Thurston Elementary kindergarten teacher Jewel Walters was born in Toledo, Ohio. She and her sisters, Peaches and Angel, were raised by her father, who worked at the Ford Stamping Plant, and her mother, who was employed in the front office at Alro Steel Company.
Walters began her college education in early education at Eastern Michigan University, where she walked onto the track team. Walters was the first in her family to complete college. She completed her student teaching with Elnora Sipp at Thurston Elementary before being hired as a second-grade teacher at Burns Park Elementary. After several years there, she moved on to Carpenter Elementary. Walters then took a leave of absence to teach at an International School in Dubai for two years.
Upon returning to AAPS, Walters taught virtually for one year before finding her new home at Thurston Elementary, where her teaching career had first begun.
Thurston Principal Cory McElmeel notes that Walters exemplifies what it means to lead a classroom that functions as a team.
“Through intentional instruction, modeling, and support she takes a group of kinders and quickly molds them into a cohesive team of learners,” he says. “Her deep passion for our profession and the positive energy and outlook she brings to school daily are just a few qualities that make Jewel an exemplary AAPS educator.”
What inspired you to become a kindergarten teacher?
During my senior year in high school, I went to chaperone and help with local children at overnight camps. The way that the children responded to me, helped me recognize an undiscovered ability and talent to shape and help children. After that experience, I was convinced I wanted to go to college for education and ultimately work with children. Over the years I have taught second grade, a few first-grade classrooms, and a few fourth-grade classrooms. Jokingly, I used to state that I would never teach kindergarten because that takes a special person and a special patience that I didn’t think I possessed. Funnily enough, the second-grade position I signed on to teach at Thurston fell through and it turned into my first year of teaching kindergarten in 2022. The rest is history and I have been loving it ever since!
What professional development activities have you found most helpful in your career?
How do you assess and adapt to the diverse learning needs in your classroom?
What strategies do you use to engage students with different learning styles?
I think the most helpful professional development activities have been the two master’s degrees that I have obtained. The first degree focused on Urban and Diversity Education and the second was Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Both have allowed me to learn more skills and strategies for helping some of my most vulnerable students. Being aware of different cultures and learning styles comes naturally to me. I was a student who needed movement to learn and stay engaged and I try to give that to my students.
On the extreme side, I have had an exercise bike in my room. More common everyday strategies include using hand gestures, songs, and items from specific cultures to help me reach the needs of these students. Keeping abreast of what my students are interested in allows me to throw things in my lessons and classroom that appeal to them and keep them engaged. Right now, I am on the lookout for “Number Blocks” and “Paw Patrol” items (think books, stickers, videos, pictures, and educational items with these characters). One activity I do to engage my students in learning about graphs is to let them pick my outfit. I will wear two different shoes, scarves, or earrings to school, which gets a lot of laughs and stares. Then I tell the children that I need some data about what to wear, they give me their input, and we graph it.
At the beginning of the year, I do a sort of inventory of what I believe each student may need more of throughout the school year. Some may need me to really focus on their academics, while others may need a stronger emphasis on life skills or social skills to help them succeed in the classroom, or maybe even both. I believe this helps me diversify what I give each student who comes to my class.
Can you describe a typical day in your classroom?
I don’t know if a day in my classroom is typical or normal. I start the day by greeting each kid with a fist pump, a smile and hello, or a hug. Throughout the day I try to incorporate things to make learning fun. Sometimes it can be adding a video, making a joke during a lesson, doing something silly or outrageous to connect what we are learning, or even dressing up or changing my accent to go along with the lesson we are learning.
Do you have any tips for classroom management?
I think one of the things that makes my classroom different is my ability to build relationships
with students and families. This pours over into my classroom management. It enhances my ability to reach out to parents as needed, to demand more of my students, and to set higher expectations. I think children are more receptive to me correcting, disciplining, or holding them accountable to our rules, because they first know that I care. They know that I have a bond or relationship with their parents and will work with their parents to get them back on track. They know I believe in them and this just seems to make classroom management more manageable.
What do you like about working for AAPS, and for Thurston in particular?
It has been a blessing to work for Ann Arbor Public Schools. I have been able to be a part of so
many great things going on in the district. I have helped lead and organize professional
development for our Minority Teacher Retention program for teachers. I have been able to go to job fairs and act as a recruiter for the district. Through the Ann Arbor Education Association, I have been able to team with other AAPS teachers and have been a co-chair for the Minority Affairs committee. This committee aims to support Ann Arbor in creating a district that hires, develops, supports, and retains minority staff to teach our students. I have also had the pleasure of being a track coach at Huron High School. I have been able to work in so many different capacities throughout AAPS and that has made my time in the district much more satisfying.
