At Summit Elementary School, Every Child Has a Story
Summit Elementary has taken a customized approach to teaching and learning; tailoring lessons to each child by keeping their interests, strengths, areas for improvement, and overall needs in mind. This approach reaches the whole child and encourages learning that is fun and meaningful.
One of the most significant impacts a teacher can have on a student is by working with them one-on-one. This one-on-one interaction can be difficult for teachers of elementary "specials" classes like Music, Art, Physical Education, and STEM, which meet once or twice a week. At Summit Elementary, teachers are working together through new technology platforms like the Seesaw application to ensure that face-to-face classroom time is used in the most effective and dynamic ways. For example, in a unit where a skill such as playing a song on the recorder needs to be taught to the whole group, and then each child assessed by the teacher during class, a more creative method is now used. The Seesaw application allows students to record themselves playing their song at home, and then post it to Seesaw for the teacher to assess outside of classroom time. Utilizing Seesaw as an assessment tool frees up that precious classroom time to spend on one-to-one conferencing and meeting with students to help them with their individual needs.
Another part of reaching the whole child is providing plenty of opportunities for students to pursue their passions. Summit Art Packs are backpacks filled with art supplies, creative materials, and an inspirational book, and have been checked out and taken home by more than 600 Summit artists so far! Art Packs provide all students the resources and encouragement to express themselves, share their story through art and foster their creativity by making visual art. In addition to making art at home, student artists are highlighted in art class when they bring their creations back to school. This provides opportunities for students to share their passion with others.
Along with personalized teacher time and exploring passions, students at Summit Elementary also have unique opportunities to set goals and design their paths for reaching those goals. In Physical Education class, students use self-reflection to determine the best way to reach their goal. They can learn a skill, practice that skill, and then record themselves performing the skill with an iPad. Then they can watch the video and decide if they are performing the skill correctly, or need to keep practicing. This self-reflection helps students improve on Physical Education skills, and teaches them the important life skill of working hard at something and trying different approaches to ensure success. It also encourages more meaningful conversation and learning with the teacher.
The Summit Makerspace provides opportunities for students to explore and excel in nontraditional learning areas. In the Makerspace, much of the learning that takes place is student led. Students focus on design thinking, where they work to identify a problem, brainstorm a solution, make a plan, and design their solution. Then, they work with their peers and their teacher to explore their success and areas in which they could improve their design.
Each year Summit Elementary holds an event focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM). This year, the first ever Summit Maker Faire took place, allowing students to share their creative stories with their peers and with their own families. It was very inspiring to see some of the live presentations and the workshop atmosphere that students designed and created, based on their passions.
"As you can see, the hour that our students are leaving their classroom and leaving the reading, writing, science, social studies, and math; they're leaving for an hour, but the things they're doing are helping them all develop their own stories, develop their passions, and really developing a well-rounded student," concluded Summit Elementary Principal, Brian Stuckey.
Summit Elementary School Board Showcase Presenters
Front Row (L to R): Sophia Kieck, Layla Mathias, Cole Dieringer, Brooke Dieringer, Camdyn Mueske, Gus Nemoir, Nathan Akinsanya, Mallory Beard.
Back Row (L to R): Brian Stuckey, Summit Elementary Principal, Jodie Jens, Summit Elementary Guidance Counselor, Deb Berg, Summit Elementary Music Teacher, Jill LaGrange, Summit Elementary Art Teacher, Mike Dirkmann, Summit Elementary Physical Education Teacher, Wendy Harrop, Summit Elementary STEM Teacher.
