New partnership steps up for student wellness

Move2Learn and The Burke & Herbert Bank Foundation Launch After-School Programming for Hammon MS Admirals

Hammond Middle School’s Admirals are charting a new course for health and wellness this year. Move2Learn, an award-winning nonprofit focused on student engagement through movement, is prouyd to announce a new partnership with The Burke & Herbert Bank Foundation to launch exciting after-school programming designed to help students feel better, focus better and thrive.

Thanks to the Foundation’s investment, 25 Hammond students will participate in a 24-session after-school program that blends movement, social connection and wellness, giving Admirals the tools they need to navigate stress, build positive habits and stay anchored to success throughout the school day.

Students will be equipped with club t-shirts, healthy snacks, water bottles and cinch backpacks—all the essentials to get moving and stay motivated. But the real win isn’t just what’s in their backpacks—it’s what happens in their brains.

Each session will also feature Move2Learn’s “SEAL in the Field” lessons, an innovative, on-the-ground approach to strengthening students’ self-regulation, emotional resilience and leadership skills through movement. As students build energy and community after school, the benefits follow them back into the classroom—boosting attendance, improving behavior and strengthening mental health all day long.

“In a world where young people face more pressure than ever, movement isn’t just an outlet, it’s a lifeline,” said Brooke Sydnor Curran, Founder and CEO of Move2Learn. “With The Burke & Herbert Bank Foundation’s support, we’re proud to help our Admirals feel their best, stay engaged and lead the way both on campus and beyond.”

Together, Move2Learn and The Burke & Herbert Bank Foundation are helping Hammond students set a course for success—and proving that sometimes the smallest steps spark the biggest transformations.

About The Burke & Herbert Bank Foundation:
Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company is the oldest continuously operating bank under its original name headquartered in the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. With over 75 branches across Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company offers a full range of business and personal financial solutions designed to meet customers’ banking, borrowing, and investment needs. Learn more at www.burkeandherbertbank.com.

Move2Learn president and CEO runs 200th marathon to champion movement in education

Media contact, interview requests, speaking engagements or additional information: Brooke Sydnor Curran, 703.220.4461 

Alexandria, VA—On Sunday, April 13, 2025, Brooke Sydnor Curran ran the Coastal Delaware Running Festival for her 200th marathon, a milestone few runners achieve. But for Curran, running has never been just about the miles—it’s about a mission.

As the founder and CEO of Move2Learn, an award-winning nonprofit based in Alexandria, Curran has dedicated her life to transforming how students learn. Move2Learn brings the science of movement into classrooms to help students focus more, engage more and succeed more, while also reducing teacher stress.

Each day, nearly one-third of Alexandria’s public school students benefit from Move2Learn’s programs that come at no cost to students and schools. The nonprofit equips classrooms with active seating packages—including under-desk cycles, accordion stools, and stationary bikes—to help students channel their energy and improve focus.

Move2Learn also supports educators with Professional Development sessions and classroom toolkits, runs before-, during- and after-school movement clubs, and offers Social, Emotional and Academic Learning—also called SEAL—experiences that highlight the brain-body connection. All of this is delivered at no cost to teachers, schools or families.

“Running changed my life—it helped me focus, manage stress, and build resilience,” said Curran. “I started wondering: Why can’t we do the same for students? The research is clear. For students to learn more, they need to be in their seats less.”

Brooke sydnor curran

Curran doesn’t take a salary for her full-time work at Move2Learn. And when it comes to her personal marathon journey, she’s  self-funded every race—covering all entry fees, travel and expenses.

“Running changed my life—it helped me focus, manage stress, and build resilience,” said Curran. “I started wondering: Why can’t we do the same for students? The research is clear. For students to learn more, they need to be in their seats less.”

An endurance athlete, Curran has accomplished what few runners have:

✅ Marathons in all 50 states

✅ All six World Marathon Majors (New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo)

✅ Marathons on all seven continents – including Antarctica and the remote Easter Island

✅ 200+ marathons worldwide, despite having asthma and exercise-induced asthma

Surrounded by family!
“I did it!”

