'We learn life skills': How pets are improving JCPS classrooms
Baylee Kittle is in her fifth year teaching at Eisenhower Elementary, but she's known her classroom pet, Boxer the Turtle, far longer.
Twenty years ago, she was a second grader at the school when she was introduced to Boxer, her classroom pet that year. When she returned to her alma matter in 2020 to teach that same grade, she was "passed the torch" of caring for Boxer.
"It's really full circle," Kittle said of their relationship.
The school's longest tenured employee became a part of the Eisenhower family back in 2000 when he was found injured — with one eye missing — in the school's parking lot. After some rehabilitation, Boxer was hired on. He was recently celebrated by students and staff, when they wore green in honor of what was assumed to be his 50-ish birthday.
"He's done a big job here," Kittle said of Boxer, who is one of at least nine pets — in addition to countless fish tanks — scattered across Jefferson County Public School classrooms. They each serve a unique role their owners describe as an intricate part of the work they do.
"He brings a calming atmosphere," Kittle said of Boxer. "We talk about how he gets nervous — they see him go back in his shell — so they are super careful about not being too loud when they get him out. It helps with our classroom procedures."
Beyond Boxer (a box turtle that can live for more than 50 years), Rangeland Elementary has four guinea pigs named Dexter, Diego, Coco Chanel and Vera Wang. Olmsted North has a leopard gecko named Bruce. And between Greathouse/Shryock and Fern Creek elementary schools, there are three bearded dragons named Thunder, Lightening and Daenerys.
Each of the teachers caring for the pets paid for them out of their own pockets, but the benefits they've provided are priceless, they said.
"Just watching how, fundamentally, it changed my classroom, I just wouldn't want to be in the classroom without animals," said Heather Levinson, owner of Dexter and Diego. "It's a loving, more kind, more welcoming space for kids, especially for kids who have some very significant challenges."
"I always knew I was a good teacher, but they made me a great teacher," she added.
Stephanie Yates, who teaches special education at Fern Creek, also said she feels she is a better teacher with a pet than when she taught without Daenerys.
"I have a lot more positive relationships with the kids," Yates said, adding she helps with the car rider line and while most students don't have her as a teacher, they know her because of the bearded dragon. "It's something that excites them, something extra to look forward to."
Beyond the excitement, pets like Daenerys provide a lot of practical lessons and benefits.
"One of the biggest benefits is you can use it as a behavior tool," said Dana Sanders, a fourth grade teacher at Greathouse/Shyrock and owner of Lightening and Thunder.
Bearded dragons, her students understand, change colors when they get stressed, so they'll shush each other if it starts to get too loud, Sanders said. When the pets roam the room, students are more conscious of their surroundings and keeping their supplies tidy. Every student has a classroom job that rotates, with Thunder and Lightening's caretaker being the most sought after position.
Their existence, she said, "makes (the students) have responsibility and ownership over our classroom."
As Erika Murphy put it, Vera and Coco are teaching kids that life and school are more than "just ABCs and 123s. We learn life skills."
Contact Krista Johnson at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How pets help students learn in Louisville classrooms