The purpose of the principal and teacher-coach requirements document is to guide CHAMPS-funded programs through general recommendations on how to perform a task, explain policies and procedures, emphasize key messages, and raise awareness to New York City (NYC) Public Schools and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved certificates. The principal and hired teacher-coach must work together to oversee and implement the CHAMPS Sports and Fitness Program with students. Adhering to requirements is essential for program success.  
 

CHAMPS Funded School: Principal Requirements 

1. Check School Award Letter: The principal will be notified if the request for CHAMPS funding was approved via a "School Award Letter.” The School Award Letter will provide the budget allocation that must be shared with the appointed payroll secretary. An awarded school will have access to the CHAMPS Manager App icon in the WellnessHub homepage for the specific season funded (Winter). 
2. Use CHAMPS Manager App: Use App to monitor CHAMPS Program.
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4. Respond to Communications: Office of School Wellness Programs will forward CHAMPS-related emails to principal, payroll secretary and teacher-coach. It's imperative for school staff to respond to inquiries using their @schools.nyc.gov email address.
5. Oversee CHAMPS Program: The principal will manage the daily responsibilities of the on-site CHAMPS program; checks AED/CPR and Concussion in Sports (CIS) certificates, monitors CHAMPS program progress; supervises hired teacher-coach and student program responsibilities (roster, attendance, and payroll deadlines); communicates with the Office of School Wellness Programs and adheres to CHAMPS program requirements. 
   
