Principal Charlie Mort, Fairmount Elementary School, Highlands Area School Distric

Teachers and administrators strive diligently to create new ways to spark interest in learning. To what lengths will they go? How about dressing up as Scooby Doo or a reindeer? Sound far-fetched? Not for the principal of Fairmount Elementary School (Highlands Area School District,) Mr. Charlie Mort! Students have excelled in various reading and math challenges, for the chance to glimpse Mr. Mort as both of these characters and many more. No wonder parents, teachers, and students are crazy about their new principal. His enthusiasm and exuberance for learning set a precedent for everyone in the school. With pride in his students and staff, Mr. Mort expounds on the great things happening at Fairmount Elementary.

Students and teachers are excited about the new inquiry-based science program being implemented at all Highlands elementary schools. It’s the kind of enthralling hypothesizing one sees on “Bill Nye the Science Guy” or “Mythbusters.” The curriculum called, Science Companion, provides for the instruction to be completely “hands-on” experimentation for the students. After discussing a set of inquiry questions, classes perform experiments to discover the answers. “One of the extra benefits,” Mr. Mort relates, “is that students understand, in a much greater way, how science is connected to math.” He’s thrilled to see the students experimenting and learning the practical outworking of math and science in the real world.

To facilitate the hands on approach to Science, Fairmount Elementary has departmentalized the teaching. Each teacher for kindergarten through second grade conducts the Science experiments with his or her class. However, third, fourth, and fifth graders attend a science class taught by a departmental teacher. Departmentalization affords the readily available science equipment in one classroom. Another component to the program occurs is second grades, a system known as “Focus Groups.” These groups provide differentiated instruction so that students work on certain skills. As students master the skill, they move on to a different skill group. Mr. Mort adds that their math instruction works in the same way, based on student needs. He notes, “It works to their advantage, because students feel success as they move out of groups.” The groups function like stations, so there is no misconception of grouping at different levels.

In addition to the inquiry based program, Fairmount Elementary will be the site for an outdoor science “classroom,” called the Science Zone. Mr. Mort reports, “We just had an area of the playground fenced in today. This upcoming school year, students will be able to study composting, examine worms, work with rain gauges, and even use a telescope. Mr. Mort and a science coach worked to provide this outdoor facility for students from all the Highland’s elementary buildings to use.

To build reading and math skills, Mr. Mort keeps the students inspired to reach their goals in various challenges. This is the area where his willingness to be a little crazy creates an excellent incentive for kids to excel. At Christmas Mr. Mort dressed up as a reindeer, at Easter he donned a big bunny suit, and recently he let the staff paint his hair as blue as Babe the Blue Ox! These were awards for students learning math facts or reading a certain number of books. For the blue hair, students had to purchase and read books from the Book Fair as well as complete a “Reading Counts” quiz for each book. Over 300 books were purchased and read. He has even dressed up as Scoobie Doo! One of the students’ favorites, however, was the Fear Factor Challenge against another principal. The two ate worms (gummy, of course), had scooter races, blindfolded events, and even a Tug of War. Mr. Mort explains, “I like to go out on a limb for the kids. I tell them, ‘If you work hard for me, I’ll work hard for you.’”

Along with being principal, Mr. Mort also holds other important positions. He is the Homeless Liaison for homeless students in the district. “We help them find homes, and I oversee providing them transportation and any other needs they may have.” In addition, he is the Co-Transportation Director and the Overseer for the Science Department for all the elementary buildings. On top of this, he finds time to be a dedicated father of four children, Bethany, 11, Jacob,8, Cullen, 3, and Aiden, one and half years old. He and his wife, Kristen, enjoy attending the children’s little league soccer and baseball games. To volunteer his time, he has served as a coach for little league teams in the past.

Mr. Mort praises the staff he works with for being so positive. To keep everyone on a quest to be kind, students and staff are awarded each month with the Pledge Keeper Award. Every morning the students say a pledge that they will do their best and follow rules of character such as integrity, kindness, and fairness. Once a month, Mr. Mort gives about 15 Pledge Keepers awards for students and faculty.

Expounding on the most rewarding aspect of his job, Mr. Mort says, “Knowing that there are children here who need me, and that I can be here for these kids. I love being here every day. I love working with kids and parents. The hugs and handshakes that I get in the hall are BIG. They keep me coming back.”