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Hi everyone! My name is Sarah and I've known I wanted to be a teacher since high school. I am originally from Cohasset, MA and now live in Danvers. I went to Endicott for undergrad and loved it. I have initial licenses in both Elementary Ed and Sped (moderate). It's taking me longer than I had hoped to get through grad school but, I'm finally at the end! Currently, I am a therapeutic teacher in the Hamilton-Wenham School District. I service grades K-5 and focus on social/emotional/behavioral skills. My students are typically the ones that create an "unsafe" environment.

Through my experience, I have witnessed procedures that work and don't work when creating a safe environment. The most important approach in my opinion is to be FLEXIBLE. In order to keep a safe environment, the adults involved with students (not just the classroom teacher), need to adhere to clear rules and expectations while being flexible with changes. One procedure I have with a student is that when he is escalated, the entire classroom needs to relocate so that my student can have his privacy while calming down. Of course we need to remove students so that no one is physically hurt, but we also need to think about the student in crisis. Each time he is in crisis, his peers see it and get scared. The last we want is for my student to be completed isolated because no one wants to be near him. Emotional safety is just as important as physical safety.

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Hi everyone! My name is Hayley and last spring I graduated from Endicott with a degree in Educational Studies. This past fall I completed my pre-practicum in a 5th grade classroom at Stratton Elementary School in Arlington, MA. This spring I will finish up my graduate classes and then complete my student teaching in the fall!

I have been very fortunate to have worked in classrooms where a safe/comfortable school environment was always a priority. I think that it is crucial to create this atmosphere in you classroom so that your students feel safe at all times. I think that it is very important to create routines and establishing expectations right from the start. School may be an escape for some of your students, so you must always keep that in mind. I have seen multiple students I have worked with leave a box in their classroom where students can leave them letters; anonymously or not. I loved this idea because it gives the students who may not be comfortable enough to speak up in the classroom a chance to express themselves to their teacher. I am looking forward to this class and working with all of you!

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Hi everyone! My name is Jenna. I graduated from UNH in 2018 with an undergrad  degree in speech. I work in Burlington Ma, and will be graduating with my Masters in Elementary Ed this year.

In my current 3rd grade classroom, the head teacher has done a wonderful job creating a safe classroom environment for students. Students are not afraid to speak up, and they have a great relationship with her. I have seen that become even more evident over the past few weeks with everything they are seeing in the news. Students have had many questions, and we have been as honest as possible without scaring them. Students are comfortable with explaining their worries, which has created a safe environment for them. The teacher and students have mutual respect with each other which has allowed them to have fun and be serious depending on the situation. I am excited to continue this class!

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Hello guys! My name is Hannah Albanese. I am 23 years old and this is my third course at Endicott. I am getting my Masters in Elementary Ed.I currently work as an 8th grade teachers aid at Lynnfield Middle School. I also received my Bachelors in Psychology at Salem State.

As a teachers aid i'm not a "real" teacher but I have had the pleasure to experience some wonderful teaching techniques with the people I work with. The special ed teacher I work with is such a joy and the kids love her. She is so welcoming, calm, and does whatever it takes to make the students feel safe. She likes to do meditation/breathing exercises before class to get the students to relax before they start their work. The English teacher also has an anonymous box where the kids can submit any questions or concerns they have, which is great so the kids don't feel pressure to reveal themselves if there is an issue. I think creating a safe environment classroom is one of the most important parts of being a teacher. All students should feel safe in school and be able to express themselves. I am looking forward to this class and learning about class strategies. Thanks an good luck!

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Hi everyone! My name is Molly Stanton, last spring I graduated undergrad at Endicott College and now I am working at an elementary school in Salem as a fellow. 

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Hi everyone! My name is Molly Stanton, last spring I graduated undergrad at Endicott College and now I am working at an elementary school in Salem as a fellow. 

