Inaugural Post - Elementary My Friends!
Hello and Welcome to my blog, “Elementary, My Friends!” I am a career long elementary school educator with a passion for providing a supportive, compassionate learning environment for students ages five-twelve. My experience includes teaching, counseling, serving as a special education diagnostician, and in administration at the school level as an assistant principal, and as a principal in Texas and in Colorado. I am currently in year “34” working in an elementary school, and I still love what I do each day!
Working in a diversity of schools, districts, and even two different states has provided me with a myriad of learning opportunities on various techniques, structures, procedures, and overall organization mechanisms for educating children. In each of the districts and school settings that I have been a part of over the years, I have learned so many things and have continually built upon my knowledge and deep understanding of child development and learning during the elementary school years of a child’s life. As I look back over the individual schools where I have worked, each one has provided me with insights and learning as listed here:
Josephine Houston Elementary
Austin Independent School District (Austin, Texas) 1978-1980
This is the school where I began my career in elementary education. I was one of seven second grade teachers in the school. The school (at the time) was the largest elementary school in Austin ISD. We had to start lunch at 10:30AM and didn’t get everyone through the lines until 2:15PM! I learned about the power of a collaborative team of teachers to work with and learn from. I also fell in love with our elementary school counselor – from her I made the decision that I would go immediately into graduate school studying Educational Psychology. I took the GRE and began my graduate work at the University of Texas. I had my first experience with handling difficult behaviors with a couple of young boys who were definitely proving to me that they don’t teach you everything you need to know about teaching at the University! One of them was named George which happens to be my father's name. He was one of those students that I have had over the years that I still remember after 34 years! I wonder what he is up to now! One day during “Show and Tell” a little boy brought a small plastic ring. In describing it to the class, he remarked that “It is a pwiceless twejur (priceless treasure).” My husband and I still use his term when talking about something that is very special!
Lubbock Independent School District (Lubbock, Texas) 1981-2007 http://www.lubbockisd.org/pages/Lubbock_ISD__TX
Chris Harwell Elementary School (1981-1983)
Serving as a full day kindergarten teacher on a team of four, I learned that basically everything important we need to know about in life is taught in kindergarten! Twenty-five years ago, Robert Fulghum published a simple credo—a credo that became the phenomenal #1 New York Times bestseller All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don't hit people.
4. Put thngs back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don't take things that aren't yours.
7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Stryrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten http://robertfulghum.com/index.php/fulghumweb/about/
2. Play fair.
3. Don't hit people.
4. Put thngs back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don't take things that aren't yours.
7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Stryrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten http://robertfulghum.com/index.php/fulghumweb/about/
Harwell Elementary also gave me my first opportunity to work with a significant percentage of my students coming from families with economic disadvantages. Over 80% of my students qualified for the free/reduced lunch program. I learned that these students were just as capable as learners, but they needed me to fill in some gaps that they had in experiences that most students from advantaged homes came to school already having. I learned to have a love for diversity in my class – each child is valued for their own unique skills, traits, and background.
I loved this school year! I was fortunate enough to be asked to join my previous principal in the opening of a brand new school in south Lubbock. Opening a new school is so exciting! The students and staff are involved in selecting the school mascot and colors. I was teaching second grade again and also had a baby at home (my Katie was born in February of 1983). What I learned during this school year is how challenging it can be to be a new mother with a full-time job. This knowledge has helped me tremendously over the years in having empathy with my staff members as they begin their families and need support managing their home lives with the school expectations. It has been a pleasure to be a part of so many of my teachers over the years announcing their pregnancies, having the countless baby showers, anticipating the births, and then watching with pride as the new young families begin the journey of raising their children who often then attended my schools with their mothers!
For the years of 1984-1987 I was fortunate enough to be able to take a break from full-time work in order to focus on my family. It was during this time that I finished my Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from Texas Tech University (December, 1984). I worked part-time on a contract basis conducting individual educational assessments for the special education and the gifted/talented programs of Lubbock ISD. I also had our second daughter (Mary Beth in April of 1985).
Mae Murfee, Neil Wright, Rush, and Parkway Elementary Schools (August, 1987 – May, 1997)
Due to Lubbock district reorganization, Murfee and Parkway are no longer schools within the district.
Back to work full-time in fall of 1987. For these 10 years I served as an elementary school counselor and an educational diagnostician for 4 schools. I worked at Murfee for the entire 10 years always paired with one of the other three. Within these 10 years were the elementary school years of our daughters, Katie and Mary Beth. They attended Murfee with me, and I was able to be actively involved with my girls’ schooling along with my profession. During these years I also encountered several hardships in my family. My brother, Doug died in 1987, my father, George died in 1991, and my husband, Focusing upon the rearing of my daughters and serving the students and teachers at my schools kept me moving forward in my life. We had a strong support group in our Sunday School class at First United Methodist Church in Lubbock without whom we would have been lonely and isolated. The members of this class were the basis of our lives in Lubbock from 1981-2007, and we are grateful for everyone who we call our dearest friends.
During the 10 year journey between 1987 and 1997, I learned that having a village around you as you are going through any of life’s stages is critical to one’s wellness and happiness. The staffs at Murfee, Parkway, Rush and Wright supported me in countless ways during these years. I strived to provide counseling, guidance, and assessment services to meet the needs of hundreds of students during this time, as well. These were also the years that I was back in graduate school working on the administrative licensure. In Texas, this certification required around 42 graduate hours. Add that to the other hours for the educational psychology degree and the educational diagnostician certification, and I ended up with over 120 graduate credits, but no doctorate to show for it! I definitely learned that I love to be a continual learner. I love working in schools and I love going to school. Call me crazy, but it is who I am! As I was working on the principal’s license, I dreamed that I could one day have a school where I could put my teaching, counseling, and inter-personal skills to work for the benefit of a school community. I felt that all of my work with parents and struggling students would serve me in good stead. Was I right?
