OUR STORY
OPEN was created with one idea in mind: provide the highest quality curriculum resources FREE to every school to provide equity of access to the entire physical education community.
The OPEN concept was born in February 2014 by Aaron Hart and Nick Kline. They originally named the project QPEN (Quality Physical Education Network). Later that year, Aaron and Kurt Stone presented and proposed QPEN as a division of US GAMES / BSN SPORTS. In that meeting, BSN SPORTS CEO Adam Blumenfeld suggested a name change – OPEN (The Online Physical Education Network). Aaron agreed to the name change and Adam agreed to make OPEN a public service of US GAMES and BSN SPORTS.
From the moment that Aaron joined the US GAMES team, they worked tirelessly to prepare for OPEN’s official launch at the SHAPE America Conference in Seattle, Washington in March 2015. In July 2014, the OPEN Development Council was formed consisting of Aaron Hart, Nick Kline, Joey Feith, Lori Dunn, Artie Kamiya, Eric Stern, Helena Baert, and Jim DeLine. This group of selfless physical educators helped shape the way that all OPEN curriculum modules would be built. With the unconditional support of BSN SPORTS, the team was able to move quickly and advance their equity of access mission in a very short amount of time.
OUR TIMELINE
Scroll through our history of events from our launch in 2015 to our current achievements.
OPEN officially launched in March at the SHAPE America Conference in Seattle, Washington. In April, 21 school districts committed to hosting OPEN Professional Development. These districts, called the OPEN 1 Million, allowed more than 1 million students to be impacted by the OPEN curriculum in less than 1 year. Aaron delivered the first OPEN Professional Development session for DC Public Schools in May. A month later, the first OPEN Trainers Conference (OTC) was held at SUNY Cortland, New York to launch the OPEN National Training Team.
OPEN LAUNCHES IN 2015
OPEN Development Council
1st OPEN Trainers Conference
SHAPE America Conference in Seattle, WA
In September, OPEN set a single-day curriculum download record with 1,590 downloads. The annual OTC was held at SUNY Cortland, New York.
IN 2016, OPEN BREAKS RECORD
Professional Learning Session in Atlanta
Professional Learning session in Wisconsin
In August, the OPEN website set a new record with 4,943 curriculum downloads in a single day. The annual OTC was held at Ashville, North Carolina.
OPEN BREAKS SINGLE DAY RECORD IN 2017
OPEN Trainers Conference Tshirt
Professional Learning session in Louisiana
Pedal4PE LA - Rode bikes across the state
Varsity Brands launched the Believe In You® video series hosted by Kevin Atlas and starring personalities from around the country who have overcome personal challenges to accomplish the extraordinary. In March, OPEN hosted the first IMPACT OPEN Awards show in Nashville, Tennessee. On, October 10th, at 8:42 PM, the OPEN website hit 1 million curriculum downloads since launch. The annual OTC was held at James Madison University in Virginia and Still Water, Minnesota.
1 MILLION DOWNLOADS IN 2018
SHAPE America Conference in Nashville, TN
Painted a playground in North Carolina
The OPEN website averaged more than 2,400 downloads per day. Aaron and the OPEN Team began writing the corresponding Believe In You SEL curriculum for the video series for Varsity Brands. The annual OTC was held in Dallas, Texas.
IN 2019, OPEN TEAMS UP WITH BELIEVE IN YOU
SHAPE America Convention
OPEN Trainers Conference in Texas
New Trainers during OTC in Texas
In March, OPEN mobilized to provide at-home physical education resources and professional development in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdowns. In May, the team launched the first OPEN National Field Day featuring all online and at-home field day events. On the day that Field Day launched, the website crashed due to incredible web traffic. The event ran for two weeks with an average of 23,500 curriculum downloads per day. Over 4 million students participated from around the world. The Believe In You Student Empowerment Journals officially launched. The annual OTC was held virtually for the first time.
OPEN LAUNCHES NATIONAL FIELD DAY IN 2020
National Field Day Flag
National Field Day OPENing Ceremonies
A team of university researchers began a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of the new Believe In You Student Empowerment Program. Varsity Brands is committed to providing all Believe In You resources FREE, following OPEN’s Equity of Access Mission. In July, OPEN went back to in-person professional development. However, the annual OTC was held virtually again.
IN 2021, BELIEVE IN YOU BEGINS STUDY
Family PE Week Collaboration
Teacher of the Year Banners
In January, OPEN transitioned back to providing in-school curriculum resources. The OPEN YouTube passed 10,000 subscribers and the OPEN website surpassed the total of 5,000 pages of FREE curriculum resources. The annual OTC was held regionally in 5 different locations around the country.
OPEN'S YOUTUBE GROWS IN 2022
OPEN Trainers Conference in Phoenix, AZ
YouTube Rhytmn Fit Video Shoot
OPEN Trainers Conference in Atlanta, GA
OPEN CONTINUES TO EXPAND IN 2023
Professional Learning session in Hawaii
Professional Learning session in Arizona
Professional Learning session in California
