GCCS Teachers Build Early Relationships With Students

Not only do parents sending their children to the Galloway Community Charter School know their children will get a focused education with no more than 15 children per classroom, they also get a chance to meet the person who will be teaching their children over the course of the year.

For two weeks leading up to the start of the school year, which is Aug. 23 for GCCS students, the teachers spend their time making house visits to students for the upcoming year. Every teacher does it for every student, whether the student is brand new to the school or has been there for a couple years.

That’s 15 students for each teacher, who sets aside 15 hours over the course of those two weeks to meet with children and their parents.

“It gives us a chance to meet with the parents and students and tell them what to expect from the upcoming year,” kindergarten teacher Alex Sawickij said before meeting with one of four families Thursday afternoon. “It’s unique to our charter. It helps build our community. It’s a good way to start and a good way to make contact.”

Sawickij said he doesn’t know of any schools that send teachers out to meet with parents before the year starts in Southern New Jersey, but he has spoken to a few teachers from schools in the northern portion of the state that do.

“It’s good to meet them ahead of time,” Sawickij said. “It makes them a person, not just a name.”

The person he was meeting with in this instance was Jo’Nae Tinsley-Ferrer, a kindergartener who will be attending the school for the first time this fall.

He explained to her parents, Tracey Tinsley and Johnny Ferrer, that each student in the class is taught based on their skill level.

He told them if their child knows her letters, they’ll go over it with her to reinforce it, but they have the ability to focus on teaching her what she needs to know specifically while still helping the other children.

He explained the charter school begins early because the school year ends earlier, right after standardized testing on June 1.

He was also able to connect with Ja’Nae on their favorite foods before either one sets foot in a classroom. FYI: Sawickij’s is pizza with pepperoni and Ja’Nae Tinelsy-Ferrer’s enjoys cheeseburgers.

“It’s a good thing,” Tracey Tinsley said. “It shows you what the teachers are like and what the curriculum will be like.”

Sawickij spent just over half hour with Tinsley, Ferrer and their daughter at the Atlantic County Library Galloway Branch on Thursday, but he said times vary depending on who he is meeting with and the number of questions they have. Some people also prefer to meet at their home, but many prefer to meet at the library.

Sawickij has been a teacher with the school for six years, and has visited with families before the school year every year since he started. However, this year is the first in which the teachers have had to work year-round.

“We work three days a week (during the summer),” Sawickij said.  “New Jersey’s adopted new standards for this year, and (the longer hours) gives us the opportunity to stay on top of things.”