Schoolutions – S1 E2: When a School Community is a Family with Principal Kyle Skinner
[00:00:00] Olivia: Welcome toSchoolutions, where listening will leave you inspired by solutions to issues you or others you know may be struggling with in the public education system today. I am Olivia Wahl, and I'm excited to introduce you to my friend and colleague, Kyle Skinner. Kyle is the principal of Benjamin Franklin Elementary in Binghamton, New York.
[00:00:25] Olivia: Uh, the school is one of seven elementary schools within the Binghamton City School District. Kyle, welcome.
[00:00:32] Kyle: Thank you for having me. I'm so excited.
[00:00:34] Olivia: I have known you for 10 years, and I like to kick off with asking you who has been your most inspiring teacher?
[00:00:44] Kyle: So, it's a, a two-sided question for me. Um, my why is a, a terrible kindergarten teacher that I had who will remain nameless, but that really made for a poor school experience and a, a lot of anxiety for me.
[00:00:56] Kyle: And then Ms. Wright, my third-grade teacher, I did not like school until third grade. And she really helped me find a love of learning and, and that was the first person for me who made school a positive experience and I truly felt loved and it was just such a game changer. But I don't think I would have that up without the down for sure.
[00:01:16] Olivia: Oh, interesting. Shout out to Mrs. Wright. I, I also want to let listeners know our history and how hard and dedicated you've been as an educator over the years. I remember you sitting in the front row at the Benjamin Franklin auditorium, my very first day in Binghamton as a consultant, and you were a fourth-grade teacher, I believe.
[00:01:37] Olivia: Share a bit about your journey as an educator from that point.
[00:01:41] Kyle: Yeah, so that was my second year teaching. The first year was spent in fifth grade. So, I taught fifth grade and then fourth grade for a few years, and then just became engrossed in the balanced literacy approach. It became almost an obsession for me, um, as weird and creepy as that sounds, uh, but I couldn't get enough of the learning.
[00:01:58] Kyle: I also had a lot of interest in the, the lower grades, and I didn't know much about teaching kindergarten, first and second grade. Uh, and a collaborative coach position happened to pop up. And it was an opportunity for me to learn more and also spread what I knew about the balanced literacy approach to other teachers within the building.
[00:02:15] Kyle: So, I took that position. I was a collaborative coach then for three years. Here at Benjamin Franklin as well. And then I took the assistant principal job here at Benjamin Franklin, and I am in year four of principalship.
[00:02:28] Olivia: I think your dedication, not just to the school community, speaks volumes, uh, but also the dedication to engaging with the outside school community.
[00:02:39] Olivia: And, uh, something I'm fascinated by is the word engagement and all of the layers that are part of it. So, with that said, I'd love to hear more about the six community events that you stagger throughout the year.
[00:02:55] Kyle: Sure. So, for us, before I even get into the six events, for us it's, it's, I hear so much now about community school, that's the new word that's shoved down everyone's throat.
[00:03:04] Kyle: Are you a community school?
[00:03:06] Olivia: Yeah.
[00:03:06] Kyle: And I just think that's nonsense. We're a family. And you, you have to go beyond school and beyond just being a part of a community and, and really do your best to make families feel like they're part of your extended family if we're gonna really break down the walls. Especially in a district like ours, we're hovering around 80% poverty currently in our building right now.
[00:03:26] Kyle: And what we find is a lot of families have had poor negative experiences with schools so our goal is to just flip the script and look at things totally differently and, and, and not shove curriculum down their throat. So, the first, the first night that we have is our, our curriculum night, but it's really a family barbecue.
[00:03:43] Kyle: This year because of Covid, it was all on our back. We have a big soccer field on the back, um, lawn there, and we had music, there was dancing, we had a barbecue. My assistant principal and I grilled up hotdogs, and we served them with all our interventionists. Teachers were stationed around throwing footballs with kids, but also talking to parents and trying to get their ear about the curriculum and what the school year is gonna look like.
[00:04:04] Kyle: But the turnout was just massive, right? Like we, we, we got rid of the fact that, that parents were hesitant to come in and engage around curriculum and instead we got 'em in and we just had fun, laid back conversations, and then curriculum starts to evolve out of those things but it's really for us about building trust.
[00:04:22] Kyle: The other events that we've had this school year that we've been able to have um, with covid we do a regular trunk or treat, which is always a big draw. Teachers decorate their cars; I had my truck all decorated this year with spiderwebs all over it. Um, but lots of fun and we got well over, I wanna say we were over like 300 people there.
