Dancing Hagemann Teacher Wins Citywide Recognition

Hagemann Elementary fourth-grade teacher Matthew Auclair knows how to keep a classroom active.

With his wife, Crystal, he’s a nationally known swing dance competitor and instructor. Now he can add the 2011 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award to his resume.

(Here's a Youtube video of Auclair in competition.)

Nearly 100 St. Louis educators are being honored by the St. Louis company this year for their commitment to students and their achievements in the classroom.

Only one teacher per school district received the distinction. Auclair came to the top for the Mehlville School District. He doesn’t think he deserves the award any more than any other teacher he works with, but mentioned that he likes to keep it fun in the classroom.

“The other day we were teaching how to put parenthesis within a section of a (math) problem to make true number sentences,” he said. “I turned it into a game show. I acted like a game show host. And I had the kids come on down and played the whole thing like it was a game show.”

Auclair teaches math to both fourth-grade classes. He said it's his favorite subject to teach, maybe because it didn’t come easy for him when he was in their place.

“I feel like I can relate to them a little bit more and be patient with them as they’re trying to explain to me what they’re confused with,” he said. “I try to see if I can try many different ways to show them how to do it.”

Hagemann principal Scott Andrews said Auclair has a gift to connect with his students. "It oozes from him," Andrews said. "Matt reaches all his learners, even if he has to change his lesson plan for each kid, he does that."

Auclair's class has the “late, late lunch,” he said. There's a three-hour stretch with no breaks. It’s a long time to sit, so when he sees eyeballs glaze over, he brings his dance instruction background into action.

“I tell everybody to stand up, and I teach them a quick little line dance, or something kind of fun to get them moving for a minute,” he said.

“It’s a fun way to get them to work with each other. Sometimes they dance with a partner, sometimes they don’t,” he said. “Gets them moving. Then by the time we’re finished, they’re refocused, and they can sit down.”

Auclair went through Mehlville schools, elementary through high school. He then got an associate's degree , then graduated from .