6. Launch CHAMPS Program: The principal must start the CHAMPS program on time. Check the School Award Letter for the Winter and/or Spring start and end dates. Before the program starts, principals must promote and distribute CHAMPS Parent Consent Form, including the Concussion Parent Fact Sheet. A delay or conflict with starting the season on time must be reported to the Office of School Wellness Programs by the principal. 
7. Verify Teacher-Coach Certificates: The principal will ensure the hired teacher-coach has up-to-date certifications for each season. Copies of AED/CPR and Concussion in Sports (CIS) certificates must be kept in the main office. 
8. Review CHAMPS Program Binder: Check and ensure the CHAMPS Program Binder is completed by the teacher-coach. See "What am I required to keep in my CHAMPS Program Binder?" (opens in a new browser window)
9. Adhere to Health and Safety Guidelines: Follow the most up-to-date information by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov), and Chancellor's Regulations to help prevent COVID-related transmission. Funded programs must follow universal precautions and adhere to physical activity, health, and safety regulations, such as AED/CPR and Concussion in Sports (CIS) requirements.
10. Request Campus Program (Optional): Schools in campus-settings can run a CHAMPS program for all elementary and middle school students. The principal (applicant) will inform the other co-located principals before sending the application and contact the borough support team (opens in a new browser window) for further guidance.
11. Report Teacher-Coach Replacement: To change or replace a teacher-coach, the principal must email the Office of School Wellness Programs Borough Team Inbox. The Office of School Wellness Programs (OSWP) will review and verify the new teacher coach's certificates before approving the teacher's replacement. When the teacher-coach replacement is approved by OSWP the school will be notified. The new teacher-coach will be added and have access to the CHAMPS Manager App.
12. Teacher-Coach Replacement Policies: The bulk job code is for the approved teacher-coach listed on the School Award Letter and CHAMPS Manager App. The funding allocation may not be used for any other staff not approved by the Office of School Wellness Programs. Long term absences that directly affect the CHAMPS program's continuity must be reported to the Office of School Wellness Programs within 24 hours. For example, some long-term absences include but not limited to payroll secretary and teacher-coach resignation, family leave, medical leave, long-term illness, retirement, reassignment, sabbatical, including loss of activity space/gymnasium, and/or schedule conflicts.
13. Confirm Teacher-Coach: As part of the application, principals will nominate a teacher-coach for the selected activity program. If a teacher-coach does not have the required certifications uploaded to their Wellness Hub profile (opens in a new browser window), the principal will not be able to select that teacher-coach to apply and request funding. Principals can share instructions for uploading certifications (opens in a new browser window) in the WellnessHub with their teacher-coach. The principal cannot upload certificates to the CHAMPS Manager App for the teacher-coach. If your CHAMPS program is approved, you will receive a School Award Letter email before the season starts. The award email will have valuable information, including how to confirm the teacher-coach in the CHAMPS Manager App to start the program. The teacher-coach must have valid AED/CPR and Concussion-in-Sports certificates to be confirmed.
14. Appoint a Payroll Secretary to Process CHAMPS Timesheets: The Office of School Wellness Program will distribute CHAMPS funds to eligible schools via a Bulk Job Code to be used at the start of a winter and spring season to support a before-or after- school sports and fitness program. The funding will compensate the teacher-coach who will supervise the school program. Hiring documents and per session timesheets will be signed by the principal. The payroll secretary will collect teacher-coach documents to file on-site and process timesheets. See CHAMPS Payroll Guidance and Operations 
15. Post Circular Vacancy and Hire Teacher-Coach: Principal must hire the CHAMPS teacher-coach and adhere to Chancellor’s Regulation C-175 (opens in a new browser window) for posting CHAMPS Teacher-Coach position(s). Download the CHAMPS teacher-coach per session posting template (opens in a new browser window) and add school’s information header. The per session opportunity must be posted for at least 20 days (about 3 weeks) prior to selecting the teacher-coach. The principal is the direct supervisor for CHAMPS programs and must sign all teacher-coach timesheets, as well as work with their school’s payroll secretary to process the teacher-coaches per session. The Office of School Wellness Program will distribute CHAMPS funds to schools by Bulk Job Code before winter and spring seasons start and approve timesheets.
16. Manage CHAMPS Funding: See How the Teacher-Coach Manages CHAMPS Allotted Hours 1-pager 
17. Generate Extended Use Permits (Optional): When necessary, the principal may need to request and plan out the school’s extended use permit as per the NYCPS extended use policy (opens in new browser window). Schools must self-fund the permit costs for the extended use of school buildings for CHAMPS activities that take place before 7:00 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m.
18. Select Student Physical Activity: When selecting an activity, school principals must consider the following factors: interests of the student population; teacher-coach expert background and experience with selected activity; and available on-hand equipment, resources, and available spaces for physical activity. The principal is the only one that can request a physical activity change by contacting the Office of School Wellness Programs. Schools must self-fund to buy equipment for student-participants.
19. Share Program Resources: The Office of School Wellness Programs partnered with organizations to provide fun, age-appropriate, inclusive, fitness-based physical activities, with accompanying activity guides. For information on how to access the activity guides and more resources, to plan and prepare CHAMPS activity sessions visit the CHAMPS Fitness-based Activity Guides page (opens in new browser window) of the NYC Public Schools InfoHub. See Bi-weekly progress reports (opens in a new browser window)
20. Attend CHAMPS Information Session for Administrators: The principal or an assistant-principal is strongly encouraged to attend the CHAMPS Information Session for Administrators and other program-related meetings. The session is held during the application period and pre-registration is required. Dates will be shared at the start of each season. Teacher-coaches are not allowed to be the principal's representative during the Information Session for Administrators.
21. Participate in Culminating Events: Office of School Wellness Programs will notify schools to participate in off-site culminating events. Some events are hosted by our partners, such as, NYRR (New York Road Runners), NY Jets: Flag Football, and Special Olympics. Our events provide an opportunity for coaches to highlight student accomplishments, such as progress in skill acquisition, teamwork, and sportsmanship. More importantly, students will show what they have learned and how impactful the program is with other members of their school community, especially parents and legal guardians. Additionally, more partnerships are being created to provide events for other sports and fitness activities.
22. Complete End-of-Year Survey: Office of School Wellness Programs values your feedback to learn more about your CHAMPS program experience. A questionnaire will be sent at the end of the Spring season for the principal to fill out. 
23. Monitor CHAMPS Manager App: CHAMPS Manager App is the online tool principals will use to apply and request CHAMPS funding; and how the teacher-coach of a CHAMPS-funded school will manage the oversight of the physical activity program, including student rosters and attendance. The principal will check all required "teacher-coach" tasks via the CHAMPS Manager App. Failure to keep program information updated on the App will result in the cancellation of your current program, and may affect future CHAMPS funding opportunities. The principal will be responsible for ensuring time-sensitive information is available for the Office of School Wellness to review on the CHAMPS Manager App as follows: 
    1. Teacher-coach enters the CHAMPS program schedule and location each season. See "How do I enter my schedule and location of my CHAMPS program?" 
    2. Teacher-coach enters student roster. The student roster has 15 or more student participants. See "How do I create a roster for my CHAMPS Program activity?" 
    3. Teacher-coach takes daily student attendance after each CHAMPS session. Participants will use the Daily student sign-in sheets (opens in a new browser window). Teacher-coach will transfer the student sign-in sheet attendance to the CHAMPS Manager App. Note: Student-participants must physically sign in each time they attend a CHAMPS session. Teacher-coach may not use student checklists or bubble sheets to record CHAMPS attendance.

CHAMPS Funded School: Teacher-Coach Requirements  

1. Maintain Valid Certifications on WellnessHub: The nominated teacher must keep two certificates current to become a CHAMPS coach. Both the AED/CPR and NFHS (National Federation of State High School) (National Federation of State High School): Concussion-in-Sports certificates are to remain active and cannot expire before the end of a season. Failure to keep current teacher-coach certification dates can result in program cancellation and jeopardize future funding opportunities. 
   1. Emergency Skills: AED/CPR (American Heart Association) Certification: As indicated in each school’s per-session posting, the teacher-coach must have AED/CPR certification from American Heart Association (opens in a new browser window). Emergency Skills (opens in a new browser window) (ESI) is the only NYC Public Schools contracted vendor that offers free AED/CPR certification classes to all employees. Contact ESI (opens in a new browser window) for more information and to register for an in-person class. Classes are limited and are scheduled on a rolling basis. To register and check current class availability see Emergency Skills (opens in a new browser window). Teacher-coaches found to have expired AED/CPR certification will have their CHAMPS program cancelled and lose the rest of their allotted funds. 
   2. NFHS: Concussion-in-Sports (CIS) Certification: All CHAMPS teacher-coaches must have a current NFHS: Concussion in Sports (opens in a new browser window) certification from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Teacher-coaches cannot begin a program without a current NFHS Concussion in Sports (CIS) certificate valid through the end of the active season. This free online course can be taken by going to the NFHS: Concussion in Sports (opens in a new browser window) website and following the course instructions. 
2. Maintain Student Information on CHAMPS Manager App: The Office of School Wellness Programs (OSWP) will check the progress of each funded program through the OSWP-CHAMPS Manager App. It is important for the hired teacher-coach to keep student information updated on the schools CHAMPS Manager App may lose program funding for the school year, as well as affect future CHAMPS funding opportunities. Teacher-coaches are responsible for completing the following tasks:
   
