Camelot Teacher Profile: Nichol Somers
Nichol Somers is now in her 6th year with Camelot. She teaches elementary school students with social and emotional disorders at Camelot’s Oak Park, Illinois therapeutic day school. She is warm, energetic, and engaging. Her students respond extremely well to her style and teaching methods.
She came to Camelot directly from Northern Illinois University, where she majored in special education. She began teaching high school at Camelot of Des Plaines, then taught life skills with transitional students up to age 22 at Camelot of Mt. Prospect and finally when Camelot opened its Oak Park campus in 2013 Nichol moved there to run the elementary school program, teaching 1st through 4th graders, which is what she says she always wanted to do.
You say you love working with the “little guys.” Why so?
These kids come from very disadvantaged backgrounds and already have a ton of factors against them, especially at home, and I want to catch them when they’re younger to try to instill some of those foundational skills, so that when it is time for them to do their own thing they will be one step ahead.
What kinds of issues to these kids bring to the class with them?
The students who attend Oak Park are highly at risk. They don’t have a lot of parental support, they have bigger concerns like making sure they get enough food at lunchtime and that they have the right uniform when they come to school. Most of the time we have to provide them with the uniform, we had to make sure they had winter coats and gloves because many of them did not have those things. If we don’t take care of things like that they’re not going to be able to learn anything in the classroom, worrying about where their next meal is coming from. They worry if mom is going to be there when they get home or whether they have to take care of their little sister. We try to give them their basic needs so that they are able to succeed. In many cases, they don’t have positive reinforcement at home and praise that they’re doing well, so we try and make sure when they are here that it’s a positive environment and a place where they feel safe.
You provided them winter coats?
We do a lot of things here. We did a coat drive to make sure all the students had coats. We do a really big Thanksgiving dinner each year because many of our students may not have a Thanksgiving dinner at home, so all of the staff here brings in things from home and we create a giant Thanksgiving dinner. Any leftover lunches that we have we make sure at the end of the day that students take some home. These are a bunch of really great kids and we want to do anything we can for them. We have an amazing principal and she tries to figure out how to get anything we need and the people here really care about the kids. I think the kids realize that, eventually.
Once you get past all these life issues, are you able to break through academically?
Yes, for sure. The ten students in my class range from 1st to 4th grades. The biggest thing I work on in my class is reading. My main goal is to make sure that when they leave my classroom they know how to read. I don’t ever want to send a kid on who is struggling and needs a lot of assistance reading. I assess students early on and then put them into groups and I base my schedule around these groups. We drill and once they get into a routine they really enjoy it. When they see the progress that they’re making – like going back to a book they couldn’t read two weeks ago and now we go back and they can – they say ‘Holy Cow, Ms. Somers, I just read that!’ And I’m like, ‘absolutely!’ Seeing that and how they’re improving really motivates them to keep going and they want to go on to the next book.
What is your approach to educating kids with special needs?
The first thing you have to do is figure out who the kid is as an individual. That is what these kids sometimes miss when they’re in bigger classrooms. At home they’re not getting the attention that they need and when they come here they are really craving and striving for that attention. So you have to figure out what they like and what they dislike – and determine whether they are more of a hands-on learner or an auditory learner or a visual learner – and individualize their reading level. And you have to figure out things that connect with them. In a lot of the readings that I do, I try to find a story they are going to connect with. For example, I have kids who are losing teeth this year and they are going to put their tooth underneath their pillow. So I’ll find a story that’s about another kid losing their teeth and they realize that’s just like me! The idea is to connect with what we’re doing so they’re excited about it and engaged in it, and it’s not just me putting a passage in front of them and saying we’re going to read this and you’re going to answer these questions. If I have a hands-on learner I have a lot of different material like foamy letters or putting shaving cream on their desks and having them write the letters in the foam. It’s all about figuring out what works individually for that child.
You have ten students in your class. Do you have an aide to help students with their needs?
Yes, I try to involve the class counselor in any activities that we’re doing. If I see that there’s a certain student that seems a little edgy like something is going on with them I try to let the counselor know – once reading starts or once math starts – to sit closer to the student, keep an eye on him, ask him if he’s OK, and give him the attention that he needs. Also, any chance I get, when we are in groups I ask him to take certain groups because they also need that male attention. I’ll create a lesson that is easier for him to be able to do with the kids so that he’s able to interact and develop that relationship as well. I want them to see that they can develop relationships with other people, not just me, so they can see that they have options if they’re having trouble and need to de-escalate themselves.
Have you set a goal or goals for yourself this school year?
Since this is my second year with most of these same kids my goal this year is to start throwing some curve balls at them because one of the main things they need to work on is transitioning and change and how to manage that. So I want to get them on their toes and be problem solvers because when they get older without that huge support system at home I want them to be more independent and be able to figure out what I should and should not do in a given situation. My other big goal is to get the parents more involved. I’m sure there’s a lot more stress at home and a lot more negative interactions.
If the child is attending our school they are probably a handful at home as well, so the idea is to get parents involved here with positive interactions with their kids. We’re putting on a holiday talent show, we have a spelling bee and we have general parent-teacher meetings. Parents can see how well their kids are doing and gain a sense of pride. It’s equally important that the student sees that his parent is involved and cares about what they’re doing. One goal I had at the beginning of the school year is for my kids to able to recite all 50 states in order by Christmas, and they were all able to that by the middle of November. It’s amazing to hear them say it. And I want their parents to come and see that and have that proud moment of seeing their children on stage.