In 2018, she survived a near-fatal brain aneurysm, underwent emergency surgery. Five months later, she ran the Marine Corps Marathon.

Now, as she crossed the finish line of her 200th marathon, Curran isn’t just celebrating a personal milestone—she’s amplifying a message that movement matters. With plans to expand Move2Learn’s impact beyond Alexandria, she’s proving that a simple idea—getting kids moving—can revolutionize classrooms, empower teachers, and help students and teachers succeed. 

Join the Movement. To support Move2Learn or learn more about how movement transforms learning, visit Move2Learn.org

About Move2Learn—Move2Learn is an Alexandria-based nonprofit dedicated to improving student focus, engagement and well-being through the science of movement. By integrating movement into the school day, Move2Learn gives teachers and schools proactive, cost-effective ways to improve students’ focus and engagement, behavior, and attendance.

2024: A year in review

At Move2Learn, we mitigate barriers and everyday stressors to student learning and to teacher teaching.
Our programs lead students down a path toward graduation and to becoming healthy, productive
members of the workforce and creating a stronger and more vibrant community overall. The work we
do helps students in real time, and for many, prevents a problem before it happens.

Join us for a look back at what Move2Learn was able to accomplish with our partners in 2024!

M2L-24-ImpactReport-WEBDownload

Creating a culture of movement

By Brooke Sydnor Curran

Last month, we were so excited to meet with teachers from across Alexandria public schools to talk about building a “culture of movement” inside and outside their classrooms.

Entitled, “Movement Matters in our Schools: Learn Why & How to Implement It,” the professional development session—facilitated by M2L Director of Programs Jen Wiser, Community Engagement Manager Rebeca Gore—was designed to inspire them to get their students moving as a tool for improving student behavior, attendance, focus and engagement!

Sound like a tall order? It’s really just the simple science of neurogenesis, the process of growing new brain cells. Because that’s what movement and exercise do: They improve our cognitive and mental health. In fact, they improve a vast array of brain functions: Thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering, working memory, executive functioning and even our moods.

Little Mosquito🦟

I kicked off the PD as the keynote speaker for both the morning and afternoon sessions—for a full day of teacher learning. I shared my story and inspiration for launching Move2Learn, formerly RunningBrooke, in 2009. It goes like this: Growing up, in school I was called “mosquito,” “the problem student,” because I literally couldn’t sit still. I was constantly disrupting my classmates or whomever and whatever was going on around me.

Those labels hurt, and they stuck with me into adulthood—until I stumbled on the benefits of movement. First walking, then running. They calmed my distracted, wandering, sometimes anxious mind.

Aha Moment🤔

Then, one day, I had an “aha” moment: Why aren’t we doing this for students? Why aren’t we incorporating movement into their day to help them focus? Which led me to launching the organization in 2009, taking a holistic approach to empowering today’s K-12 students to learn better and feel better—and helping the teachers who teach them—using the science of movement. 

My presentation resonated in the room, and I totally get it. One teacher in her feedback on the session said, “My students this year are little mosquitos, but they don’t know how to move yet. Move2Learn’s programming will be super beneficial for them to do and be their best.”

Another said. “I loved hearing Brooke’s story. It really supported the WHY of what we are doing.”

A Sad Fact🙁

It’s a distressing reality that our teachers are frantically seeking solutions to managing their classroom. Post pandemic, we’ve seen a 56% increase in classroom disruptions. It’s one of today’s biggest stressors for educators, leading to more burnout in the field of education than in any other industry in the country.

Another scary statistic: Teachers have only 5 ½ hours a day to teach. Yet they lose 6 ½ minutes PER HOUR to disruptions. The hidden cost of classroom disruptions and behavioral challenges can add up to 10 to 20 school days of lost instruction time.

This is why Move2Learn is at the forefront to help combat their fatigue—for them and our students.

One of our teachers who attended the PD said, “I desperately want to effectively manage my classroom without being a tyrant or being boring.”

