I hope I get a cool teacher like Ms. Curtis, too!

Last year I wrote a post as a ‘Thank You’ to my older son’s Kindergarten Teacher, Ms. Curtis.  G has been in a CLE (Continuous Learning Environment) class for the last two years, so he had Ms. Curtis again this year.  And again, she has earned a hearty Thank You for he efforts, compassion and leadership.

Unfortunately, the Multi-Age CLE class is going away, but Ms. Curtis isn’t.  She’ll still be at Arcado Elementary in Lilburn, GA, teaching Kindergarteners how to read, write, do math and integrate into elementary school.

G benefited greatly from the CLE class environment.  During his first year, as a Kindergartener, he had great mentoring from the 1st Grade students in the class.  Instead of just being taught by the teacher, the 1st Graders demonstrated leadership with the younger kids and helped teach them.

This year, as a 1st Grader, he had a couple of Kindergarteners that he mentored.  This gave him the opportunity to be a leader and demonstrate his skills and knowledge.

We all know that one of the best ways to learn is to teach… and this class leveraged that to great results.  The Kindergarteners got great peer-to-peer instruction from their friends, while the 1st Graders had the opportunity to teach and learn more effectively, while also building leadership skills.

Feel free to read last year’s post (linked above and through the picture).  There are several examples of ways that Ms. Curtis maintains great communication with the parents, helping to foster a better learning environment for her students.

Finally, one thing that we have really enjoyed is the opportunity to visit the classroom at any time.  With my Junior Achievement activities at Arcado, I was in the school every week for much of the year.  I took advantage of the opportunity to drop in unannounced numerous times.  I was always welcomed… and always impressed by the multitude of ways she engaged the class.  My wife and I (often along with our younger son) also attended many “special event” days in the class.  J was able to play, and the lessons in leadership became quite apparent.

All of the kids, Kindergarteners and 1st Graders, took time to help the younger kids.  Many younger siblings visited the class.  They would play with the toys and entertain themselves with books and other learning tools in the class.  The older kids were always patient and worked toward helping the youngsters…

Thanks Ms. Curtis. Thank you for the time and effort you put into teaching my children.  Thank you for the patience and compassion that you showed them.  Thank you for all of the work that you took on to make sure each child had the best opportunity to learn.