Welcome back to the POP QUIZ! This is a regular, yet totally unexpected, feature where we ask students, parents, staff, our friends, and partners to answer a few questions about what they are learning, reading, and thinking about. Today we feature Maureen Cartmill, CIS Site Coordinator for Woods Lake Elementary: A Magnet Center for the Arts.
Maureen was born and raised on the east side of Michigan, in what is now known as Farmington Hills. As far back as seventh grade, she planned on teaching. Half-way through her undergraduate studies at Western Michigan University, with teaching positions becoming increasingly difficult to find, her mother, a first grade teacher, suggested she specialize. “WMU’s Speech Pathology and Audiology Department was number one in this half of the nation. I could work in an elementary setting. Decision made.” Maureen received a Bachelor’s in Speech Pathology and Audiology while minoring in Elementary Education. Then, the graduate degree she pursued in Reading ultimately transitioned to a Master of Arts in Counseling and Personnel.
After seven years with CIS, Maureen retires at the end of this month. Prior to CIS, Maureen supported students in various positions within Kalamazoo Public Schools. Maureen had been teaching at Chime Elementary for two and a half years when her career “took a detour.” Someone at Northglade Montessori Magnet School—where her daughters were attending school—discovered she was a certified teacher. She was hired and served as the permanent substitute in the school’s library. She then went on to Parkwood-UpJohn Elementary to serve as librarian [a position a certified teacher could fill if a media specialist were not available]. Over the years, funding for Maureen’s position changed, and her titles changed with it. No matter, she says, for “thirteen amazing years I specialized in reading support, coordinated the library, and ran building-wide literacy programs and events.”
While the entire CIS and KPS family will miss her presence, we feel good knowing that in retirement Maureen will still buzz about doing good works and making the world a sweeter place.
Alright, Maureen: pencil out, eyes on your own paper. Good luck.
Pop Quiz
First off, how are you holding up during this pandemic?
My immediate and extended family are healthy. I feel fortunate. Several family members are essential workers. There is a 16 month old I have not held in almost three months. Visits with my mother are now through a window. But…we are all healthy and waiting to reconnect.
Constantly working on a phone and a computer is a strain. I yearn for barrier-free communication. Communities In Schools offers us a great deal of support to combat the isolation you can feel working from home. I appreciate that. I miss the Woods Lake staff and students. Oh, and I cook now.
What are you learning about yourself in all this?
Hitting the” pause button” has been healthy. Prior to Covid-19, I would be locked in third gear from early morning until late at night. Stationed at home I find that I enjoy the solitude. My children are grown. There is no music playing and the TV remains off during the day. If someone pops into my head, I call, right then, and check in on them. I make time for prayer. I appreciate simplicity. I know I am fortunate.
What is one of the best parts about being a CIS Site Coordinator?
Relationships. I’m involved with students through their entire elementary experience. I love watching them grow physically and emotionally. I love watching friendships evolve that could last their entire lives. With children, no two days are the same. You guide and support them through the rough days and celebrate and share hugs on the days they succeed. We are a resource. Our door is always open.
I genuinely love being part of a team that supports children through their personal journey as well as their academic journey.
Given all the challenges we face during this time—school buildings closed and all of us practicing social distancing—what does your CIS work look like now? How have you continued to support students during this challenging time?
Initially, it was a rush to make sure families had all the essentials they needed. I spent most of my day on the phone talking or texting with parents. The Kalamazoo Community was/is incredibly supportive. The list of resources for families grew every day.
Once KPS initiated their breakfast and lunch outreach and their virtual classrooms, I took a step back. Parents were overwhelmed with calls, texts, emails. The job of trying to educate within the home became a big responsibility. Currently, I feel my job has transitioned from basic needs to emotional support. Contact with students has diminished. When calling, I always begin by asking the parent how they are doing? How has the past week been for them? What can I help them with today? It helps me gain a better understanding of the climate within the home. I believe by supporting the parent, I am supporting the student. To promote some family activity, I dropped off board games to several of our families, old favorites like Sorry and Charades.
The students you work with had already been dealing with other stresses in their lives before this pandemic. And now, this pandemic layers on additional stress for both these young people and their families. How are students coping? Are you seeing any common threads as to how students are responding?
