Written By Guest Author: (Mrs.) Linda A. McFarlane
The office clock read 6:50 on a blustery fall morning in Kansas City. Dawn had not yet broken, and headlights from a few cars cut through the semi-darkness as parents dropped children off at Crestview Elementary School in the Shawnee Mission School District. As the first pale light filtered through the bare branches of the sixty-year-old elms that surround the playground, more students arrived—some on bicycles, others walking in sibling groups down the hill after dodging traffic on a busy Metro artery. Teachers arriving for duty noticed growing clusters of children at the building entrances. They felt grateful that families were at work, but they worried about the safety of unsupervised students.
PBIS data had consistently identified Arrival as a high-risk time for student conflicts and rule infractions at Crestview. Although teachers were on duty for about twenty minutes before the bell, previous alternatives—such as lining students along interior hallway walls—proved impractical and, because space was limited, sometimes unsafe. Except in severe weather, most students continued to wait outside until the bell. When weather became extreme, staff resorted to placing students in corridors, which created its own set of problems.
In his second year as principal, John Bartel repeatedly revisited the Arrival plan. The aging building was slated for replacement within a few years and staffing had been reduced by state funding cuts. To increase supervision, Mr. Bartel often stationed himself outside to guide multi-age groups into the building in an orderly way. He followed up with counseling, consequences, and follow-up plans for students who caused trouble—measures that were difficult to enforce consistently during busy mornings.
Ultimately, Mr. Bartel decided on a more radical approach: students would wait indoors each morning in the gym until the bell rang. This solution would shelter children from bad weather and allow closer supervision. The idea had been tried before by previous administrators without long-term success, yet the circumstances left little alternative. The gym became a new supervisory post five mornings a week. Even with two additional staff members volunteering to help, the responsibility felt daunting.
To support the transition, Mr. Bartel introduced an organizational scheme rooted in PBIS expectations. Teachers presented Arrival procedures at every grade level, clarifying that students would sit in single-file grade lines with low voice levels, and that the time could be used to finish homework. Staff would dismiss students by grade when the bell rang.
Watching the students sit quietly in the gym, I—Crestview’s Reading Specialist—saw an opportunity to turn fifteen unproductive minutes into meaningful learning time. Rather than letting the minutes pass, I proposed a daily read-aloud program. After stopping by Mr. Bartel’s office to discuss a separate tutoring matter, I asked if I might read to the students during Arrival. He agreed.
Armed with a microphone and a copy of Because of Winn-Dixie, I began reading aloud with expression to nearly one hundred Crestview Cougars. That was five months ago. Mr. Bartel has since said that this literacy initiative has been the most successful strategy implemented at Crestview during the 2014–2015 school year. Each morning students begin the day immersed in stories, and the difference in engagement is remarkable—nineteen books and counting.
We select titles that appeal across grades K–6, including familiar favorites like The Tale of Despereaux, Ralph S. Mouse, Thank You, Mr. Falker, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Many books merit repeated readings. After listening, students may choose to take an Accelerated Reader (AR) test on the book. Each completed reading also enters the student’s name in a book-drawing; winners take the book home to start or add to their personal libraries.
We also plan special Arrival events. Before Halloween and again before Winter Break, primary students volunteered to learn and perform short poems. The day before Valentine’s Day we held a “Kisses for Correct Answers” oral comprehension quiz using small Hershey’s Kisses. For “We LOVE Books” week, every student received a free book to keep as a tangible celebration of reading.
During any given morning, I pause the reading to ask text-specific questions that build vocabulary, phonics, comprehension, and critical thinking. Questions range from word-level items—“What is a synonym for sulked?” or “What is the silent letter in the word wreck?”—to structural and inference prompts such as “What is the setting of this chapter?” or “Make a prediction about what the character will do next.” I ask about syllables, prefixes, vowel combinations, authorship, spelling, and rules like the Silent e. These brief, targeted interactions reinforce phonetic knowledge and strengthen listening comprehension.
Research consistently shows the benefits of reading aloud to children. From an early age, children absorb story structure—characters, setting, problem, and resolution—and expand their vocabulary and language use. Read-alouds foster empathy and enthusiasm for stories, and they create lasting bonding memories when shared with caregivers. Those early auditory and memory experiences later support independent reading. Audio books demonstrate that the enjoyment of being read to is ageless; read-aloud programs bring that benefit into the school day.
It is remarkable how much incidental learning can occur during just ten to fifteen minutes each morning. After hundreds of pages and many shared stories, students are more captivated by narrative and have absorbed substantial phonics and vocabulary knowledge without pressure. Then the bell rings, and the Crestview Cougars file to their classrooms—curious to discover what will happen next to the characters they have grown to care about. Tomorrow’s reveal waits in the gym, another day of Arrival reading and another step toward stronger literacy at Crestview Elementary.
About: Linda (Keeley) McFarlane recently retired after nearly 40 years in education, serving as a classroom teacher, Reading Specialist, English-as-a-Second-Language instructor, Kansas Accelerated Literacy Learning teacher, and elementary administrator in Kansas. Her credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Education, a Master of Science in Reading, and a Master of Arts in School Leadership, along with endorsements in ESL, Administration, and Reading. Linda now teaches adult ESL and tutors privately. She has received recognition in Migrant Education, Special Education, and Kansas IRA, and has been honored by local schools and community organizations.