Dear FPS Community,

When I was 14 years old and in 10th grade, I was placed in an Honors Geometry class.  I am not sure what divine intervention led to my seat in Mr. Kramer’s class but I found myself almost immediately at sea.  To this day, I'm not sure if it was the number of formulas or the very idea of proofs, but nothing made sense to me.  

It did not take long for Mr. Kramer to see I was struggling and he invited me to the math lab every day, right before our period 7 class.  With the extra time and in a smaller setting, Mr. Kramer reviewed and previewed material with me.  I developed a better understanding and my grade went up.

This attention and commitment, while helpful, is not what made Mr. Kramer a great teacher.  It is what he did when I decided I had geometry all figured out and stopped attending math lab.

After a few days of opting to spend my free period eating cookies in the cafeteria, Mr. Kramer began class reminding students that he was available every period 6 for extra help.  And then, without mentioning names, he said that those who were successful in school and in life knew when they needed help and reached out for that help.  And those who thought they had it all figured out and no longer asked for help would not learn, would not be successful, and would no longer be able to afford the cafeteria cookies (I am a bit foggy on the last part).

You know I never missed a math lab the rest of that year.  And when it came time to pick classes for junior year Mr. Kramer sat with me and went over the choices.  Yes, I was doing well enough to take Honors Algebra II.  But he did not teach that class.  He did teach college level Algebra II.  You know what I picked.  For senior year I knew Mr. Kramer taught Trig and Stats.  He was my math teacher for three years.  

What made Mr. Kramer the best teacher I ever had was his content knowledge, his commitment to his craft, and his care and support for me.  He could have let me flounder and I would have dropped a level in  math.  He stood up for me and held me accountable.  

This is Teacher Appreciation Week.  Fairfield Public Schools is very fortunate to be full of Mr. Kramers who are working with your kids to learn content, support their needs, and hold them to high expectations. Please take some time to reach out and to thank them personally.  And if you have not already done so, it is never too late to thank the Mr. Kramers in your life.  I had the good fortune to work with Mr. Kramer as a new teacher and then as a fellow administrator.  I said thank you, not just for the math, but for his belief in me.

Have a great month of May.

Take care,
Mike

Burr Hosts Author Mac Barnett

Burr welcomed author Mac Barnett for a virtual visit. Mac is a New York Times best selling author who has written many picture books and chapter books. He read aloud from some of his books and talked about what it means to be a writer. As a school, we highlighted one of his newest books - What is Love? - by having students, staff, and parents design their own What is Love? posters. Ideas ranged from love being "holding your grandparent's hands" to "love is basketball."