During Kindergarten students learn many skills that will be important for the rest of their lives. The social and academic skills they learn will be impactful for years to come. Kindergarten is also the time when students develop practices that will influence their remaining years in school. For the Kindergarten students at Big Otter Elementary and H.E. White Elementary, having great school attendance is one of their most important practices.
For the seventh school month, Clay County Schools celebrates two Kindergarten classrooms with the highest attendance in the district: Mrs. Anissa Collins of Big Otter Elementary and Mrs. Crystal Black of H.E. White Elementary.
Mrs. Collins’ students garnered the highest attendance spot in the county, with a rate of 96.07%. Mrs. Collins has been a teacher for 22 years, spending 12 of those years working specifically as a Kindergarten teacher. She incorporates inquiry-based learning for her students, allowing them to complete hands-on activities, and says she tries to make sure the students have fun learning every day. Mrs. Collins uses a Mr. Potato figure to help students visualize the effects of good attendance. Each day they have perfect attendance, a new piece gets added to Mr. Potato Head.
Mrs. Black’s Kindergarten students at H.E. White Elementary claimed the second highest attendance rate in the county, with 95.47%. Mrs. Black has worked 24 years as a teacher, and this is her first year at H.E. White Elementary. She incorporates a variety of attendance incentives to encourage her students to come to school every day. For every day there is perfect attendance, a picture of a cookie is put on a sheet. When the class reaches a dozen cookies, they have an ice cream party. She also offers prizes for weekly perfect attendance. When asked if they liked school, all of Mrs. Black’s students gave a resounding, “Yes!”
Congratulations to Mrs. Collins, Mrs. Black, and their Kindergarten students!