Kate Kettler
Three years ago, Columbine Elementary School Principal, Cris
Gammill had a conversation with the Instructional Resource
Teacher.
“How do we really know how each student is doing?” Gammill
asked.
As a result of this conversation Gammill began a program to
check in on every single student in the building. Each October and
January, Gammill gathers a resource team made up of IRT teacher
Kristen Lopes, Counselor Sara Huber, and Gifted and Talented
Teacher Michelle Jackson. For three days the team meets with the
resource teacher and classroom teacher for each child at Columbine.
The classroom teachers prepare for these Classroom Conversations by
answering questions about the children in their class.
The team examines five areas. First they ask, “Are the child’s
needs met?”
“We want to know, are they growing? This means different things
for different students,” Gammill said. “For struggling students it
might mean being in an extra math group or reading group. For
gifted students it might mean leading a reading group for younger
students.”
In addition to academic needs, teachers share about each
student’s social and emotional wellbeing. They also bring any
developmental concerns. Students can get individualized help
through physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech and
language therapy.
Each year the staff ask one extra “big idea” question. This year
the team wants to know if every student is a lover of reading.
“It’s more than, ‘can they read?’ We want to know if they are
excited about getting that next book, and really enjoying it. Are
they voracious readers?” Gammill said.
The final question asked is how each student is connected.
“Are they involved in the community?” Gammill said. “Are they
are part of Girl Scouts or something like that? Are they connected
to an adult in the building? How are they invested in the world
around them?”
By asking these questions Gammill’s team collects data, so that
they can create solutions. After the meeting they create a school
wide “to do” list, with the goal of meeting the needs of every
student.
Last year the team took a group of students lacking in community
connections and formed a hiking group. Speech teacher Brenda Ongley
took the students on various hikes throughout the year. By the end
of the year the students had not only connected with Ongley, but
also with each other.
“I went on the last hike of the year and you would have never
known these were the kids we were worried about,” Gammill said.
The year before, the results of Classroom Conversations showed
many students had parents who had been deployed. The school was
able to group those students for special support and
recognition.
This year both fifth-grade teachers and kindergarten teachers
identified a need to harness energy among the boys. The result was
sportsmanship lessons. Gammill explained how the fifth-grade boys
taught the kindergarten boys what to do with frustrations while
playing sports.
“The kindergartners were in awe of the fifth-graders. By the end
the fifth-graders had a huge self-esteem boost and they really
internalized the lesson for themselves. Anytime you teach something
it becomes yours,” she said.
From sportsmanship to reading groups, the resource team finds
creative solutions to met every need. Every Friday morning they
meet to continue checking off their to-do list and make
child-specific plans.
Parents also benefit from Classroom Conversations. At Parent
Teacher Conferences, parents receive a report card and a form from
the “conversation” about their child. As a result both parents and
other volunteers have become mentors and tutors for Columbine
students.
In a few days Gammill and the resource team will have another
Classroom Conversation with every teacher in the building. Although
there are around 363 students, they will not skip a single one.
“Before we started this, I had a vague idea how the kids were
doing. Now I have personally discussed every single student in the
school. It’s a good feeling to know that no one is slipping through
the cracks,” Gammill said.