Fairview Elementary: Capturing the Spark

   “Read like your house in on fire and reading is what can get you out.” That’s what Mason said and I am sure that my jaw dropped, eyes widened... and mind expanded.  Mason was a student of the week at Fairview Elementary in Fairfield, California and he was responding to Principal George Porter's question about his key to improving his reading scores. Principal Porter is a consummate educational professional with a resume’ as impressive as his ability to connect with kids, but he too was blown away by Mason’s powerful framing of the motivation to read.

     I had at least a baker’s dozen moments like the one Mason created while visiting Fairview Elementary for a day. Colleen Hutchinson, my creative, effervescent host and Assistant Principal of Fairview, greeted me and instantly turned the situation into a leadership experience for her student “Principal for the Day,” Angel.  Angel had the Principal ID badge credentials and even a whistle.  With her Minnnie Mouse ears in place, (this was “Disney Day”) she read the announcements to the nearly 600 students and then began her Administrative duties which included being responsible for me as the Fairview guest for the day.

     The three different lunch periods for the Panthers of Fairview allowed the Admin team of George

and Colleen to celebrate several students from Kindergarten through 5^th grade.  I watched as Julianna accepted her pizza up on the stage and grinned with a subtle pride as her friends waved to her from their seats at the tables below the stage out on the gymnasium/lunchroom floor.

     I inquired about the mindfulness curriculum that the school uses to help students combat anxieties and toxic stress. I was whisked off to Mr. Phil Nordin’s room to join his students in a mindfulness session. The just after lunch mindfulness session was calming for all of us and his students were so insightful in their comments on the benefits of the “Inner Explorer” curriculum. Phil’s approach was one of valuing and celebrating the intellect and curiosity of his students. They were co-leaders of his classroom. As their calm mindfulness session ended, the anticipation of reading was almost too much for some of them to handle.  Their love of reading and happy acceptance of coaching from Phil was just another version of “read like your house is on fire and reading is what can get you out.” These students had caught the spark that seemed to be everywhere at Fairview.

      A break from classrooms was provided to me by Jordan and Jessica who were selected to be my guides for an in-depth campus tour.  I do not recall if I ever had to learn so much, so fast.  The amazing sensory overload tour was punctuated by my fear of their occasional and mostly unconscious use of every curb or monkey bar on campus to practice their gymnastics skills.

    

  Getting back to instruction, I landed in Laura Obando’s classroom.  I have followed her creative teaching on Twitter from 2.8 miles away at my high school, but now I was “live” and sitting on the floor trying to help five motivated 2^nd graders find some legos for a bar graph representation. Her stations around the classroom were varied and provided multiple approaches to the math learning target of the day.  I started with the low-tech legos and then moved to high-tech stations.  Rumor has it that she is a tireless advocate for her students and everyone says “yes” to her Donors Choose efforts for a better experience for those lucky kids.

    David B. Cohen’s 2016 book Capturing the Spark: Inspired Teaching, Thriving Schools captures what is really happening in California schools.  He spent a year in classrooms seeing over and over what I saw in only one day--dedicated educators helping students flourish by capturing the sparks of curiosity and inspiration.  Maybe those educators are just doing something close to what Fairview student of the week Mason said.  Maybe those educators are teaching like their house in on fire and great teaching is what can get them out.