Toomer Elementary School Teacher of the Year shares how she welcomes students into a new school year
As students across metro Atlanta head back to class, one Toomer Elementary School teacher says the first lesson of the school year begins long before academics.
For Khadijah Wisdom, Toomer Elementary's Teacher of the Year, creating a classroom where students feel safe, welcomed and confident is just as important as teaching science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
Before the first bell rang for the new school year, Wisdom was busy putting the finishing touches on a brand-new STEAM lab that will serve kindergarten through fifth-grade students. After 15 years in the classroom, this marks her first year leading the school's new STEAM program.
"It's a bit nervous because it's like I started with a blank slate, and you kind of sometimes wonder, 'Am I doing it right? Am I planning correctly?' But it's exciting," Wisdom said.
Despite launching a new program, Wisdom said her biggest priority remains helping students feel at home from the moment they walk through the classroom door.
"That first day, first week is really important to create an environment in which the students feel welcomed," she said. "You want it to feel like their school home. I often look at it like I'm their mom at school. So I want to make that first week very comfortable for them, and I want to make it a place where they want to come back every day."
She says building relationships comes before building academic skills.
"Anything as simple as just giving them a hug every day when they come in and telling them good morning and giving them that smile," Wisdom said. "I just try to really connect with them on a personal level before we even dive deeply into school."
Toomer Elementary Principal Caroline Brown said that approach is what sets Wisdom apart.
"I call her a kid whisperer," Brown said. "She approaches them very softly, very gingerly. What the kids bring to the room, she attaches to that, and it's such a soft touch."
While students will spend the year exploring engineering challenges, technology and hands-on science experiments, Wisdom hopes her classroom teaches something even more lasting.
"My goals are to help the kids become better thinkers and better problem solvers," she said. "I hope they leave my room and they know that they can do hard things."
As another school year begins, Wisdom says those lessons in confidence and resilience start on day one — one warm greeting, one smile and one student at a time.