[00:04:42] Kyle: So, we were even drawing from the greater community. We had our middle school students coming back and, and…
[00:04:47] Olivia: Wow.
[00:04:47] Kyle: …having an opportunity to engage with our teachers and our staff Pre covid, we have a math and a literacy night every year, but again, it's not your typical math literacy night. So, we try to couple it with a book fair cuz that's always…
[00:05:00] Olivia: mm-hmm
[00:05:00] Kyle: …fun for the kids to wanna come in and pick out their books.
[00:05:03] Kyle: But what we do is we do book teasers and samplers. So…
[00:05:06] Olivia: Oh, Smart
[00:05:06] Kyle: …there's a menu when they come in and parents and students can pick from a, a, a menu of different books and they go to different classrooms for 15-minute rotations, and then there are the books that they can also pick out in the book fair.
[00:05:17] Kyle: So, we try to couple those two things together. Yeah, it's, it's always a really great turnout and anytime we, we have one of these community nights, or these family nights as we like to call 'em, there's always food involved. There's something communal about a meal and bringing people together. So, we'll do pasta dinners or pizzas or whatever the case may be, and that's kind of how we kick it off.
[00:05:37] Kyle: And then we launch into the night. Around the holidays, we have a holiday party. Part of that holiday party typically is Christmas wrapping, so they can bring in their Christmas gifts that they've got. Families can sit down together; they can wrap presents with staff. That's, that's been a big hit and a big draw for us in the past as well.
[00:05:55] Kyle: Our field days at the end of the school year is another one that will be able to do this year with Covid because it is outside. It's a great way, again, for us to be able to draw some of the community members in.
[00:06:05] Olivia: Mm-hmm.
[00:06:05] Kyle: We get parents that come in and they help volunteer and, and the kids go from station to station with different outdoor activities if and when the weather finally turns.
[00:06:13] Kyle: So again, for us, it's all about making a family atmosphere and, and having people wanna come because it's gonna be fun, not because it's an obligation.
[00:06:21] Olivia: I, um, I know from visiting your school for many years, uh, the dedication that teachers, uh, in the building put into relationships with their students', families visiting their homes, making sure the kids feel comfy and safe to come to school.
[00:06:38] Olivia: It's really hard to find a match for that. Um, and I also hear that the way you've adapted to Covid is not just saying nope, we can't do the events, but instead what can we do outside in finding solutions, seeing possibilities. So that, that's amazing. Um, I'd love to shift because I remember being in Benjamin Franklin and many other schools where the poverty rate is at the number yours is, and you have over 460 students right now or higher?
[00:07:10] Kyle: So, we're a little lower now.
[00:07:11] Olivia: Mm
[00:07:11] Kyle: Covid has, has kind of hit those numbers for us. So, we're hovering around that 400 range currently…
[00:07:16] Olivia: Got it.
[00:07:16] Kyle: …right now.
[00:07:17] Olivia: Okay.
[00:07:17] Kyle: Yep.
[00:07:18] Olivia: And so, um, with that said, I remember how hard it is to teach students that are hungry and just don't have their needs met. So, I'd love to hear about how you're building work to get a food pantry established, and I'm, I believe that's part of the community center that's named after a beloved teacher that we lost recently.
[00:07:40] Kyle: Yeah. So, my social worker came to me. We're having massive renovations done in our basement, which I don't know, Olivia, if you've seen yet, but next time you're in the area you'll have to come check 'em out.
[00:07:49] Kyle: But that's where our pre-K and kindergarten is housed. Around the same time, my social worker, Ms. Waffle, came to me with this idea of like: Hey, you know, we have this backpack program where we send food home on Fridays for kids who need it, and we have 25 slots and we've got like 50 kids whose teachers have nominated them and really need it.
[00:08:07] Kyle: This is like, this is a problem. I mean, while we appreciated that the slots that we were, we were allotted, we needed something more. So, she kind of was thinking, you know, maybe we could. You know, utilize a closet upstairs and, and fill it with canned goods and things like that for emergencies. And, and the more we got talking about it, I was walking through the basement, which was absolutely ripped apart at the time, but plans were already finalized prior to me, uh, becoming principal.
[00:08:33] Kyle: And it just kind of hit me when we were doing a walkthrough, we had some extra space that was just gonna really not be utilized to its fullest. So, what we did was we created what we're calling a community center. It's called Traci Cares. Traci was. A pre-K teacher here who we lost last school year. And so, we, we decided to name Traci Cares after her.
