Ashley Serio: Former Promise Scholar Lifting Up Future Promise Scholars

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 Ashley Serio, who serves as the CIS After School Coordinator for Northglade Montessori.

Ashley began her career with CIS almost six years ago, first as an AmeriCorps VISTA, then as Youth Development Worker (YDW), serving at both Northglade and Edison Environmental Science Academy. She has also worked in CIS Think Summer for five years.

Ashley grew up in Kalamazoo and attendedSpring Valley Center for Exploration and then went on to Milwood Magnet MiddleSchool. Upon graduating from Kalamazoo Central High School, Ashley used the KalamazooPromise scholarship to attend Western Michigan University. Shegraduated in 2016, earning a degree in university studies with a focus inbusiness, health, and family consumer science.

Back in February, we popped over to Northglade and popped this quiz on her. Alright, Ashley Serio: pencil out, eyes on your own paper. Good luck.

Pop Quiz

Whatis one of the best parts about being a CIS after school coordinator?

Getting to know the kids and buildmeaning relationships with them. I love helping them grow and seeing thatgrowth, well they inspire me and my staff in many ways. They help us grow, too.It’s just awesome to watch.

Howhave the kids helped you grow?

They make me want to be more patient,more present, and more aware of everything. I’ve come to understand thateveryone’s experience impacts them differently and it’s important to be awareof those experiences.

Whatis one of the most challenging aspects of being an after school coordinator?

Not feeling like I can ever doenough for the kids. I want to be there even more for them, provide them more, andthere is a limit to what I can do within the confines of this role.

Asa graduate of Kalamazoo Public Schools, who were some of your favorite teachers?

My favorite high school teacher wasMr. [Christopher] Bullmer. He passed away last year. I did slam poetry and hadhim for language arts.

Hehad a positive impact on a lot of kids, didn’t he? I’m a little surprised,though, that you took his slam poetry class.I’m trying to picture you doing slampoetry.

Until very recently, talking in front of people was one ofmy weaknesses. I’d just get so nervous. But with my work at CIS, I was encouragedboth by Cara [Weiler] and Ms. Stacy [Jackson]to do this very thing. They both pushed me beyond myself. I’m now doingtrainings and sharing information with others. I’m becoming comfortable withdoing this…The work that I do isso ingrained in my life now, it comes naturally. We all struggle, no matter howmuch we come to know and learn. But, as a CIS after school coordinator, I dohave confidence in what needs to be done and I enjoy sharing that passion withothers, too.

So,back to your KPS teachers. In addition to Mr. Bullmer, any other favorite teacherscome to mind?

Oh, yes, definitely! At Spring Valley, it was Ms. Julie Jones, my second grade teacher, and Kairi Hokenmaier, my third grade teacher, and Michelle Larson, my fifth grade teacher. At Milwood Magnet Middle School, two of my favorite teachers were Mr. Atiba McKissack [now principal at Hillside, you can find his pop quiz here] and Ms. Dawn Kahler.

Didyour favorite teachers have any overarching characteristics?

They were each dedicated to theirjobs. They built quality relationships with their students, while also showing usthat they were learning along the way, too.

I also think it says something aboutthem, the fact that, to this day, they are working with kids one way or another.

The way you just described your favorite teachers reminds me of you—the focus on building relationships and life-long learning.

Oh, my! I can only hope I can be asgood with kids as they have been. To think that I could teach kids as well asthey did…wow. I mean, I’m not a teacher like them, but I’m still helpingstudents, just in a different way.

[A CIS volunteer enters the CIS room. Ashley immediately rises to greet Ariel Slappy to see how everything is going. Ariel, a student at Western Michigan University, came to volunteer with CIS through her “Teaching as a Profession” class.]

Yourcolleague, Steve Brewer, gave us a glimpse of what his work as CIS sitecoordinator looks like during the daytime [his interview here]at Northglade. Can you give us a glimpse of what an average afternoon in thelife of a CIS after school coordinator is like?

Every day is different! I should also say that while Steve and I have different roles within the school, we work well together and we’ll each step out of our own role to step into each other’s role to get things done. For instance, you could see he was busy elsewhere in the building so I stepped in to assist our new volunteer. He does the same for me.

Theterm “after school’ is in your title, so the assumption might be that you arejust in the school after the school day is over. But here you are, and it’s noteven noon!

Yes, typically I’m checking in with studentsduring day, to see if they are okay and if they are able to get their work done.I want to be fully present with the kids and after school staff so I use this timefor program preparation and doing data work, planning for field trips andlessons and activities—all before program time begins. And then, it’s two and ahalf hours of after school programming with the kids.

Whatdoes that look like for you?

When the school day is over, ourstudents—we have about 50 in the program—come into cafeteria and the staff andI greet them. I’m always with students during dinner time. I take attendance, thestudents wash their hands and have dinner. For Black History Month, we decidedto try something new, so I’ve been reading a book aloud to the students for tenminutes each day. We’re reading GoneCrazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia.

After the students finish eatingthey go to recess. I take that time to clean up, go back to the CIS office andcatch up on paperwork. Following recess, the students split up into threegroups and go into their classrooms for their Core Time. I float around, goingin and out of each of the rooms, and supporting however necessary. Sometimes, akid may need some time away from their group so I might bring them back to theCIS space and they can do what they need to do to regulate themselves and thenget back to their room.

