By Chelsea Royer
Missy Smith and Martin Jefferson are preschool teachers at Aberdeen’s Stevens Elementary School. When I think of preschool, I think of a daycare-like setting where little kids come merely to play and sing. Smith and Jefferson shattered my perception with some heartwarming tales and interesting facts. A truly integrated program, the Stevens preschool accommodates students from every walk of life from low income children to those with special needs and disabilities.
With such a wide variety of students, the preschool program is designed to be adaptable. The focus is not on academics but rather on teaching kids how to learn. Smith and Jefferson meet their students where they are at developmentally and help them be as ready for Kindergarten as possible. For some children, this means focusing on their ability to get through the day without spitting. For others, this means helping them recognize the letters in their name and learning numbers one through ten.
Smith explains that it’s more about how much experience and richness they are able to give the students than about how much they are able to grasp. Those with special needs are not separated for any reason unless someone like a therapist enters the classroom for one-on-one attention. “Everything else we do is very integrated. You wouldn’t be able to walk into either of our classrooms and go, ‘that’s the kid with special needs’ just by looking at our activities or lesson plans. No one is isolated or segregated,” explains Missy.
“My focus is very social. That’s the skill that everybody needs when they grow up. The reason most people will get fired from a job is because they don’t know how to deal with people. I focus on the social skills and being able to follow a routine because those are the skills they’ll need in Kindergarten, then the academics follow. We ask, can they follow the class rules? Can they follow social rules? It’s a big deal. Because if they can’t do that, they’re already handicapped,” says Martin.
“One of the things we like to say is that preschool teaches kids how to do school. It teaches them how to walk in line, how to play interactively, and how to sit in a large group setting. School is so much more than learning to read, write, and do math. We expose them to those academic things, but we’re teaching them how it all works before they enter Kindergarten,” adds Missy. “Kindergarten teachers say they want kids to come in ready to learn. If they’ve never had to sit with twenty other kids and read a story, that might be hard for them.”
As challenging as I imagine her job is at times, Missy doesn’t complain about the difficulty of instructing such diverse learning levels. Her heart is more focused on the bonding experience she has with each of her students.
“I like being able to create lasting memories for them…I love the sparkle in their eyes when they first get here. When they’re four years old, everything about school is magical for them. That’s my favorite part, how excited they get and how into everything they are. It feels like a second family. They are always ‘our’ kids, no matter how old they are. The kids who are in fourth grade now are still ‘my’ students. You have a bond with them forever. I tell them from the moment they leave my class, ‘I was your favorite teacher’ and by the time they reach 6th grade, they are so brainwashed that even though they don’t remember much from Preschool, they know I was their favorite teacher,” Smith laughs.
Smith goes on to explain that Stevens Elementary possesses the highest free and reduced lunch rate for low income families in the Aberdeen School District. Yet, proudly, they trend in some of the highest test scores. Missy believes this is at least in part due to the school’s belief that, “They are not just kids here, they are family and each other’s family. The principal has a saying every morning,’Have a good day being about the business of learning and caring for one another.’ We really have a focus on that and I think it carries through everything that we do.” With a mischievous smile, Smith adds, “And it all starts in preschool!”
Kathleen Werner, Principal of Stevens Elementary, confirms the work of Smith and Jefferson. “The preschool is a fabulous program…Its a huge foundation and very important. I’m glad that the program is here and that we have such great teachers.” Werner praises the preschool program in the intensity of purpose and individual instruction. According to Werner, children who take part in the preschool program tend to have an easier time adjusting and excelling in the early grades.
Despite the challenges of such integrated classrooms, Smith and Jefferson spread their dedication across all their students. Whether the accomplishments mean watching a student grow familiar with the letters in their name or being able to finish their milk in twenty minutes instead of an hour, these teachers rejoice in every goal achieved and relish every moment spent in experience and laughter.