[00:08:52] Olivia: Mm-hmm
[00:08:52] Kyle: I mean, it was a perfect tribute because she was such a, a loving, caring person to her students and to her families. Um, so what, the way it works now, we've got really big plans for it as Covid is starting to die down and we're starting to get more and more families back in, into the building on a regular basis.
[00:09:09] Kyle: So, there's a food pantry that's fully stocked. It has refrigerated goods, it has fresh produce, it has a huge deep chest freezer. We've also added health and beauty care products to it. So, like deodorant, baby formula, diapers, wipes, anything you could name that a family would need. For us, one of the big things was that it was discreet, right?
[00:09:30] Kyle: We wanted dignity with all this, so it's got its own separate entrance to our basement that just had been renovated and families come in, there's no questions asked. The only demographic requirements are how many people in your house, how many are kids, and how many are adults? We're open every Tuesday and Thursday from 12 to 3.
[00:09:48] Kyle: We have a graduate assistant from Binghamton University. She's also currently through these colder months. We saw a decline, but people obviously still have the need. She's working on a delivery service. So that we can get some of the university students to actually make deliveries to the homes. They can shop online.
[00:10:04] Olivia: Wow.
[00:10:04] Kyle: Tell us what they need and we can drop it right off to the house. Um,
[00:10:07] Olivia: That's amazing. They can shop online?
[00:10:10] Kyle: Yeah. So, we're working on setting up a Google form where we'll have some inventory so they can just click on whatever it is that they need, how much of it they need. When one of the university students, it's almost like Instacart, right?
[00:10:20] Kyle: Like one of the university students can drop it right off to them.
[00:10:23] Olivia: Yeah.
[00:10:23] Kyle: Um, so we're working out the logistical aspects with, with the university as we speak.
[00:10:27] Olivia: So, Kyle, how is that food pantry stocked? Who provides or how is, how does that work?
[00:10:32] Kyle: Yeah so, uh, A couple of different ways. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier has been absolutely amazing.
[00:10:38] Kyle: They're based out of Elmira. As long as we order a thousand pounds of food at a time, we get delivery with that. But we were also finding like sometimes a thousand pounds was just too much and we were over ordering some of the heavier canned good items, cuz they wouldn't go bad.
[00:10:52] Olivia: Okay.
[00:10:52] Kyle: So, we've created a, a partnership with Catholic Charities.
[00:10:55] Kyle: They're doing massive orders as well. They're only like five or six miles away from us. So, we're able to,
[00:11:01] Olivia: Okay.
[00:11:02] Kyle: we're able to have our deliveries sent there. Send somebody over to pick up our portion of the order and bring it back here, which has allowed for us to get way more fresh produce, carrots, potatoes, onions, all those things that a lot of the families were wanting.
[00:11:15] Kyle: But we could, they're just not shelf stable. Now. We can order 'em in smaller quantities.
[00:11:19] Olivia: Got it.
[00:11:19] Kyle: In terms of the funding, we're using school improvement grant funds currently for that.
[00:11:23] Olivia: Okay.
[00:11:24] Kyle: But when we got some current media attention around it, we had a ton of people just. Come in and give different donations, they send 'em right to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier in our name with our, our, our name and the memo of the check, and they just kind of show up in our account.
[00:11:37] Kyle: So, we kind of run a line of credit. And, and the food pantry also helped us secure a $10,000 grant to get us started.
[00:11:44] Olivia: Wow.
[00:11:44] Kyle: So that's really helped. We're, we're still kind of utilizing all of those, those nations and haven't even had to tap into our, our individual grant funding yet. So
[00:11:53] Olivia: well, and so if people, listeners do want to donate, the best is to donate, uh, to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier with your name and the memo,
[00:12:02] Kyle: Food Bank of the Southern Tier.
[00:12:03] Kyle: And you just put in the memo line for Benjamin Franklin Elementary School and they credit it right to our account and we place all of our orders through them online.
[00:12:11] Olivia: Wonderful. Um, and the community center is, is that part of this? Uh, that families
[00:12:16] Kyle: It is, yeah. Yeah. So attached to the actual Foodbank itself, we have a Community Center.
[00:12:21] Kyle: Our goal again, was to make it a, a really laid-back vibe. So, it's like not, not like you're gonna walk in and see desks and chairs. There's soft sofa seating type things designed for school function, movable furniture. Our goal is to bring families in in a really low-pressure setting where they can just be themselves and be laid back.
