KCPS Retention Coach a Resource for Teachers

Earlier this month, Ritchie Cherry stood in front of M’Kaylah Johnson’s fifth grade class at Longfellow and told her to kick up her feet while he taught her class.

“How many of you guys know what a battery does?” Cherry asked Johnson's students.

A hand shot up. “It charges things!”

“And what happens when a battery gets run down?”

“It doesn’t work!”

“And what happens to you if your battery gets run down?” Cherry asked. Once he has the students thinking about how their energy levels affect their moods, they brainstorm ways to take care of each other and their teacher.

“Was this helpful?” Cherry asked Johnson at the end of class.

“I think so. You reiterated the lessons I’m trying to put in place,” Johnson told him.

Cherry is the KCPS Recruitment and Retention Coach for KCPS. He uses his counseling background to support teachers in classrooms.

“Retention is essential," Cherry said. "We have to create different tools to allow our people to stay. I think meeting them on a social-emotional level is the first step.”

Sometimes Cherry goes to schools to teach mini-lessons like the one he gave Johnson’s class. He can reinforce classroom culture while giving teachers a few minutes to themselves. He also works directly with educators who are considering leaving the profession.

“I like to put preventatives in place. I like to be at the schools. I want to go to where the drama and trauma is happening,” Cherry said.