A master class in respect: Fort River counselor honored for emphasis on equity, inclusiveness and cooperation

AMHERST — Observing Fort River School’s students of color being disciplined more often than their white peers, and often being cited for disrespectful and defiant behavior, school adjustment counselor Ruthie Killough-Hill led an effort to identify and confront the root cause of the disparity.

After a year of work with students and teachers, in classrooms and individually, focused on the meaning of respect, the school culture improved, with a focus on equity, inclusiveness and belonging, and using the children’s book “Last Stop on Market Street” as a model of accepting others for their differences and promoting kindness and empathy.

“It was a great tiered approach,” Killough-Hill said. “Our referrals for disrespect went down.”

With a focus around restorative justice and circle work for children who are in conflict with each other, and doing work with white students and staff centered on anti-racism, Killough-Hill is the recipient of this year’s Roger L. Wallace Excellence in Teaching Foundation award.

Killough-Hill is the ninth individual winner, given annually to a teacher at an Amherst or Pelham elementary school in recognition of Wallace, who retired in June 2012 after teaching for nearly 40 years at Fort River. A celebratory dinner will be held Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. at Valentine Hall at Amherst College.

Paul Wiley, a member of the foundation, said Killough-Hill has a strong commitment to social justice, promotes equity in the classroom and ensures equitable benefits for all students.

“She has done all that,” Wiley said. “She also demonstrates knowledge of the elementary school curriculum and prepares students for the society of present and future.”

On one recent afternoon, Killough-Hill spent time with three fourth graders in her office to hone their skills in cooperation and ensure they were each able to participate and be heard.

“I work with kids in a lot of ways,” Killough-Hill said.

Using blocks of all shapes and sizes to build a tower as high as they could on the table, the students worked together, while also following instructions as the blocks rose higher and higher, determining whether another piece might cause the entire stack to fall.

Both Adela Kittrell and Ella Templeton-Suzuki complimented fellow student Rubi Polanco for the suggestions and leadership in making the block tower.

“I think she made good decisions,” Ella said.

Killough-Hill noted the students used critical thinking of how best to approach the project and learning from different perspectives, which can be applied throughout the school day and beyond. “Critical thinking is so important,” she said.

Killough-Hill, who lives in Amherst, has been at Fort River since 2012, following 11 years in the Holyoke public schools as a clinician and adjustment counselor, and brief stops in Turners Falls and Northampton. She also brings some experience from her time abroad, including as a child in Scotland and later in El Salvador, where she was a music educator.

When assisting students in conflict from her office, a chart on the wall allows them to identify whether it’s a huge problem, a tiny problem or a problem of some magnitude between. These children can then talk about what they do when really upset, how they can resolve issues if another student has a different idea, how to keep a calm body, and how to remain part of a school community with each other.

“We talk about how to be in a community,” Killough-Hill said.

She has also brought anti-racism culture to entire classrooms, in smaller groups and one-on-one, and has led trust walks with students. “If you’re always being honest with someone, they will trust you,” she said.

Killough-Hill encourages mentoring, getting older students to work with younger students. As someone who is conversational in Spanish and with the Caminantes dual language program housed at the school, she understands how an older Latino child mentoring a younger child in the native language can be a positive experience.

Killough-Hill cites colleagues, including Elizabeth Pretel, Hala Heather Lord and Monica Bhowmik, for their work on “Undoing Racism,” a staff training initiative. They also helped teach a course in ethnic studies and professional development in anti-racism, co-leading a white educators for racial equity program.

“Our community at Fort River has been very supportive,” Killough-Hill said.

She also appreciates efforts to be in touch with families, like Wallace was. “Roger Wallace is someone who went to people’s homes and involved families in supporting kids,” Killough-Hill said.

Wallace comes back on occasion to meet with classes.

“Roger talks about getting to know kids and connecting to how they learn, and getting to know kids and their abilities,” Killough-Hill said. “I value that, and I feel like a lot of teachers do here.”

During the pandemic, working with community groups, Killough-Hill made sure that she went to neighborhoods to ensure weekly in-person connections would remain intact.

“I want families to feel they can enter into the school and we can also go to them,” Killough-Hill said.

She is also a guidance counselor for kindergartners, trying to figure out the children who are new to school and how they get along with each other and showing them support for being away from their parents. On the other end of the spectrum, Killough-Hill has been able to go to the Amherst Regional Middle School for follow-up with students, helping them understand what they know and use those lessons as they enter their teen years.

Her time at Fort River has been rewarding.

“It’s been a really great place to work, and to know the kids and families,” Killough-Hill said.

Tickets for the dinner are $30 and are available from the elementary school secretaries, with payment by cash or a check made out to “Wallace Award Foundation” and given to the school secretary, or sent to Russ Vernon-Jones, the foundation’s treasurer, by Venmo @Russ-Vernon-Jones or by PayPal at russvj@gmail.com.