Teacher works overtime for kids

     By Chris Jones
     View staff writer
      Learning to read is one of the first and most important steps in a child's educational experience.
      Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most difficult -- for the child and their parents.
      That's why Chris Iddings devotes so much of her time to working with the mothers and fathers of her 60 pupils at Wengert Elementary School.
      "Sometimes they want their child to read so badly that they don't see how hard the child is trying," Iddings said. "For children to get to where they read well, it takes a lot of time -- far more time than I can give them in a classroom."
      The 35-year-old teacher is in her sixth year at Wengert, where she teaches a morning and afternoon kindergarten class.
      In addition to her regular duties, Iddings spends a lot of her personal time helping parents become more involved in their child's schooling.
      "We feel that education is really a community affair," Iddings said. "We (teachers) can't all do it ourselves, especially in kindergarten with a 2 1/2-hour school day."
      To get the help she requires, Iddings opens her classroom to volunteers and devotes at least one night each month to an event that places the parents, pupils and teachers together in a fun and educational environment.
      This month, a "Reading Night" is scheduled in which parents and pupils will dress up in pajamas and come to the school to read bedtime stories in the early evening.
      "It's a big difference in hearing words and seeing them in print, but they need to know the steps (in order) to read," Iddings said. "I just model the reading lessons and they take them from there. A pajama party event can be a great way to teach those steps to the parents."
      "We've got a really active school," said Scott Ober, Wengert's principal for the past six years. "One of the main priorities has been to bring the parents in.
      "They volunteer in our classes all the time, and Chris usually has a couple of them in her room on a daily basis."
      Getting that kind of involvement requires extra effort, but Iddings doesn't seem to mind.
      "We try to build a bridge from the culture at home to the culture at school," Iddings said. "A lot of times they're willing to teach their kids, but they just don't know how to get it done. Once I get the parents on my side, we can accomplish anything."
      When both parties are on the same page, Iddings says it's much easier to combine their efforts on behalf of the children. She says she feels especially responsible for getting parents involved, beginning with their child's first year of school.
      "They're starting their school careers (with me)," Iddings said. "Parents with younger children tend to be more concerned with their (children's) development, so it's a good time to catch them."
      Iddings said it's also important that the kids learn to respect school.
      "Research showed that drop-outs really start happening in first grade and kindergarten," Iddings said.
      "When parents and children don't find relevance in school at that age, they can end up being drop-outs in high school."
      Iddings said she learned how hard education can be without some feeling of involvement when she came to the United States from her native Brazil in 1984.
      At first she said she felt like an outsider, but Iddings quickly learned nothing will happen until people make an effort to get involved.
      "I feel a lot of these families need to feel a sense of belonging and welcoming," Iddings said. "To let all of these kids effectively participate in our society, we need to give them that opportunity to feel as though they belong."
      Her dedication has not gone unnoticed. More than 200 parents came to a picnic at the start of the school year, and Iddings said about 80-90 parents will attend her after-school events each month.
      Some of her colleagues even call her "Superteacher."
      Ober said: "I wish I could bottle her energy. Mrs. Iddings is one of those teachers who comes along every so often who makes your whole school look good. She puts in a lot of work, not only for the school but for the district."