Each month we feature staff members dedicated to being Solution Seekers in their schools.
Sarah Crimmins, PBIS behavior assistant at Evergreen Forest Elementary, values relationship building and making her students feel safe and heard. To her, successful solution-seeking means identifying and meeting ever-changing student needs.
Tell us about yourself.
I have worked for NTPS for over 15 years at Evergreen Forest Elementary and Salish Middle School. Growing up, I also attended all NTPS schools – Evergreen Forest, Seven Oaks, Nisqually, and River Ridge High School! Fun fact: my husband and children also went to school at Evergreen Forest! I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, camping, and hiking. We also love going to Seattle Kraken and Seahawks games.
What do you like best about your job?
I love making a difference in students' lives. I pride myself in relationship building and feel it is extremely important to make sure our students feel safe, loved, and heard. I love doing anything I can to make our students succeed. I am blessed to have an amazing staff that all work together to help all of our students. It's so encouraging to see a student succeed in something we have been working on, whether it be getting all points on their reward chart, keeping hands and feet to themselves at recess, or just being able to open up and talk about situations. That is when I know what I'm doing is making a difference, and I LOVE that!
Why is being a Solution Seeker important to you?
Our students' needs are always changing. It is important to find different solutions for our kids to help them succeed in school. It might be a daily check-in with some of our students. It might be building a one-on-one relationship so they feel safe and heard. It might be a simple smile. Every child is different, and figuring out what works best for each student might be a challenging task, but one that I love doing! Working together to seek solutions to make our school the best it can be is very important to me.
Can you share a story where you experienced problem-solving in action?
I observed that some of our students needed breaks throughout the day to do their best. We already have an amazing sensory walking path in our building that helps so many students get some wiggles out before returning to class, but I wanted to do more for the kids who needed a sensory break. So I did some research and came up with the idea of a quiet sensory room where they could come for a few minutes and take a peaceful break. This room has comfy bean bag chairs, weighted blankets, fidgets, sensory lights, a galaxy projector, a white noise machine, and some calm-down jars. This space has worked amazingly with our students. I am so grateful to my team for helping me get this room set up and ready to support our students.