[00:12:40] Kyle: But put them in, in contact with people that can help them with whatever they need. We, we are currently working with a local realty company. They're gonna come in and, and do some seminars on parents who are interested in, in purchasing homes, particularly in the Ben Franklin area and region, what their next steps are.
[00:12:57] Kyle: A lot of our families may be eligible, but just don't know. So, they're working and partnering with a local bank on a…
[00:13:03] Olivia: …fabulous…
[00:13:03] Kyle: …a seminar of if, if you're ready, this is the process. And if you're not, Let's talk about how we can help you with some savings and opening some savings accounts and that type of thing.
[00:13:11] Kyle: We also plan on, uh, job fairs…
[00:13:13] Olivia: ..yes.
[00:13:13] Kyle: …college seminars, all of those types of things to, to go through down there. And our, our social worker has also been working a little bit on doing almost like a chopped theme show once we can get back to normal a little bit. We have a kitchen right across the hall so they can go shop in the food pantry.
[00:13:26] Olivia: Wow.
[00:13:29] Kyle: And we can teach them how they can make different meals with what we have available in the pantry.
[00:13:34] Olivia: Ah, this is so inspiring. Um, and I know you also, within that community center provide free WIFI, computer access. Um, and so all of those jobs and the opportunities there, there's. Great potential for them to work on job applications as well as, uh, I think you had said online education programs as well.
[00:13:56] Kyle: Yeah. Our goal is to be the network for them to get them enrolled in all of those things.
[00:14:00] Olivia: Okay.
[00:14:00] Kyle: And use this center as a possibility to do that as well as help with different job applications. I mean, some, we have amazing families here. We really do. Hard Working people, but they don't always, sometimes they need help getting placed in front of the right person or some help with a resume or with a job application.
[00:14:17] Kyle: And, and this is an opportunity for us to have a non-threatening way to get them through the door and provide them those supports.
[00:14:23] Olivia: Fabulous. Um, and the, the community center even offers laundry facilities, if I'm not mistaken.
[00:14:28] Kyle: Yeah. So, we got a donation. We're, we're currently working on getting a stackable, uh, washer dryer that's connected.
[00:14:34] Olivia: When we think of family, we think of feeling safe. Um, and part of safety, especially these last few years has been around health and feeling comfortable. Uh, I think it's amazing that Benjamin Franklin has an onsite clinic. Can you say a little bit about that?
[00:14:52] Kyle: Yeah. So, we're super fortunate. Uh, we've partnered with UHS, who's our local hospital chain here.
[00:14:58] Kyle: Um, right in the building attached to our nurse's office, we have a nurse practitioner. She has about upwards of 90% of our students enrolled in the clinic. It's completely free of charge to all of the families. If they have insurance, they can bill the insurance, but there's no copay, so it doesn't take place of their doctor, but rather works alongside their doctor and they're in the system…
[00:15:20] Olivia: …mmm
[00:15:20] Kyle: …so they're able to pull up any notes.
[00:15:21] Kyle: They can add notes to the doctor. My daughter goes to pre-K here. We thought she might have an ear infection. She was tugging on her ear. I was able to to send her up, get looked at. It wasn't an ear infection, but if it was, they call in a prescription to the pharmacy right down the street. Everything is done for them here in this school.
[00:15:39] Kyle: In addition to that, we also have a UHS mental health social worker….
[00:15:41] Olivia: …wow….
[00:15:43] Kyle: …who sees students and patients on a regular basis. So, It's, it's detached. It's not a part of the student's IEP. It's not a, a school social worker. It's, they're simply house out of here. But it's huge because for a lot of our families that don't have transportation, it's a whole day affair to go to downtown Binghamton to get to your appointment. Right? You're taking multiple transfer buses and if it's a whole day affair, you're not in school, right?
[00:16:07] Olivia: Yes.
[00:16:07] Kyle: So instead of missing the whole day of school…
[00:16:08] Olivia: …yep
[00:16:09] Kyle: …they're missing a half an hour to an hour of school and they're right back in the classroom. But also, when there's, there's students dealing with trauma and, and other things that person's here and available.
[00:16:18] Kyle: Right. So, they can go right to the classroom, see them in their element and, and work through some of the hardships…
[00:16:22] Olivia: …yes.
