A state organization recently honored three Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teachers with its Simon A. McNeely Award for their leadership and innovative teaching practices while staying active in their communities.

Collectively, Ian Caballero, physical education (PE) teacher at C Paul Barnhart, Berry and J.P. Ryon elementary schools, health teacher Shelby Smith of La Plata High School and Eric Wittenbach, a Milton M. Somers Middle School PE teacher, represent more than 45 years of working in CCPS.

Ian Caballero
Caballero has experience in many areas of teaching. He started as a substitute then was an instructional assistant in literacy. Caballero then served as a computer facilitator before becoming a PE teacher, a role he has held for 15 years.

The job is a good fit. “I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference in the younger generation,” Caballero said. “I always have liked to stay active and to teach physical skills to kids.”

Save for a time at Maurice J. McDonough High School, Caballero’s career has been spent teaching elementary-aged students. He previously taught at Mary H. Matula Elementary School, and now splits his time between Barnhart, Berry and J.P. Ryon. “The kids are very enthusiastic and interactive,” he said. “They are willing to learn.”

There are some challenges that come with shepherding younger students away from technology and into physical activity. “Just getting them interested in activities and units,” Caballero said of the difficulties teachers can face. “Getting them to work together and work with other people instead of just doing it themselves,” he said.

Outside of work, Caballero plays baseball in an Industrial Baseball League, plays pickleball and weight trains.

Shelby Smith
Smith started her career with CCPS as an athletic trainer and has continued in the role for the past 10 years. She added teaching to the mix six years ago. “I got into teaching a little unconventionally,” Smith said. “When COVID-19 hit, [La Plata Principal Douglass] Dolan asked if I would be interested in teaching health. One thing led to another and now I juggle both.”

Being in the classroom allows Smith to have an impact on more students. “Health is such an important content area that students are already invested and engaged in,” she said. “It can apply to their everyday life, no matter who they are.”

Smith enjoys working with teenagers, seeing them grow and mature through the years they attend high school. She teaches Health I and Health II, which gives Smith an opportunity to teach many students twice. “I truly feel that health teachers can be one of the most impactful educators our students come across,” she said. Class topics can touch on the subject of social media and its influence — good and bad. “Real topics — we get to teach students how to successfully and appropriately navigate them,” Smith said.

When she’s not providing sports medicine on fields, courts and tracks to students around the county, Smith likes to stay active with regular walks.

Eric Wittenbach
Wittenbach, a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), has been a teacher at Somers for more than two decades. While he primarily is a PE teacher, through the years he has taught sections for health and social studies classes.

“Teaching physical education for me was kind of inevitable,” Wittenbach said. “My dad was a teacher and coach, so from a very young age I was always with him at a high school during practices and games.”

The elder Wittenbach coached three varsity sports which instilled a lifelong love of sports and physical activity in his son. Wittenbach tries to influence his students in much the same way. Middle school students are at an age when they can start making some of their own decisions about their health. “My mission for teaching physical education has always been centered around making lifelong physical activity accessible to all,” he said, adding if students learn training principles and self-efficacy, they are more like to opt for an active lifestyle.

The different personalities who walk into the gym push Wittenbach to challenge himself to develop new drills and games each year.

“Being creative also allows you to address some of the issues brought about by a culture that is entrenched in social media and technology,” he said. “I think at Somers we have had some success in addressing these challenges by creating skill building stations and small sided-games that emphasize process over product and engagement.”

Wittenbach coached high school football in past years and now helps out with the middle school archery tournament held at Somers each fall. He stays busy with strength training and cardio, and makes sure he has balance. “I am big believer in functional [and] holistic health and wellness practices. I feel that physical activity and wellness is the cure for most of what ails us physically and emotionally,” Wittenbach said.

More SHAPE news

• Jillian Genua, physical education teacher at T.C. Martin Elementary, was named the State Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year’s by SHAPE Maryland.
• CCPS aquatics manager Amy Robinson takes over the role of SHAPE Maryland President as Valeri Cheseldine, former Eva Turner Elementary School PE teacher, exits the position.
• Matthew Golonka, a PE content specialist for CCPS, was awarded a Presidential Citation at SHAPE Maryland’s recent conference.

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,904 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event. 

CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).