Meet New PE Teacher - Mr. Henning

Photo credit: Sowmya Boominathan ('28)

This school year, Walls welcomed a new teacher to the faculty team: Mr. Keith Henning, the new PE teacher. After pursuing a career in the sports industry, Mr. Henning brought his lifelong passion and experience in athletics to Walls.

At Walls, Mr. Henning teaches Fitness and Lifetime Sports, what many students know as PE. His interest in fitness, health, and especially sports began during his freshman year of high school while recovering from ribcage surgery.

His passion for athletics motivated him to pursue a career in fitness. He first worked as a full-time personal trainer for the UCLA Football Team and as a high school track coach at George C. Marshall. Mr. Henning said, “I was trying to find a way that I felt like I could have a big impact in the world of fitness,” and while being a physical therapist meant working with professional athletes, he felt he could influence a much larger group of people by teaching at schools.

When looking for jobs in the D.C. area, Mr. Henning was drawn to Walls for several reasons. He said he liked the idea of “using the city as a classroom, the idea of getting out and about… and the connection with GW.” He also said he aligned with Walls’ curriculum. “I really liked that [the curriculum] aligned more with my idea that physical education should be mostly about teaching kids to be healthy,” he said, “as opposed to teaching students how to play sports.”

So far, Mr. Henning said he had enjoyed his first few weeks teaching at Walls and had established strong connections with both students and faculty. He also appreciated the creative leeway in the curriculum, which allowed him to plan games and lessons for the students.

Outside of school, Mr. Henning enjoyed weight training, riding bikes, and rock climbing. He also liked playing and watching a variety of sports, playing video games, and cooking for his family.

If he were to give a word of advice to his students, he said he would encourage them to stay motivated and continue leading healthy, active lifestyles, both inside and outside of the gym.