Building connections Fairfield schools look for opportunities to work with students one-on-one

FAIRFIELD – At their Sept. 16 meeting, the Fairfield Community School District board of directors received updates on new programs being implemented in schools geared toward improving student experience. Two programs were highlighted, including Snac at the high school and Trojan Time at the middle school.

Teachers from both buildings spoke to the board about how the new programs were impacting students.

Agriculture teacher and Fairfield High School FFA advisor Courtney Burkhalter explained how Snac, an allotted 30 minutes at the end of each school day for students to visit any classroom or teacher from which they want additional assistance or instruction, allowed for more opportunities to work with students individually and reinforce important concepts from the curriculum.

Burkhalter noted that teachers have the freedom to structure their Snac period in any way that works best for their program and that she dedicates the 30 minutes for enrichment and helping students make up work or reteaching material. The agriculture teacher also noted to the board that the Snac period does not mean the school day has been altered in any significant way.

'We still have an eight-period day. Each class is four minutes shorter and then we have the half-hour at the end,” Burkhalter said.

'I think the students are enjoying it … and appreciate the more personalized instruction for questions, and enjoying the time built in the day where they're already at school and just having more flexibility to go where they need to go,” Burkhalter added, explaining how students were reacting to the new program.

Fifth-grade middle school teacher Kristen McCready and staff member Tena Edlin also spoke to the board, explaining Trojan Time, a dedicated nine minutes at the beginning of each school day for students to connect with an adult from the building. The program was created following several conferences faculty attended on trauma informed care that stressed the importance of personal relationships and connections for students.

McCready and Edlin told the board that during Trojan Time, students across the grade-levels are split into groups of seven to nine and have a dedicated faculty member they meet with every morning. In the nine minutes, the students are intentionally checked in on before heading into class.

Edlin noted that a big part of Trojan Time is making sure students are greeted by name in a positive way. Students also work on assignment journals and answer a question of a day before doing a mind-set check where they indicate through fingers how their day is going. If a faculty member notices a student with a low score, which indicates the student is having a tough start, they are able to intervene and help the student regulate before stepping into the classroom for the day.

'It's really to help get them regulated and ready to start their day,” Edlin noted.

At the meeting, the school board also reviewed the district's financial expenditures from the last school year and approved new district hires and a bid for a new service truck with an eight foot plow from Fessler for $36,675. The board also briefly discussed the district's tax levy at the insistence of board member Paul Miller. Miller encouraged members to consider how tax raises have affected community members before considering altering the tax levy.