Leslie DeRuiter’s journey didn’t begin in a research lab—it began on the gymnasium floor. As a physical education teacher in Arizona’s Kyrene School District, Leslie quickly became recognized for leading one of the most innovative physical literacy programs in the state. Her expertise caught the attention of the Arizona Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AzHPE), where she climbed the ranks to serve as President.
But it was a single baseline realization that shifted her career forever: children are biologically engineered to move, yet modern education forces them to sit frozen.
Today, Leslie is an integral architect of the Action Based Learning (ABL) Districtwide Initiative at Alief ISD in Houston, Texas—one of the largest and most successful kinesthetic school models in the nation. We sat down with Leslie to unpack how she helped scale a 6-lab pilot program into a massive, district-wide neuro-activation movement.
Defying the "Sedentary Classroom" Norm
In 2007, the phrase "movement and learning" was rarely muttered in the same sentence. But as a teacher and a mother, Leslie was tracking the early, emerging neuroscience surrounding brain plasticity.
"I couldn't get enough of the research," Leslie recalls. "If I wasn't at an educational conference, I was testing out movement retention strategies at home on my own kids—getting very honest feedback about what worked and what didn't!"
Armed with emerging data, Leslie wrote a large-scale grant in 2007 to transform her elementary school. She overhauled the physical education layout, implemented a semi-structured recess program to give children targeted developmental choices, and brought in Action Based Learning to train the school faculty on the biological link between the body and the brain.
By 2013, when ABL launched its inaugural Master Trainer certification, Leslie was the first in line. She began traveling the nation, training school boards on pediatric development. Then, a massive door opened in Houston: Alief ISD was looking for a full-time Action Based Learning Interventionist.
Her reaction? "Wow. I get to do ABL all day? Yes."
The Brain Drops to Zero After 20 Minutes
When asked to define Action Based Learning for an outsider, Leslie smiles. "It sounds simple: allowing and encouraging children to move. But it is a solution that impacts the whole child, far beyond what traditional education understands."
As an ABL Interventionist, Leslie split her early days between intense, 1-on-1 sensory labs with students experiencing profound behavioral challenges, and co-teaching core academic subjects alongside classroom teachers.
The strategy was anchored in a strict medical reality: The brain can only absorb what the seat can endure. "I used purposeful motion to literally change the blood flow in a student's brain," Leslie explains. "When a child is in a state of hyper-arousal or rage, sitting still keeps them trapped in their amygdala. Movement brings oxygen back to the frontal lobe, making them calm, rational, and ready to make better decisions."
Turning a High School Alternative Space Around
The massive success of the movement framework quickly shifted Leslie’s role from a single-campus coach to a district-wide coordinator. Today, Alief ISD boasts an incredible footprint: 44 elementary schools, 6 intermediate schools, 6 middle schools, 7 high schools, and 2 alternative learning academies.
To understand the raw power of this framework, Leslie points to Crossroads—an alternative high school setting where student behaviors can be incredibly intense. The school had an ABL Lab, dubbed the "Brain Room," but it was sitting underutilized. Leslie was tasked with bringing it back to life.
The Turnkey Strategy for Crossroads:
Total Staff Neuro-Training: Before a single student entered, Leslie trained the faculty on the 12 Foundations of Learning Readiness so they understood the why behind the machines.
The Principal Model: Principal Wickliffe held official PLC staff meetings directly inside the Brain Room, physically modeling how to teach a standard lesson plan using kinesthetic furniture.
The Morning Regulation Group: Leslie curated a specialized "Brain Room List" of students who exhibited high-risk behavioral or focus patterns. They spent the first 15 minutes of every single school day in the lab. For some, it was a space to burn off hyperactive energy; for others, it was a neurological wake-up call and a safe space for an educator check-in.
