KATIE CHRENKO

Walnut Grove Elementary 2024 Teacher of the Year

ELEMENTARY MUSIC
12 Years of Teaching; 5 Years at Center Grove 

To me, teaching is important because our children are our future. It sounds so cliche, but there is no truer statement. Our students depend on us. Sometimes we see our students for more hours in the day than they see their families. The relationships that we build with these children are of critical importance. I can be the most educated teacher out there, but I will never truly reach my students until I get down on their level and show them just how much I deeply care for them first. The challenges and social issues that our children are facing now are more than ever before. They depend on us to be a safe place. They entrust us with their struggles and frustrations. They rely on us to help guide them through some of the most critical years of their developing lives. Children are naturally curious, courageous, inventive, and resourceful until they learn or are told not to be. 

As an educator, I have the rare opportunity to spark and continue fueling that drive to learn and grow.  I have the opportunity to teach them perseverance when they struggle to master a skill. I have the opportunity to teach them to be an encourager and supporter when their classmates experience a victory. I have the opportunity to teach them confidence when they face challenges. I have the opportunity to guide them onto the path of becoming a leader. I have a front seat to it all. I am there to witness their fears, their failures, their growth and their victories. I have the rare opportunity to play a part in all of their successes and failures. We are a team. We win together, and we lose together. It’s my job to leave them better than I found them, and it’s my job to prepare them for what comes next.  

I am responsible for teaching them specific grade-level content in preparation for the next school year, but I am also responsible for giving them the tools and skills that they need to navigate and master the road ahead. My entire focus from day to day is in music. Music is the one universal language that we all have in common. No matter who we are or where we are at, we can connect through music. Music is vital to our lives, and it can reach deeper than almost any other strategy or intervention out there. Music is math, ELA, ,science, history, current events and SEL all wrapped into one. Oftentimes music allows children to master core content such as math through complex rhythm counting and measure construction. Playing, singing, writing and performing music also allows children to work other parts of their brain while mastering these skills and concepts.      

I am a true supporter of equal opportunity education for all. Thankfully my music room allows for this easily. We are able to connect through music no matter what physical, mental or emotional challenges lie between us. With all of that being said, I honestly feel like I am the one doing the learning a lot of the time. I would love to have all the gifts and skills of the world's greatest educator, but honestly, if I am ever to a point where I am no longer learning…what am I still doing here…  

I want to continue to learn and grow every single day alongside my students. I want to stay humble enough for us to learn from each other. I want us to partner in this journey together and help each other make it to the finish line. We are a team, and I can’t do my job without them. I get the credit on paper, but they are right there with me every step of the way!