February 22, 2025 • 25 mins
Host Dr. Teresa A. Smith, Dr. TAS welcomes Dr. William S. Hesse, Assistant Principal Matthew Gilbert, and Teacher Diana Leivas to discuss Transforming School Success, revealing how noticing a need for structure during unstructured student time led to the creation of the SOAR program and decreased student discipline referrals (Part 1).
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Connect with Dr. TAS at Linktree Bio
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-with-tas-show--6128538/support
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome the Talk of Times. I'm doctor Teresa Smith, Doctor
TOZ and top of tois is show that I created
some time ago that allows me to interface with experts
from across the globe who are making an impact of
their community. And sometimes those individuals are educators like we
have today. Sometimes they are performers, authors, business owners, entrepreneurs.
(00:24):
But it's all about what expertise can they bring to
the audience that's going to make a difference. And so
today we're talking about how we can make our schools healthier.
When we talk about healthy schools, we're not just talking
about the schools. We're talking about the students. We're talking
about the families. We're talking about the community and the
employees of the schools, because when you bring all of
(00:47):
those pieces together, then you have that healthy school culture.
And so have three wonderful guests with me today. I
have doctor William Harsey. I refer to him as Shane.
He's been on my platform before and his focus is
health and wellness and physical education. He's a twenty year
(01:08):
vet in education. He's been recognized with Humans Awards. He's
making a footprint in Arizona, even with the legislators there
he's been recognized as Teacher of the Year. In addition,
he is an assistant professor at Arizona State University. Also,
so we have Matthew Gilbert. Matthew is a he's an
(01:31):
adjunct instructor, but he's also an assistant principal. And Matthew,
like all of us, is concerned about ensuring that our
students are successful, and so he actively mentors students and teachers,
encouraging a positive and engaging learning environment. Diana Pronancial last
(01:59):
name for me lave Us lave Us. Diana lave Us
is an educator. She's fairly new to education, but she's
still tried and truth. While she was at the University
of Ottawa, she co founded the Sword program and basically
this program to Kai Shane, thank you for I'm glad
(02:20):
you're back with us. Can you hear me? Okay? And
so Diana was part of the leadership team that created
the SORT program at the University of Ottawa. And so
what those students did was they recognized the importance of
physical education and health and wellness for students, and so
(02:41):
they went into the elementary schools and mentored those students,
having a huge impact on how they did academic as
well as socially. So today I want to welcome everybody
to the platform. We're gonna reset and take a breath,
because you know, technology is always interesting. Is it a
(03:02):
real background behind you?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
A generated I'm out in the Granbury, Texas right now.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Well, I'm shaking my head because you've got you in
the right place. I'm looking at your background and I'm
saying reset, and you've already reset for us because we've
got this, this beautiful view behind you. So thank you, Shane,
for bringing us the beautiful beauty. Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
It's good to reset your mind's minds all the time.
That's kind of what we're here to do as well.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I appreciate it absolutely absolutely. As I was saying, Shane,
you know you're no stranger to my platform. You've been
on before and your people are still talking about the
gentleman from Arizona and telling me that they agreed with
what you said. So I want us to kind of
bring everybody else who's joining us for the first time,
(03:52):
and those who are going to be listening to the
repeat the replay, bring them up to speed.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
You created, along with colleagues, the Ultimate Guide to Best
practices for creating healthy learning cultures, which is a valuable
resource for schools, communities, parents, and students. Can you share
what inspired you to create the guide and how to
impact the schools and communities that you've worked with.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
The inspiration came from people like yourself and Diana It's
on the line and mister Gilbert and educators across the
country that really wanted to make an impact on the
whole child approach to education, because there's so much more
than a test score.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
That's the.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Impact reason my why besides when I became a father
to be able to see that my own kids were
going to live shorter lifestyles. It really came evident that
from the beginning to end to and you'll hear Diana's
(04:59):
story today how it came full circle. But as you
continue to see that development from a child and say
second grade, the sixth grade, the eighth grade, and what
you're going to see is Diana's graduated college this year
and she's able to not only design a program like this,
(05:22):
but all my colleagues, including yourself, doctor Ta's the stories
and the impact and the amount of work we put
in to make our our community better. That really is
our why behind this. It's a very innovative approach to
enhancing the healthy lifestyle for children these days to become
(05:43):
what Diana is today. So I'm excited to share more
with you guys. And I see mister Gilbert made it on,
so we're ready.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Absolutely welcome, Matthew. Were glad to see you in. Yeah, well,
Dan says Shane Mint your story. Would you give us
the clipnost version of your story so we can do
that perhaps as a backdrop for our conversation today of course.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Yeah. So growing up, sports was very important to me
and I had a lot of amazing mentors and teachers
along the way. And so last year I started my
student teaching and I was with first grade and I
would play with them at recess a lot, and it
was so important to them and they loved it.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Every day they would ask me like, are you gonna
play with me today?
