7:00am
The sun just peeks over the White Tank Mountains and onto the field as the boy’s and girl’s soccer teams and coaches begin warm-ups and the cool air fills with music and shouts.
Over 1,200 preschool through eighth-grade students start arriving well before my 8:00am bell rings. Because we are right in the heart of a neighborhood, most of my kids walk or ride their bikes to me each day. Our kids are diverse, and I hear a few different languages as they begin to pour in and fill the halls. Some of them carry their musical instruments and sports gear as they head into the cafeteria for breakfast before the bell rings.
More than 3 out of 10 students receive free or reduced-price meals in my cafeteria. Around 32% of my students live below the poverty line. Of course, that is too many, but not quite enough to allow us more money from the state or federal governments.
8:20am
The morning announcements come on, and my walls practically vibrate as my students recite our mission and values and recite the Pledge of Allegiance altogether.
9:45am
Our teachers and staff have been here prepping their classrooms for a big day of learning ahead. 7th graders are using virtual reality goggles to take a tour of the solar system while my 5th graders prepare for their annual overnight field trip by researching desert outdoor skills. Kindergarteners work on decoding a big book with their teacher, while fourth graders make topographical maps of Arizona out of clay. Students are everywhere, checking out books from the school library, playing recorders in the music room, learning with their teachers and peers. Even though the job can be tough, teachers walk the halls with smiles on their faces as they greet my students by name.
Each one of us puts our students first. Today we are holding a Hat Day fundraiser for hurricane relief. Our wonderful health assistant, Nurse Kimberly, who can make any bad day better, noticed one student who was sad that he forgot his hat and was having a very hard time. She sent out an email to see if anyone had a spare hat for a tearful student. Of course, a suitable hat was quickly found and the child went about his business happily. This is why we like to come to school every day – we all work together to make sure each of our 1,200 students has a good day. Our staff has the attitude that we are all in this together. We know our job as educators is hard and it seems to get harder every day. But we believe everything is better when you treat each other with kindness.
Our teachers, students, and staff call themselves a family a lot. It really is true – most of my teachers who have kids of their own send them to us for their education. We treat each person like a member of our family.
12:13pm
Learning continues, but now there is the added excitement of lunch and recess. A heated game of wall ball competes with a group of kids chanting the game “Ride That Pony!” Teachers gather for the latest delicious potluck lunch, encouraging each other to eat more because “calories don’t count on Pot Luck Day!”
2:55pm
The afternoon announcements come on, and a hush falls over the halls as today we all listen excitedly for one announcement in particular – Bear Drive totals! Each year our school gives back to the community by hosting a bear drive collecting new teddy bears for hospitalized children. Last year we gathered over 3,000 stuffed animals for the Emery Miller Bear Drive for children in hospitals all over the U.S. The hallways erupt with cheers as running totals and winning classrooms are announced.
3:00pm
Believe it or not, things really get into full swing here after school! The Friends of Rachel Club bustles around hanging positive messages in my hallways, while the Art Club plans ways to decorate my cafeteria for upcoming events. Beautiful harmonies from our Chorus compete with “Oompa Loompa” from Willy Wonka musical rehearsals and mingle with shouts of school spirit from our cheerleaders. The National Junior Honor Society babysits children while parents and teachers gather for a PTO meeting.
Speaking of our PTO, these wonderful volunteers provide at least one free fun family event each month. They celebrate all of our Students of the Month. They also help our staff plan fun events for our students and raise money for really important things like playground equipment, field trips, and technology.
7:30pm
My teachers and staff were really sad one day recently when they heard we were given a C grade. Maybe the people who gave us that grade don’t see that we had almost 60% staff turnover last year and we are still enculturating our newest team members. Maybe they don’t see how hard our students and staff work each day. When the last teacher packs up her car in the dark parking lot, and the cleaners turn out my hallway lights, and for a moment, things are quiet, and there is time to reflect. I reassure myself that one test on one day isn’t truly the measure of what we’re made of. I wish I could reassure my school family of this. But I think they know. Because they’ll come back again early tomorrow morning for another wonderful day.
We have always been taught that a C is average. We may be an average school in Arizona. What makes us special are the 1,300 people that learn here every day who are so much more than average.
Beth Maloney
I am in my twentieth year of teaching and enjoy every minute of my time in the classroom. I have taught kindergarten, third grade, and currently teach fifth-grade science and social studies in Surprise, Arizona. I am an enthusiastic public school advocate. I am a National Board Certified Teacher and a Candidate Support Provider for the Arizona K12 Center, where I coach and mentor other teachers undergoing the rigorous National Board certification. I am the past president and co-founder of the Arizona National Board Certified Teacher Network and president and founder of the Arizona Chapter of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year. I am honored to be Arizona’s 2014 Teacher of the Year and appreciate having the opportunity to represent the teachers of Arizona. I love talking with and learning from other teachers around the world. I strongly believe that teacher voice in the public education dialogue is the best way to make change for the better for all students.
Comments 7
This post is a masterpiece….. Amen..
C is for Community! Those letters assigned to schools based on test scores just do NOT match the true humaness of the school.
Love this! Great way to turn a hurtful label into something a school can embrace!
Us too! Here is what I have taken away from this, is the single letter grades we have been given representative of us? No, not at all. But it has also made me reflect on the grades we give students and what they mean as well.
I know, right!? Standards-based grading and corresponding gradebooks are really where things need to be…
Imagine going from a D school to a C school… though the letter isn’t defining… spending years on a D status while things were frozen and the legislature was trying to figure out how to recalculate things was rough. Thankfully, we are a C school now – though we know it does not even begin to measure our worth, it has gone a long way for morale after the past few years. I swear it’s like the Scarlet Letter… but maybe this lit-geek-teacher at heart is just too caught up in our American historical roots… Waiting to see if they toss me in a pond to see if I float too.
Love, love, LOVE this. If it were up to me, this post would go viral! AZ state leaders should be ashamed of the damaging practice of labeling schools (and determining funding!!!) based on high stakes test scores that are more indicative of the neighborhood’s SES scores than teacher effectiveness. A few years ago, I worked at a school that increased a letter grade. There was epic celebration…until the next year when we returned to the lower score. I’ve never seen such a morale depletion in my life. Now, I work at a school where our letter grade dropped this year. Sadness spread like a virus. I’ve been really committed to making sure staff don’t let the lower grade define or demoralize us. According to Berliner & Glass (2014), teachers/schools can only control 10% of each student’s test score. The rest is tied to predetermined factors like home life. Tying a school’s identity to these scores is maddening. And I think it contributes to teacher attrition because teachers are so confused why they have “good” score and “bad” score years when they are teaching their butts off and getting better each year. AZ school advocates must speak out against this ridiculous and shameful practice. I love how you are contributing to this dialogue!!!