Wood 
Johnson Foundation (RWJF), American Dietetic Foundation, and U.S. 
Department of Education. She has presented her work at congressional 
briefings in Washington, DC, in support of the FIT Kids Act. Dr. Castelli is 
currently a member of the IOM Committee on Fitness Measures and Health 
Outcomes in Youth. She received a B.S. from Plymouth State University, an 
M.S. from Northern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in physical education 
pedagogy from the University of South Carolina.