Speaker 4 (06:33):
And so I joined a sports programming class at Ottawa
with doctor Hesse and he wanted to make a program
that impacted our community and I was like, well, we
have a very high population of athletes at Ottawa and
I thought it would be a great idea for us
(06:53):
to come and interact with the students at recess, since
I know how impactful it was when I was doing it.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
And so now did you. So that was the beginnings
of the creation of the SORT program exactly, and so
oh yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
We got together with the class and we pitched it
to a few schools. We got to take some needs
assessment to see what they exactly needed, and we integrated
the SORD program at two schools.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Now, as far as the SWORD program, tell us a
little bit about the program. So was it just the
athletes going in working with the students during recess? Was
their instructured program that you guys were using.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah, let me start. I'll preface it and then you
can kind of bring it into the admin or the
your viewpoint. But doctor toz, the opening part of this
was just our ability to transform traditional recreation and sport
(08:07):
and recess periods into structured, engaging in educational sessions where
young student athletes learned sports, teamwork and the sportsmanship from
college athletes. This initiative was designed in multiple objectives, reducing
discipline of referrals, fostering positive social interactions, and providing valuable
(08:31):
mentorship opportunities. And with the collaboration of the administration at
the Kingswood Elementary School with mister Gilbert, with our staring
students like Diana Leavis. This is kind of where we
took it, and so Diana take it from here. But
I wanted to preface kind of the the mindset of
(08:54):
the college professor bringing it, you know, full circle with
you guys, and it really was a collaborative approach and
the successes are well, you're going to hear from mister
Gilbert what those are before.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
You before you come in again. Let me let me
back up just a moment shame, because you're you're setting
up something I think the audience needs to know to
be clear on it. You know, some of us have
this idea like when we were in school and you know,
we had recess, but it wasn't you know, we may
have learned how to play softball, we may have played,
(09:28):
you know, some basketball, there may have been some games
that we played. But when you talk about recess, what
I'm hearing is something that's much more structured. That is
building skills, as you indicated, leadership skills, self regulation skills.
That's going to motivate students, it's going to help them
(09:51):
with the emotional regulation, I'm hearing something totally different, and
I wonder if we need to level set so that parents,
then those who will watch this on the replay understand
or listen to it, understand what we're talking about when
we're saying recess, because everybody understands recess from their perspective,
and what you're talking about what happened with the SORE
(10:13):
program is much more than kids just running and you know,
getting some of their energy out. You're talking about something
that is going to support them physically but also supports
their academic attainments. So could you explain recess for us
a little bit better?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, I'll segue that into our experts here as well.
But the SORE student oriented approach to recess, you could
also change that into recreation and sport, depending on your modality.
But the initiative aims to alleviate the burden on school
administrators and that's really the conversation that Diana and myself
(10:52):
and mister Gilbert had the beginning, as well as teachers
who often spend significant time managing recess related issues. So
think about structured activities led by trained volunteers and school
staff that expect a more positive recess environment, and we're
able to provide that overall school climate through the focus
(11:18):
with student athletes here in our local community. So the
presence of these college athletes provided a dual benefit of
mentorship inspiration and the K eight students that we worked with,
they looked up to these athletes and guidance and encouraged
a healthier, more active lifestyle why while fostering positive relationships
(11:41):
aspiration to get the higher education. For some of them,
it was the first time that they got an idea
of what higher education meant for this family, as well
as being able to play in athletics at the next level.
The program was unique because it came from our classroom
(12:01):
to another classroom in the community. But they did You're right.
They developed leadership skills, engaged in community service, and built
and built meaningful relationships and connections with our younger peers.
