June/July 2018 Newsletter: Employee Spotlight—Fernway teachers Jamie Harden and Ellen Battle
Fernway second-grade teacher Jamie Harden and first-grade teacher Ellen Battle are the school’s lone looping team, meaning that the pair keeps their students for two years, “looping” with them from first to second grade. This school year was the second year of the loop: Ms. Harden has had her students for two years and in the fall, Ms. Battle will advance with her current first-grade class to second grade. When the opportunity was presented two years ago with Ms. Harden set as one-half of the team, Ms. Battle says she volunteered to be the other half, even though she’d been teaching second graders. It was a personal challenge she willingly accepted (IB would commend her risk-taking) and today, the pair is so glad they’ve had the experience. Read more about Fernway’s looping duo, Ms. Harden and Ms. Battle.
What are the benefits of looping?
Ms. Harden: The most important benefit for me is that I know my students and they know me. The expectations are set. Things that usually take six weeks to get set didn’t even take six days this year. It was really cool at the beginning of this year because I could ask the students to remember how we did something last year and they had an idea how they could make it more second grade. The students knew how to handle their emotions and when it came to interventions and differentiations, my prior experience with the students made developing those things easier. I used to do a lot of guessing over the summer, but last summer, I could truly plan because I knew my kids.
Ms. Battle: For me, it’s the opposite. At the end of last year, I had rising third graders. And then this past fall, I had students who had last been in kindergarten. So last summer, was very intense for me because I had to get up to speed on first grade on my own. I think the struggle for me was to know where incoming first graders should be. I had to readjust my expectations: I had to remember that sometimes, first graders will lay on the floor or break into song. But now I know my students and I know that they’ve developed their attention spans and they can be independent. So I’m really looking forward to next year because I know exactly where to start. As hard as it was in the beginning, I would do it again. I’ve learned so much by coming down to first grade.
What advice would you give a teacher who is considering looping?
Ms. Harden: I would encourage them to be open-minded. I would also encourage the building administrator to be sure that your two-team teachers are on the same page and that they can collaborate well together. Ellen and I have the grade-level team meetings and then we meet on our own a lot. We bounce things off each other and have a great relationship.
Ms. Battle: It’s not for everybody, but it’s worthwhile. I’d tell a teacher who wants to loop to be gentle on yourself and to have reasonable expectations, particularly if you’re going down in grade levels. I think the transition up is smoother than going down. I feel like I’ve done a lot of hard things in my life, but this year, I feel like I’ve accomplished something. I’m proud for Jamie and me.
Are parents with children in your classes required to keep their students in your class?
Ms. Battle: Parents were all notified of our plans to loop and have the option to stay or to be placed in another class.
Ms. Harden: The feedback has been really good. I remember in the fall during conferences feeling like I could talk to families about their student’s progress over the previous year. That was so valuable.
What was your biggest learning this year?
Ms. Harden: For me, because I always had different groups of kids, it was a chance to feel like I had control over things in the beginning of the year. I had so much confidence in my students’ abilities. These past few months have been what I always envisioned: the students had autonomy and I was just there to facilitate their learning. For the first time, I had longer than nine months to get to know my kids. I’ll miss them!
Ms. Battle: Definitely for me, it was learning how to teach first grade. But I’m so excited for the transition next year because now I’ll get to experience what Ms. Harden had this year!
How do each of you like to spend your free time?
Ms. Harden: I love going to the movies, especially to see any of the Avenger movies. I have a son who is graduating from Brush this year, so that’s exciting. I also enjoy my dog, Vegas, and learning about canine massotherapy.
Ms. Battle: I enjoy yoga and reading about mindfulness and other things that are self-centering. And I also love going to the movies, especially to see anything Marvel.