Our son is a proud kindergarten graduate, and boy, what a monumental year of learning it was for him… and for us. I was not nervous when he started school; he was SO ready, and I was confident he would do well with his creativity, imagination, and love of learning. The years preceding, though, kindergarten was a big topic of conversation especially in our “school of choice” state, coupled with our decision to send him to the district I was teaching in rather than our assigned district where he had been accepted into a magnet that was generally a highly-rated elementary school. Reflecting now, the major lesson I have learned from his first year in public school is that it’s not the school, it’s the teacher who makes all the difference. And he just so happened to have a teacher who was so amazing, so empathetic and skilled, that our little scholar is now ready for the big challenges and opportunities that await him as he continues on his academic journey.
The school our son attended had a long-standing reputation as one of the best elementaries on the west side, but it was still a Title I school, with the challenges associated with urban education programs and the hardships of budget cuts that most public schools are currently facing. However, the teaching staff at his school embraced the community and prided itself on its history. They excelled in positive reinforcement. They had standards and high expectations. The principal, secretaries, and everyone in between knew the name of each student, and in turn, the students felt loved and a sense of belonging that I can only dream of replicating at the secondary level. Our son flourished in this setting and looked forward to going to school every day.
The sunshine in our kindergartener’s life was his teacher, and, really, she shone so brightly that we all benefited from her glow throughout the entire academic year. Mrs. S was in her last year of teaching and had spent the previous 32 years working with five- and six-year-olds. Her classroom was functional yet fun, with each part having a specific purpose and being student-centered. It was a happy place to be, and she was happy to be there. I will never forget meeting Mrs. S with my son on his kindergarten evaluation day and how warm she was towards him. He instantly felt comfortable with her. His nervousness melted away as she took his hand and showed him around the classroom. She listened to him, and they smiled at each other. At the end, I took a picture of the two of them for, his school book and in the days preceding the first day of class, he requested to see the picture again and again. It was apparent, even then, that great things were coming.
The first weeks of school were exciting, and by the parent-teacher conferences in the early fall, we were so happy to recognize, just by talking to Mrs. S, that she knew our son and understood him far beyond his seating chart location and assessment scores. It was so clear that she cared for him, challenged him, and supported him. She was his advocate and mentor at school. She was his lighthouse showing him the way. We left parent-teacher conferences not just confident in our school choice but absolutely certain it was a good fit- not because of the school, but because of Mrs. S, his classroom teacher.
Mrs. S did so many things right, but what I appreciated the most was her openness to include us in our son’s academic journey. She sent a weekly newsletter home about what the kindergartners were learning this week. She invited parents to participate in small ways. I personally reached out to her every so often just to check in, and she was always supportive in her responses, saying what she had noticed in the classroom. As a mom, I tremendously valued when she would reach out to me about areas of growth she had seen and wanted to make sure we celebrated our child for. This correspondence was invaluable to me: it was a difficult transition when my son moved from the same building where he attended preschool to another school altogether. Mrs. S took care of him, and both my husband and I knew every day we were sending him somewhere where he was cherished.
To sum up our experience, there are so many opinions and options for schools for our kids. In the end, what is paramount is not the school, but the teacher. We have moved to a different part of the state and to a very different school district than the one where our son began his academic career. Thanks to Mrs. S and the confidence and skills she instilled in him, his biggest concern is riding the bus. I look forward to getting to know his new teacher, and I hope this new person loves the kids as much as Mrs. S did. To us, there is no more important characteristic, and we will be forever grateful for our son’s kindergarten teacher.