I heard from my athletes since we've been doing this
for about a year now that they and this is
the most impactful part. I think For myself, my big
(12:22):
AHA moment was doctor Hessi. That was me when I
was in third grade.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah, yeah, and that is very impactful because being able
to see themselves and then for some they had those
internal home or external or internal school supports, but for
some so many they didn't have that.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And now to be able to go back and provide
that for future generations, it's very impactful, Diana. So now
so doctor see its standing up for So you guys
were in the schools, working with a structured program, working
with students in a KA school exactly.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
So we we would split up and we would go
to recess. It would be like a group of ten
of us, and we'd have different activities to offer for
the students.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
So we'd be doing.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Basketball, soccer, even just playing with them at the playground.
It was a lot of different activities to structure the
recess and to give opportunities for the students to interact
with college students and be expired inspired. It was also
amazing too that we did with ODWA because we have
(13:40):
so many we have such a diverse population of students,
We have a lot of international students, and so it's
I think it's very important and awesome that the students
got to see.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Just like a lot of diversity among the people.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
That were coming in, and so I think that was
more inspiring to see like role models like themselves or
like they can see themselves going to college and having
good role models in front of them. But yeah, it's
really been a full circle moment for me now being
a first year teacher and seeing how unstructured recess truly is,
(14:18):
because I mean, it's like a free for all students are.
If there's a ball, they get to play basketball. If not,
they get to make up their own games. But I've
noticed that there can be so much conflict from such
an unstructured recess time. So it's it's really amazing to
see when Sore comes the program and the students come
(14:41):
to our recess and the difference that it really is
from being nonstructured destructured.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
And you know, it's good that you can see the
difference now because you know, you guys waning when you're
still in school in college because everything was structured, but
now being in the school seeing the different friends, and
that brings me to you. Matthew, You're an assistant principal,
so I'm make sure I'm tracking everything. So was your
one of was one of the sciens your school that
(15:10):
the sword program was able to be implemented? Now tell
us why you were open to this. What was it
that you saw as far as your school needs and
thought that the SORE program could be an answer.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, thank you so much. It was a great opportunity.
And I was driving to school and as the assistant principal,
one of my main roles is discipline and helping with
that process and through that, I was driving to school
one day and I was like, we need to figure
out this unstructured time, what are we gonna do? How
are because I'm seeing a ton of referrals come in
(15:48):
and I know our students need something. So I was
driving to school and I saw a flyer that doctor
Hesse and Misleaves created and that kind of opened up
the doors for us to have a conversation and bring
in the University Auto. We started with five or six
Autawa students coming out to Recess and now in the
last week we've had over eighty Autawa students on our
(16:11):
campus impacting the things that we are doing at Kingswood.
So it was it came at the right time and
it was something that we needed and we are seeing
both the benefits because we've had the opportunity to hire
great teachers such as mis Leavis to come aboard and
now be a part of our staff while making an
(16:32):
impact in the classroom and during that truly that like
she said, the unstructured, structured time, because we want our
kids to play, but they also need to know how
to play. And we've seen a reduction in referrals, We've
seen an increase in mentorship, and just the climate and
culture on our campus has been impacted greatly through this
(16:56):
partnership and relationship that we have.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Well now, Matthew, we've seen an increase, I mean a
decrease in referrals. I don't know if attendance was an
issue that your school was facing, but it has. The
attendance improved also because I'm thinking about all the wonderful
things that we talked about, you know, the diversity, the leadership,
the mentorship. In my mind is like, oh, this is
a great thing. So kids are going to want to
(17:19):
come to school, which is so important for academics.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah, over the last two years and the year that
we've been working with the Universitiada, we've seen a steady
increase in our attendance preschool through eighth grade and we're
over ninety two percent of our students being there each
and every day. And one of the other things that
we're trying to check as well. Is teacher attendance as well,
(17:43):
and we don't have a lot of teachers taking days off,
especially when the University of Ottawa is is on campus,
because it's their opportunity to work with you know, student
athletes from the University Ada coming into their classroom and
seeing them at RESA. So it's been ast our campus.
It's not just with students, but it's also with our staff.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Now and that is wonderful. Now, Matthew, I'm just overwhelmed
and I don't know which way to go. I'm overwhelmed.
But my question is because I got to think like
an educator. I gotta think like a school counselor a
social worker, a teacher, and we need this in our schools.
How were you able to sell it? Because I know
(18:26):
you've said that with the students the college athletes being there,
there's been a decrease in UH discipline referrals. And when
you talk about that unstructured time, I understand as a
UH woman K twelve educator, how unstructured time can really be.