Tellus more about what Core Time looks like for Northglade students.

On Mondays, our focus is on SEL [Social and Emotional Learning], Tuesdays it is STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math], and Wednesdays is ELA [English Language Arts], and then, on Thursdays, the students participate in clubs.

Each class is focusing on somethingdifferent. But across the board, we’re all focused on self-management andrelationship building. We’re exploring our personal emotions and what they lookand feel like, how we can interact kindly and help each other. This has become aregular part of what we do on a weekly basis. We’ve found, through trial anderror, some great ways to engage students in ways they find meaningful.

Canyou share an example?

Sure. Last week, in [Youth Development Worker] Ms. Paige’s group, the students did a bucket-filling activity. The idea behind this is that we feel good about ourselves when we are kind to others. We can build up others by filling them with kindness. When others’ buckets are filled up, that helps to fill up our own bucket. If we are mean to others, it not only spills out their bucket, but it spills out our own as well.

So, for the activity, the kids eachmade their own buckets and randomly selected the names of three other students.They then wrote something positive about each student and put the slip in theirbucket. This was all done anonymously.

That makes sense. The anonymous bucket activity encourages the kids to respond in a more intrinsic way, rather than being driven to “be kind” for some external reward. It’s not about “Oh, look, see what I wrote about you!” It’s more about, “I felt good writing something nice about you.”

Yes! And the kids love doing thisand reading what is in their bucket!

So after Core Time in which we aredoing various activities like what I just described, the kids move into HomeworkTime. Again, I’m checking in here and there. I’m helping wherever necessary. Kidshave all different kinds of needs, so you need to meet those needs in differentways. I might find I need to work one-on-one with a student or work with agroup of students who might be confused about something related to theirhomework.

Youmentioned Thursdays are club days. What clubs do you currently have going on?

The kids get to select two options for their clubs. Right now we have “Around the World” which focuses on learning different places and cultures food, languages, customs, and traditions. We have “Olympic Club” where kids can learn about different winter Olympic sports and how to play them. We also have “Animal Club” where kids are learning about different animals. The Kalamazoo Nature Center is partnering with us on this and coming in to help us learn more about animals.

Principal Mogaji, whom we recently interviewed [interview can be found here if you missed it] said that she appreciates how you take the Montessori philosophy into account when running the CIS after school program, so that children receive a consistent message as their learning stretches into the after school hours. Can you share an example of how you do that?

I do work hard to extend what theyknow in the school day into after school as much as possible. We avoid extrinsicawards, for example. Also, the rules and norms we go by are aligned with theschool day. The Northglade students worked to develop these so we are essentiallygoing by what they chose to develop, such as being peaceful with our bodies,respecting each other, the environment, and the school. We talk a lot aboutthat.

What are you currently reading?

Becoming by Michelle Obama. I’m not very far in yet,but it’s good. It’s interesting to hear about her life from her own perspective.

What are you becoming?

A better version of myself, although I don’t know what that means yet.

What is your favorite word rightnow?

Love.

What do you love?

The kids that I work with. Food. Sleep. My friends and family.

Where is one place in Kalamazoo you love hanging out?

In the summer and spring I like to be outdoors, so I enjoy visiting Asylum Lake. Also, I like to go any place that has good food. I like to be comfortable warm, and fed.

What places for good food?

Saffron, Crow’s Nest, and Studio Grill.I’m vegan so my options are limited. Those restaurants have a great selectionfor that.

Behind every successful person isa caring adult. Who has been your caring adult?

My mom. She’s always been there forme. Most of my life it’s just been her and me. She’s supported and encouragedme. And obviously, I’m a lot more like her than I ever thought I’d be! We bothdo the same job and love it! [Ashley’s mom, Martha Serio, is on her thirteenthyear as the CIS Site Coordinator at Spring Valley Center for Exploration. In2015, she received NationalCIS’s Unsung Hero Award.] I never thought I’d want to do the samework as my mom. I grew up watching her be stressed out worrying about the kids.But as soon as I started working the CIS summer program, I loved it. Andworking for Ms. Stacy[Jackson] during that time helped me definitely figure that out.

Anything else we should know about you?

I’m not usually very good talking about myself, I guess! I mostly work,sleep and eat. I do like to travel. I want to go to Italy within the next year.

Why Italy?

It’s beautiful from all the pictures I’ve seen. I’ve been to Paris,London, and Berlin. I studied abroad in college and loved Europe in general.So, Italy is next!

Thank you, Ashley, for hangingout with us at Ask Me About My 12,000 Kids.

Tags: After School enrichment, AmeriCorps VISTA, Amira Mogaji, Ariel Slappy, Ashley Serio, Asylum Lake, Atiba McKissick, Cara Weiler, Christopher Bullmer, CIS, Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, Crow's Nest, Dawn Kahler, Julie Jones, Kairi Hokenmaier, Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo Promise Scholar, Martha Serio, Michelle Larson, Michelle Obama, Northglade Montessori Magnet School, Rita Williams-Garcia, Saffron, social emotional learning, Spring Valley Center for Exploration, Stacy Jackson, Steve Brewer, Studio Grill, Western Michigan University