We hear you and are here for you!

Off to a great 2025!

What’s Up?

Inside the Classroom, we’re visiting and engaging with teachers and students and fine-tuning fleets of stationary bikes and active seating, all at top notch speed.

We’re also gearing up for the popular Move2Learn Movement Challenge in February, when students get moving one to two minutes in the classroom multiple times a day (outside of recess & PE) to maximize learning. The competition—with winners (never losers) and prizes—boosts students’ brain power with movement, increases focus and improves moods.

Outside the Classroom, students continue to benefit from our 20 movement clubs, like lacrosse, running, boxing and yoga. These programs play a big role in the well-being and social-emotional health of our students and are key to their academic growth!

Accordion stools “give” a little so students aren’t rigid in a traditional chair.
These students are members of the Move2Learn Lacrosse Club at a local elementary school.

In other news, we’re excited to share that the Alexandria public school system is rolling out our social and emotional lesson plans to all teachers in all schools. Additionally, we’ve just introduced our new “SEAL in the Field” on-the-go deck for club leaders to be able to use on the field or in the gym with their students! 

Our SEAL lessons are the glue that binds our programs together, teaching students the body-mind connection and how using intentional movement not only helps them feel and learn better but gives them agency to understand their emotions and be their best selves, now and into adulthood.

Why it matters

All of our programming—from active seating to clubs to social and emotional lessons—helps  teachers get back to doing what they do best: Teaching!  

Think about it: teachers only have 5 ½  hours a day to teach. Student focus begins to wane after just 10 to 15 minutes. That’s when trouble can start brewing—a recent study shows the hidden cost: Up to 10 to 20 days of instruction lost due to disruptions over the school year. A law of diminishing returns. Movement is THE most important tool for combating disruption. 

Sinc our inception, we’ve been using movement to help our students, kindergarten to 12th grade, learn better. We don’t think of it as a disruption, but rather as a way to solve big classroom and school challenges. We also help teachers feel less stressed and be more effective at teaching. For students to learn more, we believe they need to be in their seats less.

Don’t just take our word for it

Let me share some results from our survey taken by all our teachers using Move2Learn programming:

  • 100% of the 400 teachers strongly agree that movement can help students focus on learning.
  • 100% of the 400 teachers said their students who participate in M2L clubs have fewer behavioral challenges throughout the school day. 
  • 96% of the 400 teachers said they’d recommend M2L SEAL lessons to their colleagues. 
  • 93% of the 400 teachers say active seating can help manage challenging emotions.

The bottom line

Whether inside or outside the classroom, Move2Learn provides comprehensive, cost-effective, one-of-a-kind programming that makes proactive, cost-effective strides to address and improve student focus, engagement, behavior and attendance. 

As for our teachers, a whopping 99% of those who implement our programs report more enjoyment in the classroom, both for them and their students. Overall, they positively affect teacher and staff mental health and retention. 

It’s a wrap!

Learning new dance routines, hanging with friends, being active, getting cute tees, tote bags and water bottles—what’s not to love about being a member of the Move2Learn Step Club at James K. Polk Elementary School!

From lacrosse to boxercise, walking and running, to yoga and dance, the step club is one of 20 Move2Learn clubs throughout Alexandria public schools that create space for students to “belong,” building strong relationships and trust among students and their teachers. Over the past couple of years, they’ve become mainstays for ACPS students and teachers.

While all of the clubs are super popular, there’s far more to them than that: They’re a “need to have” program, not just a “nice one to have,” because they maximize academic success by improving behavior, mental health and attendance.

Coming to a close

With the fall semester coming to an end and winter break upon us, the clubs are winding down for 2024. But before we turn the page, here are a few more highlights!

  • ACPS Chance for Change teacher Mr. Armbrister launched the walking club, and over half the students who attend school at this campus participated!
  • The ACHS International Academy Girls Soccer Team that we run in collaboration with VFHY had seven new players this year, six of whom had never played soccer before. 
  • At Patrick Henry K-8 School, we launched two new clubs that targeted our middle school girls with overall exercise plus stationary cycling. In one of the clubs, the girls practice their English language literacy by reading and learning about female athletes for inspiration.