   1. Recruit Students: Keep at least 15 or more student participants on the roster. 
   2. Distribute Parent Consent Forms: Share and collect signed CHAMPS Parent Consent Form and include the Concussion Parent Fact Sheet. 
   3. Create Student Roster: Create and send student roster by deadline on the School Award Letter. See "How do I create a roster for my CHAMPS Program activity?" 
   4. Enter Student Attendance: Manually enter the Daily student sign-in sheets (opens in a new browser window) See "How do I add attendance for my CHAMPS program activity?" Note: Student-participants must physically sign in each time they attend a CHAMPS session. Teacher-coach may not use student checklists or bubble sheets to record CHAMPS attendance. 
   5. Enter Program Schedule with Locations: See "How do I enter my schedule and location of my CHAMPS program?" 
3. Apply for Teacher-Coach Position: The licensed teacher will send resume, and cover letter and apply for circular vacancy. After the hiring officer (principal) hires the teacher-coach, the teacher-coach completes the Chancellor’s Regulation C-175 (opens in a new browser window) and sends it to the payroll secretary to file. The principal as the direct supervisor for CHAMPS programs will sign teacher-coach timesheets. The school’s payroll secretary will process the teacher-coaches per session timesheets.
4. Manage CHAMPS Attendance: The teacher-coach must transfer the student attendance record to the CHAMPS Manager App. Next, the teacher-coach will record hours worked so that all 3 record sources have the same date and times listed. For example, the student attendance (Daily Sign in Sheet), CHAMPS Manager App online attendance, and per session timesheets match. Payroll secretary enters the session timesheet (Parts A and B) via Galaxy, then the Office of School Wellness Programs reviews and approves the timesheet(s). See How the Teacher-Coach Manages CHAMPS Allotted Hours 1-pager  

5. Respond to Timekeeping Communications: The Office of School Wellness Programs will automate payroll messages to teacher-coaches with conflicts with timekeeping and missing student data on the CHAMPS Manager App. For example, teacher-coaches will receive the following email, "<Pay Period Earned Dates> has closed and you have entered 0 hours into the CHAMPS Manager App for this pay cycle. Any time entered by your payroll secretary for your CHAMPS program will not be approved because you have not entered the corresponding attendance in the CHAMPS Manager." To avoid delays with the Office of School Wellness Programs in processing payroll, the teacher-coach must enter the missing attendance before the next approval deadline. See How do I add attendance for my CHAMPS Program activity? for instructions on how to enter program attendance. Contact the borough support team as listed in the  How do I contact the Office of School Wellness Programs for support? for further questions. 
   

6. Attend CHAMPS Orientation Workshop: All CHAMPS teacher-coaches must complete the CHAMPS Orientation Workshop. This workshop must be completed before starting the program; pre-registration is needed, and dates will be shared at the start of each season. 
7. Complete End-of-Year Survey: Office of School Wellness Programs values your feedback to learn more about your CHAMPS program experience. A questionnaire will be sent at the end of the season for the teacher-coach to complete.
8. Distribute Parent-facing Resources: 
   1. Parent Consent Forms: Before starting a program with students, teacher-coaches must have a CHAMPS Parent Consent Form (opens in a new browser window) on file either physically or electronically for every student who chooses to participate. This is the only acceptable form of parental permission for CHAMPS programs and includes general media consent for students.
   2. Concussion Parent Fact Sheet : Review Concussion Parent Fact Sheet (opens in a new browser window) with parents during every season. 
9. Construct CHAMPS Program Binder: On site, all teacher coaches are to maintain and keep current a program binder, typically called “CHAMPS Program Binder." Within the binder, the following resources and forms are to be readily available: 
   1. Program Staff Requirements: Resume; Cover Letter; Completed OP175; Copy of the AED/CPR certification; Copy of the Concussion in Sports certification; Copy of teaching license or other proof of teacher certification; and Copies of per session timesheets and timecards. 
   2. Student Forms: Daily student sign-in sheets (opens in a new browser window); and Signed Parent Consent Form per program and season with emergency contact information filled out completely. 
   3. Planning and Preparation: Bi-weekly progress reports (opens in a new browser window); and Resources or materials used to create a coaching lesson plan.