Unstructured time will see it that way, meaning that kids
(18:49):
really get in trouble and it's referral after referral after referral. So,
and I know that other schools are trying to figure
out how they can decrease referrals at the same time
increase students attend this increase their achievement. So, how were
you able to sell this program to your administrator? In
North Carolina we referred to as our school Improvement plan,
(19:12):
so that school improvement committey, to your teachers, to your parents.
How are you able to sell this idea that this
program pick up you guide as it related to students.
How are you able to do that?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Yeah, it's a pretty easy sell once you start talking,
especially you know, working with my principal last year and
our principal this year, because it's tangible. You see the data,
you see the students, you see the interaction, you see
things happening, and then the data just backs it up
because through the decrease in referrals and then we have
(19:46):
positive referrals. And you can feel the energy on our campus.
And when the University Auto students speak, that lends because
our principal and our administration they're there and they're watching
the universe. The Ottawas students speak as well, and it's
very moving and it's very powerful with some of the
things that they're doing and the connections that they've made,
(20:08):
because like doctor Hesse said and miss Leavas said, they
remember when they were that age, they remember that that grade,
they remember being that student, and then now you're talking
about their impact and their mentorship through that. So I
don't really think it was to sell. I think it's
just us continuing to grow the program. And then, like
I said, we started with five or six and now
(20:29):
we're up to eighty and it's just going to continue
to grow and we're making impacts in different classrooms now
with some adaptive pe movement driven learning, and all the
other things that we're trying to bring to the campus.
So we are truly K eight and we are truly
all inclusive of everything that we're doing.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Well. Now, Shane, when you guys were thank you, Matt Shane,
When you guys were developing the program, what did you
see the role of the teachers and the progress We
knew that the students, the college students were going to
go out to the campuses, elementary schools and work with
the students. What did you see the role of the
(21:10):
teachers being to support the program and the college students.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I'd like to share the mindset through the college professor
lens and then I think if we had the mindset
through administrator and then actually just leave us as my
student at the time and now a teacher, I think
this might bring it a more comprehensive, full circle approach.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
If that's okay with you, Oh absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
My thought as the professor was, I can only guide
and teach you so many times in the classroom, and
how can we do exploratory phases and implementation and live
and a live setting, and then get my students on
board to creating something that they believed in that they
were able to go out and flourish. And then, being
prior to my college experience, I was a classroom teacher
(21:57):
and administrator, I knew the importance and connection that could
be built with the right mindset that through leadership. Right,
so think about building and supporting whole child educational outcomes
through physical activity while encouraging social interactions and like mister
(22:18):
Gilbert said, inclusivity not just students learning physical skills, but
a whole child approach. And so my mindset was because
I teach a multitude of classes and that stems from
theory and leadership, administration, physical education methods, adaptive physical education,
(22:41):
and so to be able to bring this all full
circle in a multitude of areas, it's really been a
nice arena to not only show our college, but hopefully
we could show other colleges and then other elementary school
other teachers that hey, we can do this. And we
(23:02):
did put that in the Healthy Learning Culture's Guide. If
anybody wants more information, not we can do that. But
I wanted to set that up through my lens because
I think when you see it through the other two,
you'll kind of understand how this all came together. And
I don't think any one of us us three could
have done it without one of the other persons because
(23:23):
it was such a team effort and it still is today.
But Diana sto Racial Share Next is truly inspirational through.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
A college student point of view, right, yeah, yes, okay, yeah.
So it was so amazing being that class having Hassi
as my professor because he really allowed us to come
up with the program and do it on our own,
and I thought that was an amazing opportunity for not
just me, but all the students in my classroom to
(23:56):
be leaders and be mentors, especially bottles to these students
during recess, and it's just amazing, especially like interacting with
the students. It was so fun like to be like
to play and be a kid again, and to even
teach these students about sports and about college and how
(24:19):
important they are.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Diana, now give me that perspective now that you are
a teacher, how do you see your role now as
a teacher.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
As a teacher, I think the program really helps me
as a teacher because I mean we haven't talked about this,
but not only do we interact at recess, but we
also do movement driven learning, which happens in the classroom
and those are like brain breaks kind of but involving movement.
