TEACHERS CAPTURE KIDS’ HEARTS IN ORDER TO CAPTURE THEIR MINDS

 Each day at Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District’s Duryea Elementary School, teachers and administrators greet each student with a handshake and then do the same at the end of the day before the children board their buses to go home.

Duryea Principal Deborah Harbin said those handshakes are symbolic of relationships they are trying to build with students in order to facilitate better learning in the classroom. The “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” program that promotes this tenet – “You can’t capture a kid’s mind without first capturing their hearts” – aims to create classrooms and schools where relationships are built upon a foundation of trust, respect and caring. 

 “We became teachers because we wanted to help the children...but somewhere along the way, we lose sight of that,” Harbin said.  “With all the demands on our time, we sometimes get grumpy and forget how powerfully we influence the lives of children.”

 “Capturing Kids’ Hearts reminds us of what powerful role models we are and how important that relationship between teacher and child is,” she said.  “If any of us look back on the teachers whom we remember, it is those who were positive, upbeat, and who weren't afraid to let us know that they cared about us.”

 Harbin and Donna Harden, principal of Cy-Fair ISD’s McFee Elementary School, and numerous other administrators and teachers in the district have attended the three-day “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” retreat offered by the The Flippen Group, which developed the program.

 The Cypress-Fairbanks Educational Foundation has served as a funding partner with schools and through the district’s Instructional Excellence Grant program to send educators to the retreat; and has provided funding to purchase the program’s Keystone Curriculum, which is utilized in elementary school classrooms as a way of using story-telling and associated activities to teach the skills that are required for students to do their best, get along with others, and reach their own potential. 

 Harden said she implemented the program when she was a principal at Cy-Fair ISD’s Adam Elementary, and has begun the steps to carry it over to McFee.

 “The monies we received from the CFEF allowed us to purchase curriculum for every classroom (at Adam Elementary) and to provide training for much of our staff,” Harden said. “Although we also received other funding through some other grants, we could not have even begun our efforts without the CFEF’s support.”

 Harden said she hired several teachers to help open McFee that were already trained in Capturing Kids’ Hearts, and will begin training staff members who have not gone through the program in summer 2008. 

 “The Capturing Kids’ Hearts program is not as much of a program as it is a ‘frame of mind,’” Harden said. “Research has indicated that students who feel connected in their classrooms and in their schools do better academically. CKH provides some guidelines to use to start developing those types of relationships.”

 She said the specific outcomes of Capturing Kids’ Hearts, as identified by The Flippen Group, include:

• Developing safe, trusting and self-managing classrooms;
• Improving classroom attendance by building students’ motivation and helping them take responsibility for their actions and performance;
• Decreasing delinquent behaviors such as disruptive outbursts, violent acts, drug use and other risky behavior;
• Engaging students in instruction and reinforcing the role of emotional intelligence in teaching; and
• Developing students’ empathy for diverse cultures and backgrounds.

 Before opening Duryea Elementary, Harbin was principal at Holbrook Elementary, which was the first elementary school in Cy-Fair ISD to send teachers to the Capturing Kids’ Hearts training. 

 She said she has seen wonderful changes at both schools as result of that training.

 “The teachers who have attended this training go the extra mile,” Harbin said. “They shake hands and greet kids every morning instead of being distracted and busy with getting ready for the day.  When children act out, they don't take it personally.  Instead, they ask four questions to get the children back on track:  What are you doing?  What should you be doing?  Were you doing that?  How can I help you get started?”

 “A first grade teacher at Duryea Elementary said recently that the children have internalized these questions,” she said.  “When they need to be redirected, the students just start answering the questions without even being asked!”

 Harden said there are so many benefits to the program.

 “Primarily, more students are achieving success academically and behaviorally,” Harden said. “Not only are children feeling more connected, teachers and staff members feel more connected to each other. The term ‘family’ becomes a reality. Students and staff are mutually committed to developing a school culture that is focused on success through relationships where trust, respect and caring are a reality.”

Both Harden and Harbin said the Cypress-Fairbanks Educational Foundation’s funding partnership allows more teachers to attend the training program, particularly those from schools with limited funding resources.

Since 1998, the Cypress-Fairbanks Educational Foundation has raised over $800,000 for Cy-Fair ISD’s Instructional Excellence Grant program. 

 The grant program allows teachers to implement programs in their classrooms that are designed to spark students’ creative juices and get them excited about learning and education. The Capturing Kids’ Hearts program is a prime example of a program that inspires teachers and students to aim higher in their educational goals.

 "When I hear and see how Capturing Kids' Hearts helps students to grow and thrive in their education, I realize that is a blessing that the Foundation is able to raise money for programs like this," said Marie Holmes, the Cypress-Fairbanks Educational Foundation's executive director. "We are able to raise those funds because of the outstanding support we get from our Foundation's board members, volunteers and sponsors, who donate funds and countless hours toward the ultimate goal of opening up educational pathways and opportunities for our future leaders."