Students are struggling. Consider that two thirds of a child’s waking hours were spent at school. School provided variety, structure, social connectedness, and physical and intellectual challenges. After two or three weeks, the novelty of a vacation begins to wane. Everyone misses their friends. Students who have cell phones are making some social connections. Families with one phone are at a disadvantage when the parent needs to take the phone to work. Parents who work from home must have their phones available to them. Not everyone has a computer, iPad, or WiFi. Students are lonelier and more isolated.
What are you currently reading?
I am not reading anything at the moment. I must keep my Master Gardener’s certification current, so I am watching webinars on pollinators, vegetable garden pests and diseases, and the proper pruning of fruit trees. Were you aware that there are many varieties of bushes and trees that are critical for the survival of overwintering bee colonies?
What is your favorite word or phrase right now?
Initially, it was “One day at a time.” That has transitioned to “Be safe and take care of those you love.”
When we re-emerge from this pandemic, where is one of the first places you will go?
I will visit independent establishments. It will be a full-day event:
Coney Dog. We love the owners. Shout out to Katherine and Bill and son Michael.
Crow’s Nest. You have been closed too long.
University Roadhouse. A neighborhood destination.
O’Duffy’s Pub. The best place for Happy Hour with friends.
People who don’t know you, may not realize that you have been a beekeeper. What initially drew you to beekeeping?
I watched a swarm of bees cross our property and, like a tornado in reverse, the bees disappeared beneath an outbuilding 12 feet from our back door. No one we called knew how to remove them. (Close your eyes and don’t read the next few sentences.) We placed a shop vac hose at the entrance of the hole and began sucking the bees as the entered or exited the hive. Little did we know there were 40,000 to 60,000 bees setting up housekeeping. Guilt overcame us when the next day there was an article in the Gazette informing the public that honeybees were disappearing at alarming rates due to Colony Collapse Disorder. TURN OFF THE SHOP VAC!!! The public was invited to an informational meeting in Comstock. Shortly after, the Kalamazoo Bee Club was born. I was a convert. I bought my first “Nuc” of bees a year later.
How many times would you estimate that you have been stung?
With my calm and disarming ways, I was certain I would never be a target. The answer is three.
Okay. Two more bee-related questions. Given your background in bees, what are your thoughts on these murder hornets having made it to the US? Also, can you share a fun bee fact with us?
The Murder Hornet is one more potential challenge facing the honeybee. Currently we have no concerns in Michigan, but experts will be watching vigilantly. The image of hornets ripping the heads off honeybees and decimating bee colonies is a bit chilling. Michigan beekeepers are more concerned with such things as varroa mites, insecticides that make their way into pollen and nectar, and hive beetles.
Fun fact. Bees need to use the bathroom during the winter. It’s called a cleansing flight. As soon as there is a day that reaches 35-40 degrees, they’ll leave the hive to relieve themselves. You can see evidence of the flight in the snow just outside the entrance to the hive. You don’t want constipated bees.
Behind every successful person is a caring adult. Who has been your caring adult?
My parents raised five children but it was my mother who held down the fort while my father had to travel. The five of us were born within three and a half years. I am the oldest. My mother was clever, resourceful, creative, patient, definitely outnumbered, and at times justifiably frazzled. She went back to teaching when I was in second or third grade. By junior high I would walk to her elementary school to catch a ride home. I loved to watch her teach. I look back now with the lens of a teacher and what seemed magical to me at the time was exemplary classroom management, moment to moment character education, and strong academic instruction. On her desk there was a word of the week which she integrated into daily conversation. Her students made those words their own. My favorite Barbara Loughlin reminder was “If you concentrate and cogitate, Mrs. Loughlin won’t have to reiterate.” She is the reason I decided on elementary education.
Anything else we should know about you?
My faith sees me through both trials and triumphs. I’ve been blessed with an amazing family and friends that make me laugh. I have loved every job I’ve ever had because they’ve involved children and families. I’m a little concerned about the Detroit Tigers trajectory.
Thank you, Maureen, for hanging out with us at Ask Me About My 12,000 Kids.
Tags: bees, bees in Michigan, Chime, CIS, CIS Site Coordinator, Communities In School of Kalamazoo, Farmington Hills, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Maureen Cartmill, murder hornets, Northglade Montessori Magnet School, Parkwood-Upjohn Elementary, supporting students during the pandemic, Woods Lake Elementary