Wester, Guadalupe, Neil Wright, and Overton Elementary Schools (1997-1999)
During these two school years I served as an assistant principal for three schools at a time! The first year, as an AP, I worked at Wester 2 days a week, Guadalupe 2 days a week, and Neil Wright for 1 day a week. The second year I remained at Wester and Guadalupe, and added Overton in place of Neil Wright. Even though I continue to have opinions about the wisdom of spreading a person this thinly over three buildings, I did learn a lot about leadership styles, school climates and cultures, procedures and structures that work and don’t work, effective and non-effective school-wide discipline plans, and how to work with teachers with their professional growth. If I was in a building on a particular day, you can be sure that the principal would put me in charge of discipline in order to give themselves a break from the days that I was not in the building! I was also asked to meet with parents of students who were having problems and come up with ideas and plans that the student, parents, and teachers would then implement. I was also asked to be the required administrator sitting in at meetings for students who qualified for special education as we wrote and revised their individual education plans. The teams at each school would schedule the meetings on the days that I was at their school. Consequently, during these two years I learned about the world of special education from the perspective of a school administrator. I learned about balancing the needs and rights of one child compared to the needs and rights of a classroom full of learners. This learning has held be in good stead over the all of the years that I have been an elementary school principal. It has been fascinating to watch the world of special education laws, programs, and initiatives change over the years.
Woo Hoo! Finally got my own school! Wester Elementary School 1999-2007
In the fall of 1999 I was named principal of Wester Elementary School! The next eight years would be both an enormous amount of work and an amazing blessing to me! This school was perfect for me. Having around 425 students in grades K-6, Wester was wonderfully diverse. During the course of my years at Wester, the neighborhood demographics changed dramatically. In 1999 approximately 55% of the students were considered economically disadvantaged. When I left the school in December of 2007 that number was 73%. In addition to economic status, the students mirrored the demographics of Lubbock at the time. Our student make-up consisted of all races, cultural and religious backgrounds, several home languages, and centers for students with Autism and emotional disturbances. The staff consisted of talented, passionate, and motivated teachers and support personnel who loved children and helping them reach their highest potentials! Over the course of the years we worked together to achieve very competitive achievement results even in comparison to elementary schools with demographics considered to be more likely to have higher student achievement. I learned so much at Wester, but listed here are some of the key professional growth concepts that I still carry with me today:
1. When a group of motivated professionals are clear about a common vision, there is no stopping them!
2. Having a positive school culture does not happen by itself. It takes purpose and dedication from the community as a whole.
3. When teachers feel empowered and supported, they will do whatever they can to provide an excellent learning program and environment for their students and colleagues. It is the principal’s job to put procedures and structures in place for them to feel this sense of efficacy!
During my years at Wester I also worked diligently to determine what needs to be in place for a school-wide discipline plan to be successful. We initiated a community supported plan and then continued to “tweak it” over the years. This plan has been replicated in several schools and is even in a slightly altered form in my current school – Mortensen!
Leaving my colleagues and Wester Elementary School in December of 2007 was one of the hardest things I have encountered professionally. I was not ready to retire from Texas Public Schools, even though by that time I had the years: 26 actual years plus the purchase of three service years – that’s 29. Add that to my age of 51, and I had the magic number of 80. So, what do you do when you can retire and you’re not ready to? Well, you move to another state, draw your full retirement, and start over!
Jefferson County Public Schools - Colorado
Mortensen Elementary School (2008 – Present)
I am currently in my 8thyear as the principal of Mortensen Elementary School in Jeffco Public Schools, Littleton, Colorado. Mortensen is a wonderful school with about 430 students in the south area of Jefferson County Public School District. Our staff is committed to providing a safe, caring learning environment for all children. We strive "to provide a quality education that prepares all children for a successful future," our district mission.
Our theme this year is Mortensen 2015-2016 – Where Learning Takes Flight! Here is a great video of our “beginning of the year” all school assembly with a hot air balloon!
Our students know what it means to BE respectful, BE responsible, and BE ready to learn - we call these our Bulldog BE's. In addition to teaching our students to be readers, writers, mathematicians and scientists, our staff helps students to understand what it means to be respectful of one another, responsible citizens and to come to school each day ready to learn. We have an outstanding Art, Music and Physical Education program for all students in Grades 1-6, as well as our full day Kindergarten students. Band and orchestra are optional programs provided twice a week for interested students. Our Morning Glory choir fills the halls with beautiful music at various performances throughout the year, and students' dramatic talents are spotlighted through a variety of class performances for the student body, family and friends. We are committed to providing a balanced education for our children, with many opportunities for students to explore their talents for enrichment.
Our kindergarten includes both a half-day session, in addition to a full-day tuition-based kindergarten. We are also excited to provide a preschool program and before/after school child care through Jeffco Public Schools. Another wonderful program at Mortensen is our Colorado Department of Education Model Site Center Program for Children with Autism. Here is a recent article in the Denver Post about our ASD Program:
At Mortensen we believe that parents are a child's first and most important teachers and we look forward to developing partnerships with parents to help our children thrive. There are many opportunities for parents to get involved with their children’s education. We understand that each time a parent walks through our doors, it sends a message to our children that education is important. We welcome our parents and look forward to working together to help our children become responsible, respectful, and knowledgeable citizens of our world.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the principal of this excellent school. I have learned so much in the past few years working in Jeffco and at Mortensen. Mostly I have learned that each day is a gift to me as I participate in touching the future with these precious children’s lives!
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