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Creating a safe environment for your students is essential. This semester I am completing my student teaching in a first grade classroom and the teacher I am with has great class management and I have been able to learn a lot. She has many routines her students follow, she creates a welcoming and inviting classroom. Our classroom is a place where our students want to be and they also feel safe. Our class morning meeting creates a welcoming environment. Every week we have one student share all about themselves and make connections with the other students in the class. This gives each student an opportunity to share with the class all about themselves. I have been working with an awesome group of students this year and  I am eager to learn more strategies to best help me with classroom management. I look forward to working with you all.

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Hi everyone!

My name is Nicole Kolhonen, and I am just about finished with my Masters in Secondary Ed. I received my Bachelors at Salem State University in Biology, and now am working in MA at Lynn Classical High School teaching freshmen Biology and one section of Earth Science. I am in my second year of teaching and loving every (well, mostly every) minute of it!

Having a safe learning environment is really important to me as a teacher, and I really try to make my students feel like our classroom is a safe space for them to learn and to be themselves as well. We tend to forget that even with all of these responsibilities these students have outside of our classroom, and in our classroom, that they are still kids learning and growing. Especially during times like these, we need to come together as a community and make our students feel like they are being protected and are safe no matter what comes their way. During the coronavirus scare, most of my students had many questions and were very concerned for their wellbeing and safety in the school. Every day for the past 4 weeks in each of my classes, we would have a discussion about what was going on and try to help answer any questions the students had so that they could be well informed and feel more comfortable with the situation we are in currently. I think helping them answering questions and not just listening to the media has helped them feel more confident about being in school (at the time) and knew that we as a school and a community were committed to keeping the students safe.

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Hello Everyone!

My name is Sara Donahue and I live in Maine. I attended the University of Maine system for my undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Special Education.  After I graduated, I was a Ed. Tech for one year and then I got hired as a Special Education Teacher at my local middle school.  For the last seven years I was a Resource Room Teacher for students in grade 6-8, teaching Math and English Language Arts. At the end of last year, I decided it was time for a change and applied to the local Tech Center to be the Early Childhood Teacher.  I was hired and for the last 7 months I've been teaching high school students the intricacies of working will kids birth to 5.  The students in my program are able to get dual enrollment credits at a local community college and in order to continue this I need to get my Masters in Early Childhood.

I think communication and relationship building are probably the most important components of creating and safe classroom. I take time every day to allow my students to share anything they want with me and their classmates.  I find that this cuts down the chit chat during class and also allows me to make deeper connections with them. The information I learn about their interests and family dynamics is extremely vital.  I try to check back and follow up on the things they have told me previously.  I believe this shows students that I care about them and am truly interested in who they are as individuals.

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Hi everyone! My name is Haley Pierson and I am working towards my Masters in Moderate Disabilities. I graduated from Endicott with my bachelors in Elementary Education in 2019 and am currently working as a part-time preschool teacher in a Montessori setting. In the coming school year I am looking for a full-time elementary education teacher position.

In creating a safe space for students, I have tried many different strategies. It is critical that students feel that they are in a safe space to learn and share ideas. Something I implemented in my student teaching was a morning meeting routine. My second graders would gather each morning for sharing, an activity, and a brief overview of our day. Each day three students would share and other students could make connections and ask questions. This helped students to feel comfortable with each other. We played many different games to bond together such as Coseeki (Indian Chief), four corners, and popcorn skip counting. I tried to incorporate classroom concepts whenever possible. Lastly, I would describe our day and allow students to ask questions. This allowed students to have an expectation for the day's events. I found morning meeting to be very important in establishing a tone for the day and providing students common experiences.

I am looking forward to learning more strategies in this course and from all of you!

I'm currently in Arizona, so here's a picture of me at the Grand Canyon!

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Hi everyone!  My name is Megan Chaney and I am working towards my masters degree in Elementary Education. I graduated in 2017 with a bachelors degree in Elementary Education & Sociology from Salem State. After a few years of hunting for teaching jobs and teaching in the preschool setting, I found myself working here at Endicott in the School of Arts & Sciences while I pursue my degree. 