So sour program has been coming into my class and
(24:54):
my students have been so excited to do those activities
and to have a break out of your seat and
to play a game but still involve learning and to
have a bunch of college students in your class and
like making it fun. So it's I love it because
I get to step back for a little bit and
(25:16):
allow them to have a moment and be inspired as well.
Welcome the Talk of Times. I'm doctor Teresa Smith, Doctor
TOZ and top of tois is show that I created
some time ago that allows me to interface with experts
from across the globe who are making an impact of
their community. And sometimes those individuals are educators like we
have today. Sometimes they are performers, authors, business owners, entrepreneurs.
(00:24):
But it's all about what expertise can they bring to
the audience that's going to make a difference. And so
today we're talking about how we can make our schools healthier.
When we talk about healthy schools, we're not just talking
about the schools. We're talking about the students. We're talking
about the families. We're talking about the community and the
employees of the schools, because when you bring all of
(00:47):
those pieces together, then you have that healthy school culture.
And so have three wonderful guests with me today. I
have doctor William Harsey. I refer to him as Shane.
He's been on my platform before and his focus is
health and wellness and physical education. He's a twenty year
(01:08):
vet in education. He's been recognized with Humans Awards. He's
making a footprint in Arizona, even with the legislators there
he's been recognized as Teacher of the Year. In addition,
he is an assistant professor at Arizona State University. Also,
so we have Matthew Gilbert. Matthew is a he's an
(01:31):
adjunct instructor, but he's also an assistant principal. And Matthew,
like all of us, is concerned about ensuring that our
students are successful, and so he actively mentors students and teachers,
encouraging a positive and engaging learning environment. Diana Pronancial last
(01:59):
name for me lave Us lave Us. Diana lave Us
is an educator. She's fairly new to education, but she's
still tried and truth. While she was at the University
of Ottawa, she co founded the Sword program and basically
this program to Kai Shane, thank you for I'm glad
(02:20):
you're back with us. Can you hear me? Okay? And
so Diana was part of the leadership team that created
the SORT program at the University of Ottawa. And so
what those students did was they recognized the importance of
physical education and health and wellness for students, and so
(02:41):
they went into the elementary schools and mentored those students,
having a huge impact on how they did academic as
well as socially. So today I want to welcome everybody
to the platform. We're gonna reset and take a breath,
because you know, technology is always interesting. Is it a
(03:02):
real background behind you?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
A generated I'm out in the Granbury, Texas right now.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Well, I'm shaking my head because you've got you in
the right place. I'm looking at your background and I'm
saying reset, and you've already reset for us because we've
got this, this beautiful view behind you. So thank you, Shane,
for bringing us the beautiful beauty. Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
It's good to reset your mind's minds all the time.
That's kind of what we're here to do as well.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I appreciate it absolutely absolutely. As I was saying, Shane,
you know you're no stranger to my platform. You've been
on before and your people are still talking about the
gentleman from Arizona and telling me that they agreed with
what you said. So I want us to kind of
bring everybody else who's joining us for the first time,
(03:52):
and those who are going to be listening to the
repeat the replay, bring them up to speed.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
You created, along with colleagues, the Ultimate Guide to Best
practices for creating healthy learning cultures, which is a valuable
resource for schools, communities, parents, and students. Can you share
what inspired you to create the guide and how to
impact the schools and communities that you've worked with.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
The inspiration came from people like yourself and Diana It's
on the line and mister Gilbert and educators across the
country that really wanted to make an impact on the
whole child approach to education, because there's so much more
than a test score.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
That's the.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Impact reason my why besides when I became a father
to be able to see that my own kids were
going to live shorter lifestyles. It really came evident that
from the beginning to end to and you'll hear Diana's
(04:59):
story today how it came full circle. But as you
continue to see that development from a child and say
second grade, the sixth grade, the eighth grade, and what
you're going to see is Diana's graduated college this year
and she's able to not only design a program like this,
(05:22):
but all my colleagues, including yourself, doctor Ta's the stories
and the impact and the amount of work we put
in to make our our community better. That really is
our why behind this. It's a very innovative approach to
enhancing the healthy lifestyle for children these days to become
(05:43):
what Diana is today. So I'm excited to share more
with you guys. And I see mister Gilbert made it on,
so we're ready.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Absolutely welcome, Matthew. Were glad to see you in. Yeah, well,
Dan says Shane Mint your story. Would you give us
the clipnost version of your story so we can do
that perhaps as a backdrop for our conversation today of course.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Yeah. So growing up, sports was very important to me
and I had a lot of amazing mentors and teachers
along the way. And so last year I started my
student teaching and I was with first grade and I
would play with them at recess a lot, and it
was so important to them and they loved it.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Every day they would ask me like, are you gonna
play with me today?
