PD Profiles: Kim Crunkleton-Alix By Matt Spence

The end of each school year always brings news of teachers and staff members retiring, and this year, one of those is long-time Lower School science teacher, Kim Alix, who came to Providence Day in 1985. I caught up with her in the Science Lab to talk with her about her time at PD and her plans for retirement.

Beginnings

Kim Alix (formerly Crunkleton) has lived in and around Charlotte for most of her life. She was raised in Belmont and went to college at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. After spending some time at Briarwood Elementary as a Kindergarten and first grade assistant, she came to Providence Day as a third grade teacher.

I asked her what the school was like when she arrived, and she said that it was much smaller. There were only two classes per grade level, and the classroom arrangements and curriculum were "very, very traditional." However, she and her fellow new Lower School teachers wanted to create a different environment "that was more exciting and student-centered." Alix said that when Lukie Rousseaux became the Head of Lower School, things slowly started to change.

With Rousseaux as the Lower School Head, Alix felt supported to try new, creative approaches in her classroom. She recalled a year when her students were reading Charlotte's Web, and she thought it would be interesting to have them use the main characters and plot to create a short play version of the book. Her stronger readers took on the task of creating the script while the rest of the class created and decorated the set. "That way, everyone felt like they were a part of it," Alix said. When everything was ready, the students performed the play for their parents.

Alix has always encouraged her students to take the initiative in their learning, and she would do whatever she could to support it. One year, her students wanted to create a reading center in the classroom. So, Alix asked them what sort of reading center they wanted, and they decided that they wanted it to take the shape of a dinosaur. She recalls saying, "That sounds magnificent! Let's do it. I've never done this before, but we'll learn together." Over the next several days, she and her students created a reading center using chicken wire, two-by-fours, paper mache, and paint. Math, reading, and language arts were integrated during the process. The hollow, six-foot stegosaurus reading center occupied the middle of the room, and Alix arranged the desks around it.

This approach to teaching and to her students epitomizes Kim Alix. She said that she has always followed her impulses to try new things, even when she wasn't sure how they would work out. "Some of my best teaching has been when I didn't know a thing about what [the outcome would be], how I was going to teach it, and when I learned along with my students." She added that she feels fortunate to have had good administrators who supported her and her teaching style.

She also believed that it was essential to be herself with her students. "I tell my kids that I'm ADHD, and that's my super-power – I can be creative! I feel that it's important to show kids that I'm human and what my faults are. I feel like it normalizes things that they may have and feel negative about."

Changes

When I asked how the school had changed since she first arrived in 1985, she remarked on how much larger the campus has grown, both in size and in numbers of people, and how many new buildings there are. "Our campus and grounds have been beautifully designed with both comfort and functionality in mind, but I miss the woods that we used to have." Alix explained that she agrees with the research of Richard Louv who asserts that children benefit socially, emotionally, and physically when they can play and interact with nature. Alix added that by creating ties to the natural world, "most children develop an investment and a sense of stewardship in our planet, something terribly needed right now."

However, she noted that the growth of the school has brought welcome changes as well. "I think the students are so much more knowledgeable about the world around them, which is a good thing. I would like to think that they're kinder to each other. I think in Lower School, I see a lot of kindness displayed." Alix feels that one of the reasons for this is because it is a focus of the Lower School curriculum. "We emphasize that social skill of being kind, and we have an emotional curriculum and social curriculum now that is integrated in all subject areas. It’s changed the way many students interact with each other."

When asked about how she has changed over the years, Alix laughed and said, "Well, I don't ride my skateboard around school anymore," but then she said, "I've always been the square peg trying to fit into a round hole, but my edges have softened somewhat, and I don't stick my foot in my mouth as much as I used to. And I don't dress as wildly as I used to!"

"So I have changed in that regard. But, I don't think my basic personality has changed. I still don't have a filter, although I've tried to develop one. I think I'm always going to be one of those people that doesn't have a filter. I still am very transparent, honest, and self-reflecting. I guess I was just born that way."

Alix paused for a moment and started to talk about having breast cancer in 2004 and how that affected her. "I think having cancer taught me a ton. I had breast cancer, and it was metastatic breast cancer, and this school took care of me like you wouldn't believe." She said that the person in charge of PD Cares (a group of parent volunteers who provide support for people in the community) was a nurse, and "she knew exactly the type of things that I needed." Alix said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support: a colleague helped her daughter, Isabella, with her school work, parents came to her home to plant flowers in her yard and sweep her sidewalk, and people would leave little gifts at her door for her to discover. Alix said that the help PD provided gave her the energy to heal and to be a mom to her daughter when she came home from school every day.

I asked her how having cancer had changed her, and her answer might seem surprising to some, but for those who know her, it's in line with her easy-going, optimistic attitude. "I really have learned to appreciate the small, little things that you overlook every day. Right? And it just taught me to be grateful for everything. I have looked at cancer as a gift. It was not a 'why me?' I just look at it as a gift because I learned so much about what is important in life. I learned how to bloom where I was planted."

Alix said that the support of the administration and the parents is a large part of what has compelled her to work at PD for 36 years, but the relationships she has with students are the most important. "I get my energy from the students. Right? And being a science lab teacher and doing so many fun, cool things [I get to see] so much happiness. It's like coming to work every day and playing with your best friends. I mean, it really is."