About Us
Integrated Perceptual Motor™ is a two-time award-winning program created by Dr. David Biles, Lenee Howe, and their team of experts, built on 45 years of research and work with children. We partner with schools to design customized IPM programs for classroom teachers, parents, and physical education specialists. Today, the program is implemented in more than 50 elementary schools across three districts—including Waugh, San Ramon Valley, and Brentwood Union—with additional daycares continuing to adopt our approach.
Our mission is to develop strong bodies and focused minds through a creative movement–based physical education program that pairs physical activity with the dedication and focus needed for academic success.
“Perceptual motor movement activities can transform academic struggles into success, and this knowledge should be shared with all who support children.”
— Lenée Howe, Co-Founder of IPM4Kids
About The Authors
Dr. Biles
Dr. Biles has been a teacher since 1980 in numerous capacities. He worked for 3 years as the Adaptive Physical Education Instructor at Los Medanos College while acquiring his master’s degree in kinesiology. He then started working as a Physical Education/Perceptual Motor Specialist at John Swett Elementary school and continued there for 28 years. Since 1984, Dr. Biles has instructed students using the Integrated Perceptual Motor™ program. While teaching, he earned a doctoral degree in Education from Saint Mary’s College. He became interested in how the brain functions through physical activity while researching some of Jack Capon’s work. Dr. Biles found that there was a correlation between academics in education and physical activity. In 1990 the Integrated Perceptual Motor™ program was recognized as a “Program of Excellence” in Contra Costa County. His dissertation for his doctoral degree was on “Eliminating the Midline Barrier for Improved Reading Efficiency”. This spring-boarded Dr. Biles into using his dissertation as an intervention for below grade-level readers at his elementary school.
Lenée Howe
Lenée began her knowledge of the IPM program as a student at John Swett Elementary. Her father (Dr. Biles) encouraged her to get her teaching credential and to become a teacher. She graduated from Sonoma State University in 2002 and received her credential the following year. In 2004 she got her first teaching job in the Waugh School District in Petaluma. It was during her first years as a teacher that the idea to bring back the IPM stations and create a book began. Over the course of multiple summers Dr. Biles and Lenée worked on creating the IPM Workbook. In 2016 the Waugh School district adopted the IPM program and it is up and running in all of their schools currently. In 2019, Lenee was voted to be the Waugh School District's union president and she holds that role to this day. In 2020, she completed the Sonoma County Teacher Leadership program and received a certificate from California University of Davis. In 2022 the Waugh School District received the Distinguished School award for their growth and academic excellence throughout the pandemic. She has now been teaching for over 20 years and is proud of her ability to lead her district through the pandemic and beyond. She attributes much of the district’s academic success to the IPM program.