Speaker 4 (06:33):
And so I joined a sports programming class at Ottawa
with doctor Hesse and he wanted to make a program
that impacted our community and I was like, well, we
have a very high population of athletes at Ottawa and
I thought it would be a great idea for us
(06:53):
to come and interact with the students at recess, since
I know how impactful it was when I was doing it.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
And so now did you. So that was the beginnings
of the creation of the SORT program exactly, and so
oh yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
We got together with the class and we pitched it
to a few schools. We got to take some needs
assessment to see what they exactly needed, and we integrated
the SORD program at two schools.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Now, as far as the SWORD program, tell us a
little bit about the program. So was it just the
athletes going in working with the students during recess? Was
their instructured program that you guys were using.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah, let me start. I'll preface it and then you
can kind of bring it into the admin or the
your viewpoint. But doctor toz, the opening part of this
was just our ability to transform traditional recreation and sport
(08:07):
and recess periods into structured, engaging in educational sessions where
young student athletes learned sports, teamwork and the sportsmanship from
college athletes. This initiative was designed in multiple objectives, reducing
discipline of referrals, fostering positive social interactions, and providing valuable
(08:31):
mentorship opportunities. And with the collaboration of the administration at
the Kingswood Elementary School with mister Gilbert, with our staring
students like Diana Leavis. This is kind of where we
took it, and so Diana take it from here. But
I wanted to preface kind of the the mindset of
(08:54):
the college professor bringing it, you know, full circle with
you guys, and it really was a collaborative approach and
the successes are well, you're going to hear from mister
Gilbert what those are before.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
You before you come in again. Let me let me
back up just a moment shame, because you're you're setting
up something I think the audience needs to know to
be clear on it. You know, some of us have
this idea like when we were in school and you know,
we had recess, but it wasn't you know, we may
have learned how to play softball, we may have played,
(09:28):
you know, some basketball, there may have been some games
that we played. But when you talk about recess, what
I'm hearing is something that's much more structured. That is
building skills, as you indicated, leadership skills, self regulation skills.
That's going to motivate students, it's going to help them
(09:51):
with the emotional regulation, I'm hearing something totally different, and
I wonder if we need to level set so that parents,
then those who will watch this on the replay understand
or listen to it, understand what we're talking about when
we're saying recess, because everybody understands recess from their perspective,
and what you're talking about what happened with the SORE
(10:13):
program is much more than kids just running and you know,
getting some of their energy out. You're talking about something
that is going to support them physically but also supports
their academic attainments. So could you explain recess for us
a little bit better?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Yeah, I'll segue that into our experts here as well.
But the SORE student oriented approach to recess, you could
also change that into recreation and sport, depending on your modality.
But the initiative aims to alleviate the burden on school
administrators and that's really the conversation that Diana and myself
(10:52):
and mister Gilbert had the beginning, as well as teachers
who often spend significant time managing recess related issues. So
think about structured activities led by trained volunteers and school
staff that expect a more positive recess environment, and we're
able to provide that overall school climate through the focus
(11:18):
with student athletes here in our local community. So the
presence of these college athletes provided a dual benefit of
mentorship inspiration and the K eight students that we worked with,
they looked up to these athletes and guidance and encouraged
a healthier, more active lifestyle why while fostering positive relationships
(11:41):
aspiration to get the higher education. For some of them,
it was the first time that they got an idea
of what higher education meant for this family, as well
as being able to play in athletics at the next level.
The program was unique because it came from our classroom
(12:01):
to another classroom in the community. But they did You're right.
They developed leadership skills, engaged in community service, and built
and built meaningful relationships and connections with our younger peers.
I heard from my athletes since we've been doing this
for about a year now that they and this is
the most impactful part. I think For myself, my big
(12:22):
AHA moment was doctor Hessi. That was me when I
was in third grade.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah, yeah, and that is very impactful because being able
to see themselves and then for some they had those
internal home or external or internal school supports, but for
some so many they didn't have that.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And now to be able to go back and provide
that for future generations, it's very impactful, Diana. So now
so doctor see its standing up for So you guys
were in the schools, working with a structured program, working
with students in a KA school exactly.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
So we we would split up and we would go
to recess. It would be like a group of ten
of us, and we'd have different activities to offer for
the students.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
So we'd be doing.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Basketball, soccer, even just playing with them at the playground.
