Mark Twain energy ‘electric’ on first day of school

Sisters Brooklyn and Addison Neilson, 8 and 6, were among the early arrivals to Mark Twain Elementary School for Monday’s first day of school and looked forward to seeing familiar faces.

Addison Neilson said math is her favorite subject and said the back-to-school event is anticipated “because I get to see my favorite teacher and my friends.”

Leighann Carper, entering the third grade, was eager to see a friend she hadn’t seen in a year return to her classroom.

“I hope that all that’s going back to school currently that all have a good year,” she said. “(I’m excited) because I get to see all my friends. …My favorite subject is math because it’s super fun and I get to learn how much numbers are added together.”

Staff members enjoyed passing on the positive vibes to students and families as they dropped off their kids.

“We’re feeling energized,” Principal Chelise Crookshanks told the Appeal. “There’s always just a happiness and joy that comes with a new school year and a fresh start that’s exciting for the kids and the teachers. People are coming back and they’re ready to learn.”

She is especially pleased this year to retain enrollment figures especially in the school’s kindergarten classes, she said.

“We were expected to lose another 50 kids,” she said. “Our kindergarten classes are full.”

Crookshanks starts her 15th year with the district and her third with Mark Twain.

“Making it a fun place has changed our culture, and we have the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district,” she said. “I want to keep that momentum going.”

Superintendent Andrew Feuling was at Mark Twain on Monday and said with approximately 600 students, there was “enough energy to power a small metropolitan area.”

“It’s electric,” he said of the joy from the school. “The excitement, it’s like turning it up to 11. … Everyone definitely needs their time away in the summer, but once you see these faces coming in, the excitement to have all these kids so happy to see you and be in your room in your school. Who needs coffee when you have that level of excitement?”

Feuling credited the district’s focus on students as an attractive employer for potential teachers and education support professionals for its success.

“When you are doing so well with staffing, that this is a place people clearly want to work, that makes a difference,” Feuling said. “There’s a different vibe, and I think it’s going to pay off.”

For Mark Twain teacher Jeremy Falconer, an educator of 13 years, he’s found a school home with colleagues who feel like family, and that has made his experience more enjoyable, he told the Appeal. Falconer works within the school’s Behavioral Learning and Social Skills Teaching (BLASST) program, a partnership between CCSD and Advanced Child Behavior Solutions that delivers curriculum, supports and services for struggling students.

“I just really enjoy working with the kids who have different challenges than others and making a difference in their lives,” Falconer said.

He added he hopes to make progress in students’ growth in their academic and social growth this year, appreciating what Mark Twain has to offer its children, community and staff members.

“Everybody’s working together, and we just feel like a family,” he said. “It’s not something I’ve experienced in other places, so it’s really kind of awesome to be a part of a team that’s really driven by the same goal.”