Juli Neace of Highlands Middle School (Fort Thomas Independent) and Melanie Smith of Model Laboratory School in Richmond have been recognized as 2025 Southern District Teachers of the Year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America). Neace is being highlighted for her work in middle school physical education and Smith for her work in health education.
For Neace, receiving this recognition validates her dedication to education, the importance of stepping out of her comfort zone and providing students with opportunities to learn about health and movement.
“You start off in education and it’s kind of like a whirlwind, but as you learn and grow each year, you want to be better and you take the opportunities that come your way,” she said. “You want to be the best you can be as an educator so students can learn, grow and be their best authentic selves.”
Neace has been working in education for nearly two decades, including 10 years at the elementary school level and eight years in middle school. She also worked for a year as a school health services coordinator at the Kentucky Department of Education. She noted the diverse experiences that have shaped her teaching journey.
“Being a teacher means you can be that foundation that kids need,” Neace said.
She believes teaching students about health and movement helps them develop a healthy lifestyle as they grow into adulthood, and she encourages students to explore, have fun and understand the importance of being healthy.
Neace said the COVID-19 pandemic brought mental health to the forefront, which has become a key focus in her teaching. Her philosophy revolves around fostering joy and movement while supporting students’ mental wellbeing. She strives to create an environment where students feel encouraged to learn and grow.
“My question is always, ‘Who’s good at (physical education)? Who’s good at health?’ and students often think it’s the fastest kid or the most athletic,” she said. “But I tell them, ‘No, everybody’s good at (physical education). Everybody’s good. You just have to show up, try your best and give what you have to give.’”
Emphasizing inclusion is significant to how Neace teaches. She believes everyone has the potential to excel in physical education, encouraging students to try their best and connect with each other.
“We always use some type of celebration dance or even just a high-five,” she said. “If we do something awesome, we celebrate it. Getting them to appreciate differences and include everybody is the biggest part.”
“The better relationships you have as a team, the better the classroom experience.”
Neace organizes small-sided games to help students recognize and appreciate each other’s strengths. She believes that celebrating achievements welcomes a positive classroom environment.
To keep students engaged, Neace uses various teaching strategies to cater to different learners through visuals, video clips and graphics interchange formats, known as GIFs. These provide opportunities for students to grasp concepts in multiple ways.
“Providing different opportunities for students to learn and understand is really important,” she said. “And making sure they have the time to explore and develop skills is just as crucial.”
She discussed the “Health Moves Minds” initiative from SHAPE America, which focuses on social-emotional learning, mindfulness and mental health. The program includes teacher and student challenges, promoting movement, mindfulness and positivity while raising funds for health and physical education. Student involvement allows them to have a voice in deciding how funds are allocated, making the initiative more meaningful to them.
Neace said that seeing students’ authentic joy and self-confidence when they achieve something is the most rewarding part of being an educator.
“That ultimately is my goal, to provide those moments for my students,” she said. “Seeing that moment when they believe in themselves and say, ‘I can do this,’ that’s everything.”
For Smith, receiving this honor was an important moment in her career.
“It almost felt unreal, like a dream when I first heard the news. It was definitely a surprise,” she said.
Smith’s passion for fitness and wellness began in middle and high school and continued through her collegiate years at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, where she played tennis for four years. Her background inspired her to pursue a career in physical education and health.
“Every day is something new and exciting. The way health and (physical education) were taught when I was younger is not the same way it should be taught now,” she said.
Smith describes her teaching philosophy as “timeless,” aiming to provide students with skills that extend beyond the classroom and promote lifelong healthy habits.
“It’s not just about memorizing vocabulary or completing assignments,” she said, “but how does this apply to my life, how does it apply to other classes that I could use the same set of skills.”
Recognizing that health is a changing subject, Smith updates her curriculum regularly to keep it relevant and engaging.
“I’ve been teaching for about nine or 10 years, so the way that I taught my first or second year or even my third year is not the way I teach now,” she said.
Smith incorporates hands-on activities to keep students engaged, avoiding the traditional “sit and get” method. She prioritizes movement and interaction, even in early morning classes.
“I never just sit in front of the class and talk for an hour. I try to get kids up and moving,” she said.
To connect classroom lessons with real-life situations, Smith uses interactive activities, such as rolling dice to discuss sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy rates. She also implements skill-based health education, emphasizing goal setting, advocacy, analyzing influences and effective communication to help students apply these skills in various aspects of their lives.
To further enhance student engagement, Smith collaborates with the school’s English teacher on different projects. As a certified CPR instructor through the American Heart Association, Smith trains and certifies her 9th-grade students. As part of this project, students write scripts, film informational CPR videos and create infographics, combining health education with writing and communication skills.
“When we collaborate and they’re getting a grade in both classes for the same project, their writing is much more improved.” she said. “They see how the different assignments and skills they’re learning apply to basically any class.”
Smith also introduced a goal-setting project where students set personal goals, create meal and fitness plans, and work with a classmate as their personal trainer.
“They have to incorporate what they know about fitness and nutrition and come up with a personalized meal plan based on their favorite foods, design a fitness plan and then reflect on it,” she said.
Smith said this project has been important in encouraging healthy habits and teaching accountability.
Smith continuously seeks to improve as an educator, gaining student feedback through surveys each year to assess their favorite and least favorite units.
As Model Laboratory is a smaller institution, Smith finds it rewarding to see continued participation from students in her classes and after-school activities.
“The most rewarding part is definitely the relationships we build in a close-knit community like Model,” she said.
Neace and Smith will compete for SHAPE America National Teacher of the Year in their respective categories in April.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the school and district Juli Neace worked for.
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