Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards
Astrid Schüler
Liberty School
4946 W. 13th Street
Cicero
Kindergarten
Astrid Schüler’s story is that of the American dream. Working in a school in Chile, Schüler was asked by a visitor if she had any dreams. “In Santiago, we do not dream like you do in the U.S.,” she reflects now, “but I could not tell her this. So I told her, ‘I would like to see how they teach in other countries.’” Nine months later, she was on a jet headed for Chicago with two young daughters, two suitcases and just $200 in her pocket—and no English skills. By day, she worked at a Montessori; at night, she took classes to learn the language.
In the 12 years since, she has been inspiring children to find their own dreams. The neighborhood around Cicero’s Liberty School has a high influx of Hispanic Second Language Learners who come from low-income families. Schüler sees this as an opportunity to empower entire families. “Astrid not only loves her students, she loves and respects their parents as well,” says one former colleague. “Her ability to involve parents is phenomenal,” remarked Liberty Principal Sheila Harris.
Schüler found that many of her students’ parents could not read or write, so she took matters into her own hands. Two nights a week Schüler teaches Spanish literacy to parents. “She taught me how to read. Before, I had to have neighbors read for me. Now I can do it myself, and I can help my child,” says one thankful parent.
Schüler’s classroom is a bright, colorful and visually stimulating place. However, the children begin the day in a calming manner. They all sit on a rug with their teacher and, in hushed tones, listen to her speak. They respond by inhaling and exhaling deep, cleansing breaths, focusing them for their day.
In Schüler, the students also have a master storyteller. She uses her voice to draw in her students. And at the heart of her storytelling is a message. Whether reading a children’s book or telling a spontaneous tale, Schüler always has a moral to share.
Schüler’s students don’t just love her; they respect her, and each other. A recent visitor to Schüler’s classroom remarked that “the level of sophistication and maturity these students demonstrated was impressive. I had to remind myself that these were kindergarteners, not eighth graders!”
Schüler uses the Kagan Cooperative Learning structures in a Montessori-style environment. “Kagan group projects work well to defuse the frictions in this large and shifting population,” says Schüler.
Schüler’s warm, soothing manner also helps defuse such frictions. She tells of a boy who had problems with aggression. “I told him, ‘I love you, everybody loves you, you don’t need to punch and hit.’ The next day I heard him in conversation with a peer: ‘Edwin, why are you hitting? Don’t you know that we love you?’”
“I believe that every child deserves a superb education,” declares Schüler. The children in her kindergarten classroom certainly are getting a good start.