Position: Instructional Math Coach
School: Smith Middle School
School District: Beaumont ISD
City, State: Beaumont, TX
Music that Describes Karolarnica
Karolarnica Adams was nominated by her principal, Shyulanda Randle-Filer.
Mrs. Adams assists students in being the best they can possibly be by encouraging participation in various activities outside of academics. She sponsored student council at her previous campus, where students were able to collect and distribute both Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to a local elderly community. Other examples of how Mrs. Adams gives back to her community are by bringing gifts to local nursing facilities to brighten the days of the people living there, reading books to the feeder elementary campuses, and hosting campus events to assist in boosting teacher morale and building a positive campus climate of family and love.
Mrs. Adams also sponsored an all-girls group geared toward helping teens deal with relationships along with strategies for dealing with stress and peer pressure. These young ladies met monthly, and they talked about things they were dealing with by participating in group discussions with community volunteers. Realizing how effective her program was, Mrs. Adams continued her charge at Smith Middle School. She co-sponsored the NJHS, where she assisted in the induction ceremony of the members and led school activities such as end of year transitional grade levels. In addition, she hosted a school carnival and participated in campus mentorships. Today, she is still in contact with students she has mentored who are now young adults.
Currently, Mrs. Adams is co-sponsoring another girl’s empowerment group called the Dazzling Diamonds. These ladies were identified based on teacher observations (sitting along, never smiling, etc). They meet weekly and participate in a group roundtable discussion, where they learn strategies for dealing with bullying, stress at home, peer pressure, self-esteem, and beautification, suicide prevention, etc. All of the girls communicate daily with Mrs. Adams, and she offers suggestions and feedback on how to deal with their situations. The girls are currently preparing to participate in the creation of a vision board where they will narrow their focus on what they want to obtain in the near future (2nd semester of this school year).
Mrs. Adams is also sponsoring the school's hospitality committee this year, which has hosted a campus “Thankful Thursday” luncheon for the staff and will be hosting the “Food for the Soul” Luncheon in February. These luncheons are meant to allow staff members the opportunity to share in a meal with co-workers and get to learn something new about another team member they may not know already. The hospitality committee has sent small tokens to team members who may be grieving due to the loss of a family member and celebrate the joining of families.
"Mrs. Adams' service to Smith’s campus and Beaumont Independent School District is priceless and deserving of a LifeChanger Award," said Randle-Filer.