My Journey to becoming an educator.

I started out being a coach not a teacher…or so I thought. Then I discovered they are really the same thing! So I went back to college at age 25 and earned my teaching degree. For the next six years I taught across the hallway from my mom. She taught fifth grade and I taught sixth. Then I married and moved away…my mother cried. This was a big move from a rural district to an urban setting. Over the years this urban neighborhood school has changed from a school with less than 30% poverty and diversity to a poverty “high needs” school. Last year we were 87% poverty and 90% diverse. I have been very intentional in changing my teaching strategies to meet the needs of the new group of students and families. The biggest and most positive change in my classroom has been using Restorative teaching strategies. Restorative language and Restorative thinking has changed the way I see the world, my students, and their families. My principal calls it Mrs. Cranston’s magic. It isn’t magic …. It’s Circles!   I feel strongly that all human beings need to be heard. It’s that simple….when children feel heard they feel a sense of community, a sense of self-worth, and respect for their peers, their school, and their teachers. Believe me…it’s not MAGIC….it’s CIRCLES!