It was a lot of different activities to structure the
recess and to give opportunities for the students to interact
with college students and be expired inspired. It was also
amazing too that we did with ODWA because we have
(13:40):
so many we have such a diverse population of students,
We have a lot of international students, and so it's
I think it's very important and awesome that the students
got to see.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Just like a lot of diversity among the people.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
That were coming in, and so I think that was
more inspiring to see like role models like themselves or
like they can see themselves going to college and having
good role models in front of them. But yeah, it's
really been a full circle moment for me now being
a first year teacher and seeing how unstructured recess truly is,
(14:18):
because I mean, it's like a free for all students are.
If there's a ball, they get to play basketball. If not,
they get to make up their own games. But I've
noticed that there can be so much conflict from such
an unstructured recess time. So it's it's really amazing to
see when Sore comes the program and the students come
(14:41):
to our recess and the difference that it really is
from being nonstructured destructured.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
And you know, it's good that you can see the
difference now because you know, you guys waning when you're
still in school in college because everything was structured, but
now being in the school seeing the different friends, and
that brings me to you. Matthew, You're an assistant principal,
so I'm make sure I'm tracking everything. So was your
one of was one of the sciens your school that
(15:10):
the sword program was able to be implemented? Now tell
us why you were open to this. What was it
that you saw as far as your school needs and
thought that the SORE program could be an answer.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, thank you so much. It was a great opportunity.
And I was driving to school and as the assistant principal,
one of my main roles is discipline and helping with
that process and through that, I was driving to school
one day and I was like, we need to figure
out this unstructured time, what are we gonna do? How
are because I'm seeing a ton of referrals come in
(15:48):
and I know our students need something. So I was
driving to school and I saw a flyer that doctor
Hesse and Misleaves created and that kind of opened up
the doors for us to have a conversation and bring
in the University Auto. We started with five or six
Autawa students coming out to Recess and now in the
last week we've had over eighty Autawa students on our
(16:11):
campus impacting the things that we are doing at Kingswood.
So it was it came at the right time and
it was something that we needed and we are seeing
both the benefits because we've had the opportunity to hire
great teachers such as mis Leavis to come aboard and
now be a part of our staff while making an
(16:32):
impact in the classroom and during that truly that like
she said, the unstructured, structured time, because we want our
kids to play, but they also need to know how
to play. And we've seen a reduction in referrals, We've
seen an increase in mentorship, and just the climate and
culture on our campus has been impacted greatly through this
(16:56):
partnership and relationship that we have.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Well now, Matthew, we've seen an increase, I mean a
decrease in referrals. I don't know if attendance was an
issue that your school was facing, but it has. The
attendance improved also because I'm thinking about all the wonderful
things that we talked about, you know, the diversity, the leadership,
the mentorship. In my mind is like, oh, this is
a great thing. So kids are going to want to
(17:19):
come to school, which is so important for academics.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah, over the last two years and the year that
we've been working with the Universitiada, we've seen a steady
increase in our attendance preschool through eighth grade and we're
over ninety two percent of our students being there each
and every day. And one of the other things that
we're trying to check as well. Is teacher attendance as well,
(17:43):
and we don't have a lot of teachers taking days off,
especially when the University of Ottawa is is on campus,
because it's their opportunity to work with you know, student
athletes from the University Ada coming into their classroom and
seeing them at RESA. So it's been ast our campus.
It's not just with students, but it's also with our staff.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Now and that is wonderful. Now, Matthew, I'm just overwhelmed
and I don't know which way to go. I'm overwhelmed.
But my question is because I got to think like
an educator. I gotta think like a school counselor a
social worker, a teacher, and we need this in our schools.
How were you able to sell it? Because I know
(18:26):
you've said that with the students the college athletes being there,
there's been a decrease in UH discipline referrals. And when
you talk about that unstructured time, I understand as a
UH woman K twelve educator, how unstructured time can really be.
