Dancing in the Classroom

By Meaghan Breen
Eagle Times Education Correspondent
CLAREMONT — Michelle Herrington starts every Friday morning at Bluff Elementary School with a dance party. Students enter with individual jigs and exchange secret handshakes with her before entering.

“The kids just love it,” she said, adding that she joins in and often hears, “’There’s Miss Herrington again, acting crazy!’”

“Sometimes you’re just having a rough morning, even as adults… just leave it at the door,” she said of her morning greeting duty. “You’re here. Let’s just have a good day.”

Her love of dance is not only appreciated by her students but by their parents too.

Herrington was brought to the attention of the Eagle Times by a Eric Whitford, a father of students at Bluff Elementary, who came to our office because he believed her exceptional efforts deserved public recognition.

“It’s almost like she has something for each of these kids when they go in,” said Eric Whitford, the father of a Bluff Elementary School student. “She knows exactly what they’ll want. She’s very involved.”

“My kids always come home excited about Mrs. Herrington, and I was impressed. She has fist pumps. She has shoulder bumps”

Herrington is a guidance counselor at Bluff and began at the beginning of last year. She has a background in psychology and education. Prior to Bluff, she was the Homeless Liaison for Vermont students. She ensured students were getting their basic needs met, including clothing, shoes and snacks.

“I made sure those barriers weren’t there so they could go to school,” she said.

Because the homeless liaison position meant traveling throughout the state without a “home base,” she decided to move on.

“I really wanted to have close relationships with students, families and staff,” she said.

The opening at Bluff provided the opportunity he was looking for.

“If it’s meant to be, I’ll get the job,” she said.

An hour after the interview, the school offered her the position.

She immediately met with every student individually, “Just to check in,” she said, adding that half had never been to the guidance counselor.

She wanted to normalize guidance as an open-door place for all.

“You don’t need to be sad to come to the guidance office,” Herrington “I just want them to be seen.”

She conducts guidance classes weekly and hosts lunch groups with kids. She learns something important about each student and engages them in the hall.

“I know every kid’s name… really just getting to know them as a person, and [for them] to know that ‘somebody at the school is there for me.’”

She may ask about their gymnastics competition or the score of their last basketball game. They play “champion rock paper scissors games” and she explained the time can serve as a quick check-in without pulling students from class.

She also provides snacks.

“It was a good thing that they felt comfortable coming in, if they needed a snack… everybody’s getting a snack, everyone’s feeling welcome,” she said.

She saw a need for winter boots. Coats are donated, but waterproof boots are often overlooked, so she led a drive and collected 50 pairs.

“I have a really good friend base,” she said. Hats, mittens, and scarfs were also provided; some were knitted, sporting a variety of colors to choose from. Sneakers were also donated. “Some of them had never had brand new shoes before,” she said. “The look on their faces [was like] ‘I get to keep these?’”

She emphasizes destigmatizing the need for help.

“It’s all about how you approach it. A good line of communication with parents, you really need that… parents feel comfortable talking to me about really serious things…”

Herrington also supports the Bluff Tigers “Paw Patrol,” a group of student leaders, and sends the kids off each day at pick-up.

She admits she struggles with reading and spelling.

“I think people think of teachers as this unicorn of a person. You’re human and you struggle just as much,” she said, joking that students will correct her. “You just own it, and you move on. For them to see that just makes the difference.”

She has been married for 14 years and has two daughters, Olivia (7th grade) and Amelia (4th grade). They enjoy camping as a family. Olivia was nominated for a Kindness Award and was a lead in a play recently. Amelia plays football and won the Rookie of the Year. Her mom was her “biggest cheerleader. If I didn’t have that… it would have been different.”

“I love it here. I really love the kids; I love the community,” she said.