So much goodness

The benefits of our Outside the Classroom programming are plentiful. Teachers and students alike enjoy themselves and feel and see the difference they make. In addition, because they take place right at school, transportation isn’t an issue. AND, like all of our programming, they’re 100% free, removing the cost barrier. 

There’s no substitute for in-person interactions, especially for our students. Social interactions make us better, by a lot, lowering cortisol and releasing dopamine, making us less stressed with a positive chemical boost. THIS is what Move2Learn programming is all about: Creating communities of real people in a real space in real time that motivate students to come to school, stay engaged and learn their best. 

We had a great time this fall, and we’re excited about the returning as well as new clubs next spring! Wrestling at Polk, a mat class at Patrick Henry, a new step club at Hammond Middle School and so much more.

Playing ping pong with the best


Earlier this month, we had a very special guest at the Move2Learn Teens Club at Casa Chirilagua: Emilio Bernal, the 92-year-old grandfather of Rebeca Gore, M2L’s community engagement manager! Emilio is an accomplished ping pong player, having won a number of various championships and a senior Olympic title in the sport!

Emilio shared some of his game secrets to the Alexandria public middle school students. Equipped with new skills, they challenged him 2 v. 1 for some friendly competition. He even played with Casa’s new executive director, Hjarman Cordero! Might come as no surprise, but Emilio, who hails from Cuba, made his opponents sweat. 🙂

Emilio Bernal, left, is pictured here with his grandaughter and Move2Learn team member, Rebeca Gore.

Emilio challenges Casa Chirilagua Executive Director Hjarman Cordero at some ping pong!

Emilio and Hjarman take a break from their game to get their photo taken.

The Teens Club at Casa is one of 20 Move2Learn’s Outside the Classroom Programs. These clubs are so important for the well-being and social-emotional health of our students and key to their academic growth. They also address top school priorities: 1) school attendance; 2) student focus; 3) student behavior; and 4) mental health. 

This club, like all of our clubs, comes at no cost—meaning no financial barriers. We make sure our students have everything they need to participate, even things like running shoes and sports bras. Clubs take place right at school—or in this case at Casa—meaning no transportation barriers, either.

All that goodness combined with our bonus guest = priceless:) We love the intergenerational exchange and were happy that the students could learn about the mind-body connection from someone with over 75 years of experience!

Future Lacrosse Stars?

Alexandria City Public School Principal Michael Routhouska (pictured above in back) spends his Thursday afternoons coaching lacrosse to 10 to 15 fourth and fifth graders who are members of the Move2Learn Lacrosse Club at a Title 1 elementary school. His co-coach is Wanda Weaver, pictured on left, a primo counselor at the school.

To participate in the club, students must have good attendance and be keeping up with their grades. It’s a good incentive because the students love to play! Principal Routhouska says he hopes these same kids will play at the high school level where he coaches as well.

Read what the Oxford Review of Education says about outside the classroom programs>>  

As with all of our Outside the Classroom programs and clubs, the lacrosse club plays a big role in the well-being and social-emotional health of our students and are key to their academic growth. Why does this matter? Teacher-led OST programs are effective in improving academic performance and have been shown to measurably improve student outcomes with demonstrably higher grades. 

Students in these programs show increased positive self-perception as well as a reduction in risky behavior, depression and delinquency— leading to better personal outcomes in school and life.

Some of what makes our programming unique: 

    • Most students participating are hand-selected by their teachers because they’ve been identified as struggling in school, making our programs part of a student’s success plan;
    • Our programs are led by our school partners who have key relationships with students and know and understand their complex needs; and
    • Our OST programs incorporate social, emotional and academic lessons to teach students how to recognize and manage stress and other strong emotions by using movement.

These emerging lacrosse players are having fun and developing good disciplined skills both on and off the field. Nice job, everyone!

