Kent City — It’s 10:45 a.m. on a Friday at Kent City Middle School: Family Time.
English teacher Nicole Lindeboom is leading a drawing game for a rowdy mix of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. “I honestly really enjoy this,” she said.
Family Time is “an opportunity during the school day for teachers to build relationships,” said Principal Jordan Stuhan. It was started by Kent City Community Schools Assistant Superintendent Bill Crane, a former athletic director, several years ago.
Down the hall from Lindeboom’s classroom, another group of students is designing and testing paper airplanes. Still another is celebrating a birthday with popsicles. In the gym, four “families” are competing in a dodgeball tournament. Each family includes a small group of students from each grade level and a teacher.
Family Time teachers can be role models and mentors for students outside of academics.
“One of our main goals was to give every kid an adult,” said Curt Gerbers, behavior interventionist and former teacher, who has led groups himself over the years. Students now in high school still recognize him as part of their “family.”
Kent City Middle School recently revamped its daily schedule, shifting from six periods to seven to make space for a flexible seminar period. It’s then that Family Time groups meet.
Stuhan said he enjoys “seeing individual teachers get super creative” with the time. Groups participate in a variety of activities planned by their teachers, but students are encouraged to bring in snacks and activities to share, too. One group is planning a Super Bowl-themed party for their next meeting.
“I love (Family Time),” said sixth-grader Judith Reed. “I get to see my friends and have fun.” Judith said the perks of Family Time also include getting closer to her teacher and, of course, playing dodgeball. For eighth-grader Roslynn Roest, it’s simply “extra time to do things you like.”
Last year, COVID-19 regulations prevented Family Time groups from combining grade levels, but now, with mask mandates lifted, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are once again mixed. For eighth-grader Avery Lantzer, that’s one of the good things about the time: “It lets you get to know more people.”
Said Lindeboom, Family Time is a chance to connect with students she might not otherwise get to know. “It’s a small school,” she said, “but it makes it smaller.”
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