The Chanticleer Way: Morning Assemblies set the table for success at Ord Elementary
The Chanticleer Way: Morning Assemblies set the table for success at Ord Elementary
By Tyler Dahlgren
It’s another morning in Ord, early enough for headlights that shine through a comfortably crisp air that signals the beginning of fall.
It’s a Wednesday, “Hump Day” as it’s come to be known, but they don’t need clever sloganeering to manufacture enthusiasm at Ord Elementary, where toe-tapping, upbeat music greets students as they pile out of minivans, sedans and school buses.
Between the outdoor speaker system and the steady stream of vehicles stands the school’s counselor, Colin Lansman, who spends every morning opening doors and welcoming kids with a handshake and a warm smile.
“This is the best 15 minutes of my day,” Lansman said. “It’s all about relationships. That’s where it starts. Before we can ever invite the students into our story, or expect them to trust us, we have to let them know that we want to be a part of theirs.”
Lansman is dressed, on this morning anyway, how you would expect a school counselor to dress, but it’s not uncommon to see him donning the school’s mascot or some other crazy get-up. He’s even greeted students from the roof before bellowing a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to principal Doug Smith.
“He’s dynamic,” Smith said of Lansman. “One of the most kid-focused educators I’ve ever been around.”
Superintendent Dr. Heather Nebesniak says the same for Smith, who carried on the morning assemblies during the pandemic by broadcasting over the intercom or by standing in the middle of the school, which has a unique, open-concept structure, and utilizing his booming voice. In fact, Nebesniak has been astounded by the Ord staff since she arrived here in 2018.
"The administration is fairly new in its time together, but there are strong cultural and historical ties to our district throughout the staff," she said. "That makes us very community-centered."
They’re all Chanticleers here, and this is their collective morning crow. A tradition that started a dozen years ago, these morning assemblies have become an integral piece to the school’s special culture.
“The best part about our morning assemblies is seeing all of your friends,” said fourth-grader James Edwards. “It makes you really happy and gets you excited for the day.”
Sure there are teachers carrying cups of coffee, but the morning assemblies render caffeine pretty much useless.
“Walking around and talking with friends, it gives you energy,” said fifth-grader Jackson Johnson.
The ritual begins with a walk, which the students and their teachers take together.
That stroll leads into the assembly, which is led on most days by Smith, though it’s not unusual for other staff members to step in. It’s a daily celebration of student birthdays, the school’s sports teams and other extracurricular groups. And it always includes a message from Mr. Smith, who arrives on most mornings around six to prepare for the day in a peaceful hour of quiet.
“It’s a message that is clear, concise, and gets us all on the same page so that we know how to either live our life or start our day or what we’re working on that particular week,” Smith said.
The motivator behind the assemblies, Smith explained, was to encourage kids to interact socially while ultimately setting the table for their success. What it’s done for the school’s culture has been immeasurable and undeniably invaluable, both for students and teachers.
Each assembly is a fresh start, an opportunity to be better than the day before.
“Not everybody starts their day great, but we can control how everybody starts their time here at school,” Lansman said.
P.E. teacher Dexter Goodner appreciates the fresh air and, right on brand, the exercise. But his appreciation for this innovative exercise runs much deeper than that. He sees students cheering wildly for his football team after a big win or clapping like crazy for one of their peers celebrating a birthday and feels both invigorated and grateful to be in Ord.
“We have the best staff, and the best kids,” said Goodner. “They just bring it every day. Mr. Smith talks about that all the time, about how the kids really bring it. They do, and their entire community is behind them.”
Ord isn’t a perfect community, Lansman concedes, but there’s no place like it. He grew up always knowing he’d end up back here, raising a family of his own and teaching at this school, but can’t put a finger on what makes this place special.
“I guess it’s just ‘The Chanticleer Way’,” Lansman said. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Dr. Nebesniak ended up in Ord because of “The Chanticleer Way.” She knows that may sound a little cheesy, but it’s true. When it came time for the former principal to step into a superintendency, Nebesniak weighed all of her options carefully. She did her research.
One day, her husband surfed his way across the web and onto Ord Elementary’s Facebook page. He saw the morning assemblies, all the great things happening in the district, and it wasn't difficult to imagine his family calling this place home.
“I think we want Ord,” he said.
His wife saw what he saw and agreed.
“It became apparent, very early on, that they had dynamic, student-centered administrators and teachers, and really special students,” Nebesniak said. “You could hear it and feel it just by reading about the pride they had in the things that they did for their kids.”
The final vehicle to pull up to Ord Elementary is a big, yellow school bus.
Students step off, one by one, and high-five their favorite counselor. They instantly find an extra pep in their step, stepping to the tune of the music towards the school. Their smiles grow wider.
“Nobody gets left out here,” said sixth-grader Hunter Miller. “They’ll always help you out if you’re feeling down.”
The kids gather with big groups of friends, they laugh and wave at the photographer, making him feel perfectly at home in a place he’d never been before. One student takes off their Chanticleers wrist band, and asks Mr. Smith to give it to their guest.
Now how cool is that?
“This, in a way, lends our students to be open to sharing goodness with other people,” Nebesniak said. “It sets such a strong foundation for the student experience at our school, a framework that says this is a good place where you belong. It’s empowering.”
When it comes time, the students begin their morning walk. They circle the building and come to a stop on a slab of pavement near the playground, where Mr. Smith awaits with his daily message, one he’s been working on since the break of dawn.
The message is always carefully crafted, intentional and thoughtful.
Most importantly, it’s always well-received.
“I don’t have the hard data to show this makes a difference,” Nebesniak said. “But I know, in my heart, that it does. Teaching, after all, is a work of heart. You have to go with that heart.”
It’s a new day in Ord, and there’s no place they’d rather be.