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In Third Grade Teacher Sam Hanson’s classroom, you’ll find the class rules and statement, signed with the names of each student, posted since the beginning of the year. On one wall, the Brooklyn Center Elementary (BCE) Front and Center Agreement hangs as a reminder of BCE’s four pillars - love, joy, engage, and justice. On another wall, a poster reads, “Before you speak, THINK. Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?” At the entrance of the classroom sits a drawing of the Disney character Baymax with a mood meter. As students first enter the classroom, they identify where they sit on the mood meter at that moment so they can receive what they need to be prepared to learn. At the back of the classroom is an area where students can decompress when they need a moment away from the rest of the group. In Mr. Hanson’s classroom, it’s all about kindness, respect, inclusion, and belonging.

In his first year teaching in Brooklyn Center Community Schools and third year teaching overall, Hanson centers social-emotional learning and is intentional about how he sets up his classroom to be a healthy, safe, and exciting place to learn. 

“I've honestly loved it here,” said Hanson. “The staff is so kind and the sense of community is wonderful. We all are here for our students and want the best for them, and it’s really refreshing to see.”

On the first day of school, Hanson worked with the kids to set up class rules and expectations, and students created skits about what respect and kindness look like in action, as well as what it means to listen to others when they communicate boundaries. They also took time during the first weeks of school to identify what it feels like to need a break. When a student feels overwhelmed or can’t regulate their emotions, they are able to take five minutes in the back of the room to decompress. Once those five minutes are up, Hanson checks in on the student to see if they need another five minutes. At the end of the second timer, he will take time to talk with the student through their feelings and needs. 

“Student voice is a big thing,” he said. “Early on, I said, ‘If you don't like something, tell me, and we'll work to change it.’” 

The classroom has established a system of looking out for each other and talking through solutions to problems. “Whenever we have a situation of a student not being the kindest or making the best choices, we take our time to talk about that, and I try to help do preventative work with students who are feeling upset,” Hanson said. 

Through tools like an anonymous comment box that allows students to submit issues for the class to discuss, a rotating Restorative Practices (RP) student who helps other students through challenges when they need a mediator, and discussion circles facilitated by Mr. Hanson, students have multiple ways to address their feelings and work through interpersonal challenges in a collaborative way. "I will tell them, ‘I'm not mad at you for feeling your feelings. We just need to find a way to direct those feelings that is appropriate,’" he said.

Outside of working through these feelings and challenges, Hanson’s third graders also work toward class goals. When the class as a whole goes beyond expectations and shows exceptional work or behavior, they earn smiley faces on a board, and when they earn enough smiley faces, they may receive extra recess time, free time, a pajama day, or other rewards.

These third graders are always on the lookout to see how they can uplift and include others, and the work that they have put in has been recognized by others in the school. New Assistant Principal Laura Ringen received welcome cards from Hanson’s students when she stepped into her position, and the English language learners in the class have been excited to see their peers learn some basic Spanish words and phrases to communicate with them in their native language. “A student asked me how to ask another student to read with her in Spanish because that student was a Spanish speaker,” Hanson said.

 

Hanson’s classroom has demonstrated how to live out not just the BCE Front and Center Agreement, but also the district’s Core Values. These third graders show kindness, include each of their peers, communicate their boundaries, and hold each other accountable. 

“I call them my kiddos,” Hanson said. “I want them to remember me as somebody who cared for and loved them the whole time.”