Notes
Coaching meeting 9.11.26
Matt Ricketts and I met for our first coaching meeting on September 11, 2026 at 9:30 AM. The purpose of this meeting was to get to know one another through answering a series of questions which I had sent to Matt prior to the meeting.
Professional Experience
Matt received his Bacher or Science in Education and then his Masters in Education with an emphasis in Stem.
Pathway to Teaching
Matt grew up in a family of teachers; his father was a music teacher and his mother a kindergarten teacher. As a high school student, Matt wanted to pursue a career in teaching, but was convinced by others to pursue other occupations. So, for approximately 10 years he worked in other career fields, but then decided to pursue his degree in education from Ottawa University. He has now been teaching 4th grade in Olathe for the past 12 years.
Challenges or Worries
Matt’s biggest fear with taking this course is the workload. After perusing the course, at this point it seems like a lot and he is worried about keeping up with the workload.
Typical day
Matt is the father of 3 children, so his day begins with dropping his children off at school. Two of his children are middle schoolers, and one is in 3rd grade in the same school where Matt teaches. After he arrives at school he usually has 20-30 minutes to get ready for the day. The day begins with specials, moves into math, then recess, math block, word study, math group work, lunch, read aloud, core reading /science and social studies.
What are the students working on?
Right now, the students are working on figurative and literal heart! Figurative language is being discussed in ELA and in science the circulatory system. In math students are working on place value, and in social studies are just beginning to study regions.
Classroom Guiding Principles
The guiding principles of Matt’s classroom include kindness and the emphasis that we are all on the same team. We are not perfect, and that’s o.k.!
Comparison of his classroom to a….
Matt compared his classroom to a watercolor painting. It’s messy at times, but when you look at the whole picture it is a work of art!
Thinking about the course and students in his classroom, what might be some areas for further exploration?
Matt indicated that they had just received results from initial FastBridge testing and there seem to be a couple of students who need work with fluency, so this might be an area for exploration.