Kristen Valley is one of 2019’s PBS KIDS Early Learning Champions. She works at Boone Park Elementary School in North Little Rock, Arkansas (AETN) as a Family Engagement Professional. She will graciously be sharing her journey with PBS in this blog for AECA.

You can find out more about Kristen here.

My new routine consists of making sure our students and families feel safe, encouraged and supported.

Now that schools have closed in Arkansas, our focus has shifted on how we serve our families during this “new normal.” I see it as an opportunity to showcase a servant’s heart. Over the last few weeks, Boone Park Elementary, the Arkansas Food Bank and other schools in our district came together to provide meals for our students and families.

At the beginning of the school year, our school decided on the motto: “whatever it takes!” We are seeing a beautiful display of those words every day. Our entire staff and administrators are working together to create ways to keep our students and families engaged during this time of transition. We are using all streams of educational resources: Google Classroom, Google Meet, Facebook, YouTube, Thrillshare and phone calls. Most of our families are not used to our new normal and we are doing our best to keep our students and families calm and connected.

How are you continuing to connect with families while you are out of your school building?

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