The magic of education: Edgemont Elementary ‘sorts’ students into houses like on Harry Potter
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IDAHO FALLS — Edgemont Elementary is infusing a little bit of magic into education. Kids paraded the halls, chanted their team names and danced in the gym as the school launched a new teams program on Friday.
“Students are being sorted into houses (just like Harry Potter),” said Idaho Falls School District 91 Superintendent Karla LaOrange.
All 570 students, from kindergarten through sixth grade (plus 60 staff members) were sorted into one of four teams – named Ivory, Colony, Reach and Zephyr — which they will remain on for the entire time they are at the school.
“I think it’s gonna be great. It’s perfect,” said third-grader Mele Kioa, a newly minted member of Team Ivory. “I learned that Team Ivory is to share and be kind to people and help others.”
The teams are mixed with students from each grade, in a deliberate effort to create greater school unity and camaraderie.
“We can have older kids supporting younger kids based off of their team,” said Principal Wade Leavitt. “They’re going to be doing monthly challenges that they can earn points, so their team can have dance parties and different fun things as they show positive behavior or reach academic goals that we’ve set for them.”
Edgemont is the first school in District 91 to implement the teams program.
“It’s pretty well known nationwide. They call it a house system,” Leavitt said. “We’re calling it teams because we’re all about being a team here at Edgemont.”
A magical eagle egg and dance party
One by one, each class filed into a sorting room, but rather than placing a magic sorting hat on students’ heads, the team-selection process took a decidedly Edgemont twist.
As music blasted, the students were greeted by their principal, “DJ Lil’ Leavitt,” wearing sunglasses and swinging gold chains. Up front, sixth graders from Edgemont’s Student Council were dancing up a storm.
“Today is just this big dance party,” DJ Lil’ Leavitt said. “We’ve got the silly string going crazy and decorated this whole room here — just getting the kids dancing. Then at the end of today, we’re going to have a school-wide assembly where they’re going to see who’s on their team.”
Each student was invited to dance up to an eagle’s nest at the front of the room, reach into a magical egg, and pull out a pin decorated with their new team logo and mascot. They also received a matching sticker and team wristband.
“It was really fun,” said second-grader Jaxson Chaffin, who was sorted into Team Colony.
He said he’s excited to “experience what other people feel, and you can have fun with other people.”
Every team features a mascot — Ellie the Elephant, Andy the Ant, Ginger the Giraffe and Lawrence the Lion — corresponding with an attribute from the school’s mission statement — “to inspire students to be empathetic, academically accountable and goal-oriented.”
Each team is headed by two team captains from the Student Council.
“What we really hope for is we’re looking for kids to feel, when they’re here at school, they feel significant. They’re an important, unique individual student, but they belong,” Leavitt said.
He hopes the students will look out for each other because they’re on the same team.
“Maybe they’re riding the bus home with the sixth-grader that’s on the same team with them, and maybe they’re on the playground, or they see other kids that can kind of build some unity and have some courage to have each other’s back,” he said.
While the idea originates with Harry Potter, where Hogwarts students are sorted into one of four houses — Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin — Edgemont leaders are emphasizing their own, unique “team approach.”
A scoreboard on a TV in the main hall will track each team’s points and positive behavior.
All the teachers and staff are being sorted onto one of the four teams as well, and parents can even participate.
“It’s just one more opportunity to have a little bit of belonging and purpose when coming to school,” Leavitt said. “We have a very strong culture here at our school. … We’re just adding to and building onto the culture that we already have.”