Inside the gym at Simle Middle School in Bismarck, laughter often arrives before the students do. It’s a reliable signal you’ve stepped into Leah Wheeling’s classroom — a place where play isn’t a break from learning, but the framework that supports it.
Wheeling teaches both physical education and digital literacy, two subjects that might seem unrelated at first glance. She sees them as complementary parts of student wellness.
“Every kid needs to move their body to be healthy,” she said. “And every kid is going to come across a screen and make choices about how they interact with others digitally. Both of those things shape their total wellness.”
Quote byLeah Wheeling , Teacher of the Year finalist
Building Lifelong Habits Through Movement and Screens
For Wheeling, physical education and digital literacy are parallel paths toward the same goal: helping students build healthy, lifelong habits.
In any given week, students might be rollerblading, running a “zombie hunt,” building core strength or learning how to protect their privacy online. Woven through every lesson is play — intentional, structured and purposeful.
“Every person needs to play,” Wheeling said. “If we played more, we’d have fewer problems. Losing a game gives you a huge opportunity to learn — about yourself, your emotions and how to move forward.”
Board Games, Big Skills
That philosophy extends beyond the gym. Wheeling’s Board Gaming to Teach 21st Century Skills initiative began as a $1,000 grant from the NDU Foundation and evolved into a school-wide culture shift.
Homerooms bond over strategy games. Staff members give up planning periods to learn and laugh together. Families show up for community game nights. Along the way, students build decision-making, communication, empathy and resilience — often without realizing they’re learning at all.
Teaching as a Team Sport
Wheeling teaches the way she learns: collaboratively, joyfully and with purpose.
“It takes a community to stay in this profession and enjoy it,” she said. “When you have those big wins, you have people to celebrate with. And when your colleague has a big win, you get to take some of that energy back to your classroom.”
As a leader in ND SHAPE and a Teacher of the Year finalist, Wheeling hopes policymakers better understand the role specialists play in schools.
“It’s not just giving kids a movement break,” she said. “It’s quality education. It’s helping them understand why they moved. Specialists build essential skills, and kids thrive when those spaces are valued.”
Connection Is the Real Lesson
For Wheeling, teaching is more than a job. It’s a daily invitation to connect — with students, colleagues, her union and the wider community.
And if she can turn that connection into a game?
That’s when learning really sticks.