Unstructured time will see it that way, meaning that kids
(18:49):
really get in trouble and it's referral after referral after referral. So,
and I know that other schools are trying to figure
out how they can decrease referrals at the same time
increase students attend this increase their achievement. So, how were
you able to sell this program to your administrator? In
North Carolina we referred to as our school Improvement plan,
(19:12):
so that school improvement committey, to your teachers, to your parents.
How are you able to sell this idea that this
program pick up you guide as it related to students.
How are you able to do that?
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Yeah, it's a pretty easy sell once you start talking,
especially you know, working with my principal last year and
our principal this year, because it's tangible. You see the data,
you see the students, you see the interaction, you see
things happening, and then the data just backs it up
because through the decrease in referrals and then we have
(19:46):
positive referrals. And you can feel the energy on our campus.
And when the University Auto students speak, that lends because
our principal and our administration they're there and they're watching
the universe. The Ottawas students speak as well, and it's
very moving and it's very powerful with some of the
things that they're doing and the connections that they've made,
(20:08):
because like doctor Hesse said and miss Leavas said, they
remember when they were that age, they remember that that grade,
they remember being that student, and then now you're talking
about their impact and their mentorship through that. So I
don't really think it was to sell. I think it's
just us continuing to grow the program. And then, like
I said, we started with five or six and now
(20:29):
we're up to eighty and it's just going to continue
to grow and we're making impacts in different classrooms now
with some adaptive pe movement driven learning, and all the
other things that we're trying to bring to the campus.
So we are truly K eight and we are truly
all inclusive of everything that we're doing.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Well. Now, Shane, when you guys were thank you, Matt Shane,
When you guys were developing the program, what did you
see the role of the teachers and the progress We
knew that the students, the college students were going to
go out to the campuses, elementary schools and work with
the students. What did you see the role of the
(21:10):
teachers being to support the program and the college students.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I'd like to share the mindset through the college professor
lens and then I think if we had the mindset
through administrator and then actually just leave us as my
student at the time and now a teacher, I think
this might bring it a more comprehensive, full circle approach.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
If that's okay with you, Oh absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
My thought as the professor was, I can only guide
and teach you so many times in the classroom, and
how can we do exploratory phases and implementation and live
and a live setting, and then get my students on
board to creating something that they believed in that they
were able to go out and flourish. And then, being
prior to my college experience, I was a classroom teacher
(21:57):
and administrator, I knew the importance and connection that could
be built with the right mindset that through leadership. Right,
so think about building and supporting whole child educational outcomes
through physical activity while encouraging social interactions and like mister
(22:18):
Gilbert said, inclusivity not just students learning physical skills, but
a whole child approach. And so my mindset was because
I teach a multitude of classes and that stems from
theory and leadership, administration, physical education methods, adaptive physical education,
(22:41):
and so to be able to bring this all full
circle in a multitude of areas, it's really been a
nice arena to not only show our college, but hopefully
we could show other colleges and then other elementary school
other teachers that hey, we can do this. And we
(23:02):
did put that in the Healthy Learning Culture's Guide. If
anybody wants more information, not we can do that. But
I wanted to set that up through my lens because
I think when you see it through the other two,
you'll kind of understand how this all came together. And
I don't think any one of us us three could
have done it without one of the other persons because
(23:23):
it was such a team effort and it still is today.
But Diana sto Racial Share Next is truly inspirational through.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
A college student point of view, right, yeah, yes, okay, yeah.
So it was so amazing being that class having Hassi
as my professor because he really allowed us to come
up with the program and do it on our own,
and I thought that was an amazing opportunity for not
just me, but all the students in my classroom to
(23:56):
be leaders and be mentors, especially bottles to these students
during recess, and it's just amazing, especially like interacting with
the students. It was so fun like to be like
to play and be a kid again, and to even
teach these students about sports and about college and how
(24:19):
important they are.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Diana, now give me that perspective now that you are
a teacher, how do you see your role now as
a teacher.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
As a teacher, I think the program really helps me
as a teacher because I mean we haven't talked about this,
but not only do we interact at recess, but we
also do movement driven learning, which happens in the classroom
and those are like brain breaks kind of but involving movement.
So sour program has been coming into my class and
(24:54):
my students have been so excited to do those activities
and to have a break out of your seat and
to play a game but still involve learning and to
have a bunch of college students in your class and
like making it fun. So it's I love it because
I get to step back for a little bit and
(25:16):
allow them to have a moment and be inspired as well.
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