Whittier Elementary School teacher Garrett Christensen uses an unlikely classroom theme for his kindergartners, college life, to encourage them to plan ahead. Submitted photo

By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
Feb. 9, 2011

Garrett Christensen’s classroom is filled with college memorabilia and signs.

On Fridays, his students sport college T-shirts, ranging from the University of Kansas to the University of Missouri.

These aren’t seniors thinking about their next step. These are kindergarteners at Whittier Elementary School.

“Our principal always talks about how we want to push our kids higher and let them know they can achieve things if they work hard and put in the time,” Christensen, 23, said. “It (college theme) just seemed like a fun way to get them to start thinking about the future and plant that seed.”

Christensen, who grew up in Raytown, graduated from Northwestern University, Evingston, Ill., with a degree in African American history.

Although his degree is in history, his heart is in teaching, he said.

When Christensen began volunteering with One Voice at Northwestern, that’s when he decided he wanted to teach.

While volunteering, he worked with “at risk kids” and tutored. Through One Voice, he also assisted in raising funds for educational beneficiaries.

“It really touched me and helped me see that this is something where there’s a great need. There were so many kids out there that wanted more than they were getting,” he said.

After college graduation, he joined the Teach America program and was offered the kindergarten position with Whittier last August.

“He’s really embraced it and done a wonderful job,” Whittier Principal Adrain Howard said. “If you have kids identify with a university, it just plants the seed.

“If this university has some relationship and connection, maybe this will help build the student up and make them want to attend the university 12 years down the line.

“If you plant the seed now, along the way someone else will water it…

“We’re lucky to have him.”

Since the beginning of the year, Christensen promoted his college theme and created a model of a college campus on a bulletin board.

He divided the classroom’s four tables into four universities: the University of Missouri, Northwestern University, University of Kansas and University of Missouri-Kansas City.

He assigned each of his 20 students to a university and during the week, the universities compete against each other, vying for the most points.

To earn points, the “universities” master skills like word recognition, counting and math. Christensen then tallies the points under each university on his white board.

“There’s also behavioral management things like who can clean this table the quickest and sit the quietest.”

In December, he gave each student a T-shirt of their university, which they now wear every Friday.

“When they wear their shirts, they walk with this extra swagger,” Christensen said. “They’re really proud to be wearing them and it’s rewarding to see them take pride in it.”

In addition to competing in groups, the students earn stickers as an individual to place on the bulletin board campus for mastering skills like shape recognition and colors.

Each sticker is an incentive and Christensen keeps a chart as to what each sticker means.

For writing his or her first and last name correctly, Christensen hands out a football to stick on the football field.

There’s a pizza sticker for the cafeteria, a fish for the campus pond, beds for the dormitory.

For 15 minutes each Friday, Christensen hosts an awards ceremony to recognize students who have mastered certain skills.

“Friday’s kind of the big day,” he said. “They’re really excited and they clap for each other. They’re just so happy when they put their stickers up there.

“When they see their classmates getting the stickers, it lets them know, ‘Oh, if they can do it, I can do this…’

The kindergarteners are now talking about attending college to their parents, he said.

In the spring, Christensen plans to take his students on a field trip to a local university.

“They’re so excited to learn at this age,” he said. “I’m just trying to channel that energy toward future goals.”