LA PLATA, Md. – Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) employees were recently recognized by the Society of Health & Physical Educators (SHAPE) Maryland for their leadership, service, and contributions to health and physical education.
SHAPE Names CCPS Aquatics Manager as President
Amy Robinson, aquatics manager for Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), has been named president of SHAPE Maryland for 2026.
The Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) Maryland provides physical education and health educators with professional development and networking opportunities while advocating for professionals in the field of health and physical education.
Robinson, who was honored by the organization in 2024 with the Simon A. McNeely Honor Award for her commitment to teaching students about health and physical education (PE), has worked for CCPS for 21 years.
She taught PE at Henry E. Lackey, North Point and St. Charles high schools before managing the pool at North Point in 2014 and becoming the school system’s aquatics manager in 2022. One of the tentpoles of CCPS aquatics is the fifth-grade water safety program designed to teach young students water safety skills.
While she started as a recreational therapy major in college, Robinson switched her focus to physical education and found it was a better fit. “Working behind a desk and having a predictable day was not for me,” she said.
Robinson joined SHAPE, then called the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAPHERD), in 2003. When she was named the CCPS aquatics manager, her involvement in the organization waned. In the past couple of years, colleagues encouraged her to come back.
“I wanted to be more involved and contribute to the [health and PE] community in the DMV area and nationally,” Robinson said. “I deeply believe in the mission and values of SHAPE Maryland and am proud to serve and help advance it’s work.”
State Organization Honors Golonka of CCPS With Presidential Citation
Growing up in Buffalo, N.Y., Matthew Golonka was really into sports. At the time, the Bills and Sabres were top franchises out of Western New York in football and hockey, respectively. “Sports were a constant part of my life,” Golonka, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) content specialist for health and physical education (PE), said. He was the kid in the neighborhood who organized street hockey and football games, “or whatever game we could come up with,” he said.
His knack for organization and supporting others led to Golonka being recently recognized by the Society of Health & Physical Educators (SHAPE) Maryland with a presidential citation. The accolade is given to educators who play a significant role in the development of PE and health education for students in kindergarten through Grade 12.
While in high school working on a school-based service learning project, Golonka was an assistant coach for a bantam ice hockey team of players ages 12 to 14. “That experience gave me a firsthand look at how much impact you can have working with kids,” he said.
Golonka’s mother, a teacher, also inspired him. “I went into education largely influenced by my mom, who spent her entire career in the field,” he said.
Golonka came to CCPS in 2005 and has spent the past two decades with the school system. He began as a middle school PE teacher first at General Smallwood Middle School, now known as Glymont, then Theodore G. Davis Middle School before moving to the role of content specialist.
“Like being a teacher, a content specialist wears many hats, and every day is busy and different,” he said. Golonka oversees health and PE content for students in prekindergarten to Grade 12. While most of his day-to-day responsibilities involve supporting staff members, ultimately what he does trickles down to students. “I see its impact on student learning through the resources, curriculum and professional learning I develop and implement,” he said.
PE helps students develop physical literacy, make sound decisions about their health, and work on self-management and personal responsibility. “When health and PE are taught to meet grade-level outcomes, students are better able to focus, regulate emotions, build confidence and make choices that support positive outcomes which supports growth and learning in the classroom and equips students for a healthy future,” Golonka said.
CCPS Physical Education Teachers Earn Honors From State Organization
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.
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.”
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.
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.