TEACHERS, STAFF HOPE TO PUT STUDENTS AT EASE
Staff members from Carmody Middle School try to ease back-toschool tensions
House visits may help calm back-to-school worries.
Ella Williams got a jolt when she answered her door Friday morning and found the top administrators at her new school, Carmody Middle in Lakewood, waiting for her on the front stoop.
The sixth-grader relaxed a little when she realized she wasn’t in trouble. The adults were part of a unique program at Carmody that sends staff members to the door of every new student to help ease jitters over the first day of school, which arrives for Ella on Thursday.
The door-to-door program at Carmody started three years ago after Principal Wendy Doran saw how effective it was at a previous school district in breaking down barriers between adults and new students. That program was aimed at at-risk students.
The Carmody effort pairs up two staff members with a group of about 15 incoming students. The adults learn a little about the students, who then have someone they can go to for help on those first few days of school and beyond.
“It helps Ella and other students know that when they show up for school next week they aren’t complete strangers and they know somebody,” Doran said. “If they have questions about even simple things about their locker or where to find a class, they can come and ask for help without hesitation.”
“Then the students and staffers can rely on each other through the school year,” she said.
Ella broke into a smile when Carmody Assistant Principal Susan Elliott asked her whether she liked to play sports. “Yeah, softball,” Ella said, which brought a quick high-five from Doran, a former college softball player. “All right! Softball!” Doran said.
Doran and Elliott left Ella with a lanyard filled with school information, including the date of an upcoming chili cookoff where parents are welcome to compete. The exchange lasted about five minutes but Doran is convinced it made a lasting impression on Ella.
“Today, we will be making that first impression on these kids and probably the most important,” Doran said. “We can start making things a little less intimidating for them and we can start a conversation with students and get them involved in school.”
That will be especially important this year in Jefferson County as middle schools start accepting sixth-graders for the first time. At Carmody, at least 560 new students — including sixthand seventh-graders — will be
walking through the doors for the first time next week.
“There will be a lot of anxiety,” Doran said.
To compensate for the student influx at Carmody, 25 new staff members were hired. The doortodoor effort helps them as well, said special education teacher Jordan Sien. “This helps us see where these kids come from and connect the school to the family in an intimate way.”
Carmody draws from both poor and rich neighborhoods and about 68 percent of the 800 students enrolled there qualify for free and reduced lunches. “It’s a good mix of students, and everyone seems to get along well,” Doran said.
Prior to Friday’s home visits, staff members were given scenarios of what to expect when they knock on a student’s home. For instance, if a student answers the door, steps out and quickly shuts the door while the odor of marijuana is wafting in the air, school staff members were told not to draw conclusions.
However, if that and other circumstances prompt suspicions, staff members were told not to investigate but report it to school officials.
And in many instances, parents or students are not at home. Staffers were told to just leave their lanyards hanging on front door knobs.
“At least they will know we were there,” Doran said. Monte Whaley: 7209290907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or @montewhaley