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Hi everyone!  My name is Megan Chaney and I am working towards my masters degree in Elementary Education. I graduated in 2017 with a bachelors degree in Elementary Education & Sociology from Salem State. After a few years of hunting for teaching jobs and teaching in the preschool setting, I found myself working here at Endicott in the School of Arts & Sciences while I pursue my degree. 

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As I think of creating a safe space for our students to learn and a classroom environment where they feel welcomed and nurtured I look back on my student teaching and preschool teaching experience. In both settings it was my goal to create a morning routine through personal student greetings followed by morning meetings. Each day as students entered the classroom, I would take care to greet each with a smile and a warm 'Good morning, ____'! As students found their place on the rug for morning meeting, they then had the opportunity to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences, without judgement. Whether it was a simple share, or carefully selected prompt, students came to expect it each morning, take pride in sharing something with others, and were able to connect as a classroom community.

See below for a picture of me. I look forward to working with everyone throughout this course!

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Hi everyone! My name is Nick Secatore and I am working towards my Masters in Secondary Education - History (Grades 5-12) here at Endicott. I've had a great experience so far and I'm looking forward to completing my Masters. I'm originally from Cohasset, Massachusetts and graduated from Boston University in 2012 with a degree in Political Science. I'm a career changer and this is my third year working in education. I have mostly worked for The Public Schools of Brookline as a daily and long-term substitute teacher for the district. My Practicum site is Needham High School, which is currently closed due to COVD-19 concerns through the 27th. Hopefully, everything will be safe and we can return to work soon!

I believe the best way to establish a safe and healthy learning environment is setting, reinforcing, and maintaining clear classroom expectations. From there, it is important to build good rapport with students and build relationships with them. Inclusive practices, consistency, routines, and fairness are all critical.

Attached is a photo of me - I am looking forward to working with everyone through this course!

Best,
Nick Secatore

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Hey all, my name is Mollie Watson and I am in my last semester at Endicott before I graduate with my degree in Early Childhood Education. I have an undergraduate degree in Elementary and Special Education from Southern New Hampshire University. The past two years I have been working as a paraprofessional at Centerville Elementary School in Beverly, MA. Last year I worked in third grade and this year I have been working in Kindergarten. We create a safe school environment due to the abundance of support we give students each day through the guidance counselor, student support program (SSP), and many social-emotional learning opportunities. We incorporate meditation, take-a-break spots, quiet time, and many other practices that help build a positive and safe environment that works with children on their social-emotional skills so they are academically able to learn. Although classroom management strategies look different in each classroom, all practices are inclusive of the students encompassing that particular environment. See below for a photo of me.

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Hello,

My name is Jenny Patrick, and I currently work as a specialized instructional assistant in a second-grade classroom. One procedure the teacher uses that has created structure is our daily morning meeting. When students enter the classroom, it is expected that they make their lunch choice and read the question of the day. When we join for a meeting, the teacher will review the question and ask for students to hold a discussion. This has become an excellent opportunity for students to practice academic discourse and gives them insight into what they will be learning. I believe this procedure allows them to be more prepared and willing to engage and I look forward to using this in my future classroom.

Im excited to learn more strategies and work together as a community,
Jenny.

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Hello! My name is Kelsey Regan, I am a M.Ed. Elementary Initial Licensure student. Currently I am completing my practicum at Ayers Ryal Side Elementary in Beverly. A procedure that I have implemented in my classroom that has helped to create a safe learning environment is our morning routine. Each morning, students have a ticket to morning meeting they need to complete prior to coming to the rug. Once at the rug they are invited to take part in a greeting, a share, and an activity. Students do this every single day. It allows students to have consistency and comfort in their morning routine.

Attached is a photo of me! Looking forward to a great semester.