Jefferson educators talk about the 'power of yes'

It's a few minutes after 8 on Friday morning and the gym at Jefferson Elementary is full of excited students. Upbeat music with a heavy beat plays, and principal Leigh Ragsdale serves as the emcee for the school's second annual fashion show. Students and teachers walk the paper "red carpet" and pose for photos. The energy is undeniable. But what is even more impressive is the immediate change once the music stops and the fashion show ends.

Ragsdale goes through the daily routine, first getting nearly all students to be quiet and repeat after her several affirming statements.

It's one example of the good work happening in Cape Girardeau's South-side elementary school.

Jefferson Elementary is now a STREAM school, which stands for Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. The students participate in project-based learning opportunities that build upon classroom instruction.

Jefferson Elementary School first grader Jailaya Boyd walks the runway during a school fashion show Friday at the school in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

On Friday the kindergarten students gathered around their teacher to talk about the letter A. Then they made apple crisps using the school's new kid-friendly kitchen from Edible Education, a company founded by Codefi 1ST50K winner Ann Butler.

It's the "Mercedes Benz of kitchens," according to Ragsdale. And it was funded through donations ranging from national grants to local support.

The school is working on how to start a hydroponic garden so that students get the full experience of growing their own food and cooking it.

The idea came from a teacher at Jefferson. Ragsdale and the school's STREAM specialist Kelley Branch said exciting projects like this happen because of the "power of yes." When a teacher pitches an idea, they try to make it happen.

Ragsdale and Branch are taking their own advice. In the last 100 days the two educators started their own publishing company and wrote and produced their first book titled "Ruckus," which is available for purchase at Wish Cape or online at womenwhocausearuckus.com. They've also started to build some consulting work outside of their day job.

"It's just amazing how much you can learn and how much you can do if you just decide to do it," Branch told me earlier this week.

"A lot of 'Ruckus' is just about when you're faced with objects in your way, how do you cause a ruckus or how do you create the energy to move beyond that because there's roadblocks everywhere in life," Branch said.

Ragsdale told me it's about what lens you choose to look through.

"Life is very simple. We try to make it complicated; we make it hard," she said. "But you build everything on trust and transparency. That's just who we are. When we make mistakes, we own it. When we have success, we celebrate it. We challenge thinking all of the time. And we do that with our teachers, with our students, with our families."

As I waited to visit with Ragsdale in the school office, several students made their way in with positive referrals for good behavior. For this they received a stamp of their choosing and at the end of the day they will be called back to the office to take a photo in front of the bulletin board that includes the message: "Future World Changers."

That's exactly the message kids need to hear, and it's encouraging to see the team at Jefferson not only reinforce positive behavior but identify creative ways to elevate students and empower teachers.

Lucas Presson is assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.