Why did you want to teach in Dubai, and what did you learn from that experience?
While completing my master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, I did a study abroad. It was part of a two-week school program in Montenegro and I loved it! From there, I knew I wanted to use this degree in another country. The district granted me a two-year leave and I took it and headed to Dubai.
I wish I could say that I picked up a good amount of Arabic while I was there, but I cannot. I did learn more about the Muslim culture, traditions, and child-rearing, and while in Dubai, I fasted during Ramadan and that has helped me better relate to parents and students who recognize this sacred time. I have since had students who were from an Arabic culture and I can tell the difference in my ability to connect with them and their families. Overall, my time spent in Dubai enriched my teaching practice by enhancing my cultural awareness, and ability to adapt to different learning needs. It has made me more flexible, innovative, and efficient in my approach to education. It reminded me of my abilities and the strong teacher that I have grown to be over the years.
What’s the most challenging aspect of ensuring every student’s needs are met?
Teaching is a hard profession. It can be emotionally draining. Beyond navigating the curriculum and lessons to meet students’ needs, teachers are also required to take on some of the baggage our students face daily. From hunger, abuse, unstable living conditions, divorces, and so much more, we have to counsel, console, and sometimes just simply see students in the midst of all of this and more importantly we have to figure out how to teach them through all of that stuff. Teachers carry these things with them throughout the year. I don’t get to stop worrying about or praying for a child just because the day has ended. Sometimes I worry more because I can’t protect or help them when they are not at school.
At the end of every year, I have a ritual to force myself to let go of every child and the problems they may have and hand them over to God. Sometimes I cry one last time for these children and pray that they are successful and able to overcome the adversity in their individual lives. This, to me, is the most challenging aspect of ensuring every student’s needs are met.
Can you share a success story of helping a struggling student?
Every year presents a new struggling student, sometimes more than one. I am grateful that I have been able to help so many students over the years and look forward to thinking outside of the box to help many more who will come.
How do you communicate with parents about their child’s progress?
Catching parents at pick-up, sending a quick note through email, and sending home earned certificates, are just a few of the ways I communicate with parents about their child’s progress.
What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?
I think life lessons are my favorite lessons to teach. These lessons transcend grade levels and have the possibility of sticking with a student forever. Helping others in need, winning with grace, always doing your best, being kind to others, it’s okay to make mistakes just learn from them, are all lessons that I focus on teaching in my classroom.
How do you foster a sense of community in your classroom?
This is an area that I have definitely been blessed in. In my classroom, I encourage students to work as a team. My kids call me Coach Walters. I strive to let my students know that they belong and are important. We laugh together, make decisions together, get in trouble together, and celebrate together. I look to foster community, not only for my students but for my families as well. We have two or three opportunities throughout the school year to come together after school to bond. I call them “Class Community Builders”. We have game nights, local park meet-ups, and meet-ups at school junctions with a designated special area for our class. I encourage parents to swap numbers and get to know someone new. I encourage families who speak a different language to come to class and read in their home language or to volunteer and participate in class activities where they feel comfortable. I go to many events that I am invited to outside of the school day, such as Japanese Saturday school, soccer games, recitals, and other events. All of these activities create a strong sense of community amongst our class.
Outside of teaching, what hobbies or interests do you enjoy?
I love to be active, participating in races, fitness classes, Rec & Ed teams, and anything that keeps me physically active. I also enjoy traveling. I have been to so many beautiful places and met so many beautiful people. Immersing in new cultures and beautiful scenery is exciting!
If you weren’t a teacher, what career might you have pursued?
If I weren’t a teacher I probably would have pursued a career in acting. I feel like teaching still gives me that avenue to put on a show in front of my students. Kindergarten has definitely allowed me to use my acting skills even more. I have to keep up with the attention of five and six-year-olds, which can be difficult. I am up against children who have access to electronics and videos and they are used to being stimulated by those forms of entertainment. I think my talent and success in the classroom would have transferred over to the big screen nicely.
If you could suddenly be very talented in one thing, what would that be?
I know it may sound weird, but if I could suddenly be very talented in one thing I would want to be talented in running track and field again. Specifically the 400 hundred hurdles. I learned so many life lessons through sports. Sports challenged me to be the best version of myself. This new talent would hopefully afford me the opportunity to make it to some prestigious track meets or even the Olympics. There, I would get to meet Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. She is an athlete that inspires me and one who I respect and look up to.
What message would you send to your 10-year-old self?
If I could send a message to my 10-year-old self it would be a message of reassurance and encouragement. Reassurance that being different is okay and that you will get an opportunity in life to share that same message with hundreds of students who come to your classroom. A message of encouragement to be unique and unapologetically me. You have a light and a gift that this world needs! That’s it. That’s the message.
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