Karen Cowan

Karen is the driving force of Focused Fitness®. Her passion for increasing the effectiveness of Physical Education began while she was teaching in Spokane Public Schools. She quickly went from being an award winning PE Teacher to Curriculum Director. In her quest for improving the Physical Education Program, she helped Spokane Public Schools obtain the coveted Carol M. White “PEP” Grant three times. Karen’s passion for quality delivery of health and fitness content fueled her desire to create a written curriculum that integrates a standards-based program with fitness, health and nutrition academic content, intentional fitness, and motor skills. Thus, Focused Fitness® and the FIVE FOR LIFE PROGRAM® were born. Karen is considered an expert in Physical Education Curriculum, and under her leadership, Focused Fitness® has produced over 30 curriculum instructional resources and software to assist school systems in taking a coordinated approach to Quality Physical Education. With Karen’s guidance, over 50 school districts around the country have acquired PEP Grant funding and built innovative curriculum frameworks that now sustain Quality Physical Education and Coordinated School Health.