[00:16:22] Kyle: ….with the kids. And then we also have a dental clinic that's currently not in, it's not active because of, um, some covid restrictions around ventilation, but they're actually just here the other day looking ready to, to re-implement things.
[00:16:34] Olivia: Okay.
[00:16:34] Kyle: They do cleanings and sealants, and they have different dentists that they can refer out to. If a child has like a cavity or needs a dental procedure done.
[00:16:43] Olivia: Wow. And so, let me ask, did you reach out to UHS to establish this or did UHS offer to you? How did you make that connection?
[00:16:51] Kyle: Yeah, so this has been a standing partnership before I was here, but it's been pretty much an equal partnership between UHS and Benjamin Franklin.
[00:16:59] Kyle: We also have the same setup at one of our other seven elementary schools as well. Theodore Roosevelt has a very similar clinic, but it's just invaluable. I can't even tell you how huge it is. Especially with Covid, it's been so they're trying to expand that as much as we can. I mean, with Covid, they were able to do different popup vaccine clinics.
[00:17:17] Kyle: As soon as the, the vaccine was available, kids could get the vaccine. They also get their regular vaccines and flu shots right here in school. It just, it keeps them in school so much longer.
[00:17:26] Olivia: Shout out to Binghamton City School District. Yeah. Making it, it happen. It's fabulous. Um, the last piece I'd really love to hear about.
[00:17:34] Olivia: From you about is the BF Gents Club. I've been inspired by this club for years, and I know it's unfortunate we don't have Jeremiah Johnson, uh, with us right now, but a huge shout out Jeremiah and for what you do for children. Um, can you speak to what the club is about? Um, I also want to acknowledge, I know it received an award, uh, from the New York State.
[00:18:01] Olivia: School Board Association, and I think that was in 2020. Um
[00:18:08] Kyle: yes. Yep. Yes. So, so, yeah, all the credit in the world, Jeremiah was our former physical education teacher who just accepted our athletic director position. So congratulations to him and good for him. And we're super happy for him. He's, he's already doing great things here in the Binghamton School District with our athletic programs.
[00:18:24] Kyle: But yeah, so we really saw a void that we had a lot of, of, of young men in this school who just didn't necessarily have directions. Some of them may or may not have had male role models in their lives. So, Jeremiah helped reinvent this club, um, that we had had a couple years prior and just took it to all new heights.
[00:18:42] Kyle: So basically, he would, he would meet with students. We had 30 kids, um, between fourth and fifth grade, and we would do various events and activities. Sometimes it's as simple as, as, you know, having a restorative circle where we sit all the kids down and we just talk about what does it mean to be a gentleman.
[00:18:57] Kyle: Um, various different topics. We've had speakers from former athletes to the mayor of the city of Binghamton to our, our, one of our local senators, and they've come in and done sorts of presentations. We've partnered with a charity, the Brad Strom Foundation, and they helped us. With getting shirts and tides for all the kids.
[00:19:17] Kyle: So, the, the last year prior to Covid, we were able to work with BC Transit to get free transportation. We went to Outback Steakhouse with them. Many of them had not been to an actual restaurant, like Beyond Fast Food for a lot of 'em. So, leading up to it, we did a whole unit around what is proper, you know, dinner etiquette, what is this gonna look like, how are we gonna act while we're there, they kind of did a, a ramped-up place setting more than what you would typically get for chicken fingers.
[00:19:42] Olivia: Yes.
[00:19:42] Kyle: But they did like all of the silverware cuz we were teaching 'em about that and putting the napkin on your lap, all that good stuff. Right next door to Outback is Men's Wearhouse. We, we brought 'em over there. They did a demonstration on Dress for Success.
[00:19:53] Kyle: And what does that look like? Different things, um, that you would wanna know if you're going to a job interview versus a nice dinner. Those types of things. And then, thanks to the, the foundation….
[00:20:03] Olivia: ….wonderful…
[00:20:03] Kyle: …who donated the money we were able to get each kid a shirt and tie set and they would wear those every day that we would meet for BF Gents, they would wear their shirts and ties and we had some, some dress pants and, and shoes and stuff donated.
[00:20:15] Olivia: Wow. Kyle, I, I think that word engagement, um, it, it, again, it has many layers and the, the way that you as a leader establish a family and also support every member of that family in thriving. We all need different things to thrive. Um, I can't thank you enough for your time.
[00:20:38] Kyle: Thank you. Thank you for all you do.
[00:20:40] Kyle: I appreciate you having me.