Move2Learn Turns 15–slideshow

It’s hard to believe it has been 15 years that we’ve had the honor of serving our community to transform the way our students learn, to reach their highest potential. Since 2009, we’ve been using movement to inspire tens of thousands of Alexandria public school students. Our awesome students are a diverse group with wide socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Today, Move2Learn is focused on three main buckets: Inside the Classroom and Outside the Classroom to create a healthy space for learning as well as a sense of belonging; and our Social, Emotional and Academing Learning lessons to help students help themselves so they understand the emotions that get in their way of learning and then how to use movement to overcome.

We celebrated our Mile Marker 15 anniversary celebration October 5th, 2024, with friends and supporters, new and old, of Move2Learn. Everyone had a blast. Enjoy the slideshow below from the party! (Photo credit: Shaughn Cooper) Then take a watch of our MM15 video featuring M2L Brooke Sydnor Curran and our students!

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Brooke, 4th from right, with her Move2Learn Mile Marker 15 staff and volunteers!
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One of our guests of honor and Move2Learn supporter since the beginning, Elizabeth Lucchesi of The LizLuke Team.
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Move2Learn board member, Nicole McGrew, left, with Heather Peeler, Act For Alexandria president and CEO, our second guest of honor for being there with M2L since the beginning. To the right of Heather in the background is none other than Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson.
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The scene from the top of the stairs.
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Our awesome DJ kept the dancing going.
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Brooke is pictured here with Dr. Michelle Rief, chair of the ACPS school board.
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Raven Greene, 2nd from left, addressed the crowd with remarks about her experience as a M2L movement mentor and M2L yoga club. That's her mom to her left, along with Sara VanderGoot, co-owner of Mind the Mat Pilates and Yoga studios, and her son.
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Front: Emily Porterfield, ACPS teacher and M2L movement mentor, and her husband, M2L board member, Mike Porterfield. On the left are longtime friends and supporters of M2L, Julie Carey and Mike Tackett. In between Emily and Mike is Melissa Riddy from Inova.
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Longtime Move2Learn supporters, David and Diann Frantz, took their seats front and center on two of our classroom accordion stools, one of the most popular pieces of our Active Seating Packages.
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Pictured here L to R: Elizabeth Bennett Parker, Virginia state delegate; Suzie Russell, M2L volunteer; Dr. Michelle Rief, ACPS School Board chair; Ashley Simpson Baird, ACPS school board member; Dr. Grace Taylor, chief of staff, ACPS; Dave Keen, CFO, American Physical Therapy Association; Christine Freidburg, director, Griswold Home Care
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Brooke poses with Gene Steuerle, founder of ACT for Alexandria.
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Mayor Justin Wilson, middle, watching the bidding with Mary Miller, M2L volunteer, left, and Marc Miller, M2L board member, right.
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Brooke shares the "stage" with Shawn McLaughlin, longtime M2L supporter in his auctioneer role to bid off fabulous items for our cause.
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Our friend, Tommy White, bids on an awesome auction package.
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Closing out the party with a last dance of the evening is Heidi Vatanka, left, and Kesha Stephenson-Frazier, right, of Parker Gray Pediatric Dental Care.

Move2Learn Turns 15–video

It’s hard to believe it has been 15 years that we’ve had the honor of serving our community to transform the way our students learn, to reach their highest potential. Since 2009, we’ve been using movement to inspire tens of thousands of Alexandria public school students. Our awesome students are a diverse group with wide socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Today, Move2Learn focused on three main buckets: Inside the Classroom and Outside the Classroom to create a healthy space for learning as well as a sense of belonging; and our Social, Emotional and Academing Learning lessons to help students help themselves so they understand the emotions that get in their way of learning and then how to use movement to overcome.

We celebrated our Mile Marker 15 anniversary celebration October 5th, 2024, with 85+ friends of Move2Learn. Everyone had a blast. After you enjoy our MM15 video (below) with a brief look-back/ahead with M2L founder, president and CEO, take a look at pics from the party!