Camelot Teacher Profile: Chris Wooten
Chris Wooten is beginning his third year as middle school team leader at Camelot of Escambia County, Florida. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Criminal Justice with a focus in juvenile justice from Florida A&M University. He came to Florida from his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, on a football scholarship and when he wasn’t busy playing defensive tackle he was tackling the books in the classroom, earning his two degrees. He began his Camelot career with the 2012-13 school year.
What are your responsibilities as team leader?
My main responsibility is to make sure the operation of the middle school side runs smoothly. That means my teachers are being supported by my behavior staff and my behavior staff is being supported 100% by me.
As you begin your third year what kind of evolution have you seen at the school?
I arrived with a new administration in 2012, Mr. Drew as executive director and Mr. Maxwell as operations director and they have overseen a huge change over the last two years in the focus of the school. We have gone from being a behavior school that dealt primarily with behavior problems to being a school with a focus on educating the kid. And education has been our main priority.
Considering you are assigned students with disciplinary problems, how can that be?
We have a great staff and we are very intensive on instilling our norms and staying consistent with our norms. Those norms drive your culture and once your culture is set everything else pretty much falls right into place because now they see and know what to expect from staff and what’s expected of them by staff. It makes it really easy when you get a new student coming to our school he becomes part of the culture from the beginning.
Are you making it sound easier than what it is?
This is our craft and everyone who works here treats it as their craft. We’re always looking for ways to grow. We’re always learning and always building. I can honestly say we have a great team, and every day you’re learning something new and you’re able to apply something new.
You get a wide variance in capabilities, both behaviorally and academically. How do you accommodate everyone’s level?
As an alternative education school, our overall population size is smaller than a traditional middle or high school and our class size is a little smaller. Students who are willing and who are looking forward to trying to get right academically and get to their appropriate level are afforded the opportunity to have some extra assistance and some extra help. Behaviorally, my main approach is, I tell the kids I’m not impressed by what you did to get here and I’m not concerned what you did to get here. I treat every child the same, as a student who’s made a mistake and you’re being given a second chance. I tell every student; the way you will be treated here will not be dictated by what you did to get here but by what you show me while you’re here. Most of the time, just making a student aware of how we see him gives him something to look forward to. They understand if they mess it up it’s on them. But they all know they come in with an opportunity to do something positive and better.
How large a role does the peer-to-peer accountability play?
That’s huge. We really try to put our SGA (student government association) our Tiger Sharks and our Executives in position to drive our culture. As the school year goes on and you’re able to identify your positive leaders and negative leaders you’re able to put those kids in the kinds of positions that our students for the most part respond well to. A positive leader comes in, you can tell he’s respected by his peers, and he uses his influence for positive reinforcement. We also identify influential kids who use their influence to keep trouble going at the school. We work on that kid to convert him to use his leadership skills for positive influence.
What is your ultimate goal with a student sent to you and how long should it take you to reach that goal?
You take however long you need with the student with the ultimate goal of modifying his behavior, getting him to grade level and prepare him to go back to regular school. How long a student stays with us is determined on a case by cases basis. No two kids will ever be the same and so the way we work with each student is different. We’re committed to giving each child the time he or she needs to be completely prepared to transition back to regular school – and to not return.
You’re originally from Cleveland. What’s the biggest difference you see from schools up north to the one you’re working at now?
We have breezeways down here, not hallways. When I first got here I was looking for hallways but when you step outside of class here you step outside, into the breezeway. I think that especially helps in a structured program like ours. You come out of class and you don’t feel confined. You can breathe in fresh air.
How are you feeling about LeBron James coming back to Cleveland?
I was actually visiting home when he made the announcement and the city went crazy. I will be rooting for him and when I go home for Christmas I will definitely try to go to a game.
