I used to teach at Frenchtown Elementary in Montana. We used School Tools TV there and the kids really benefited from it. The kids at my new school here in Lynnwood are struggling with some skills that I noticed my last students didn’t. I think watching the videos pre taught my previous students skills that the kids at my new school haven’t learned. I’m hoping I see some changes by utilizing the videos!

Thanks,
Ms. Holt

Thanks so much Rusty- I’m sure thankful for your shows- it’s a great springboard into class discussions and I always appreciate your frankness and use of kid friendly vocabulary.

I think Rusty’s daily messages are in student oriented language that can be applied immediately. Many times we use his question of the day to add to our morning meeting. We look forward to using Rusty’s messages for years to come.

We watch Rusty every morning and then have a class discussion on the topic of the day. I use my Smartboard to watch the show and my kids and I love it. Working with high risk native children, many of the things Rusty brings up allows us to breach the very issues the kids face. Kids that participate get Class Dojo points so they are eager to jump into the discussions.

We use Rusty May School Tools every day after lunch recess. It helps us to re-focus before we continue our day. We discuss the important message and it is amazing how on point they are. If we are having problems with tattling, Rusty reads our minds and talks about that topic on that week. He really understands how the classroom works. If we are having problems finding a friend to connect with, he teaches us tools on how to be a good friend. They remind me if we miss a Rusty May episode because of a no school day so we have to go back and watch it. We love Rusty May videos!!!

“The most exciting event of the school year was when Rusty May visited Pine Butte on April 11th. For those who don’t know, Rusty May is a renowned educational/behavioral expert who works with students and teachers on character education, social skills, classroom management, bullying, and building positive relationships with kids.

Each day our students watch a short video from Rusty that prompts discussions about real-life situations and behaviors that our staff uses to educate our students about social skills, managing emotions, bullying prevention, work ethic, collaboration, and various other topics.

Honestly, there is not a superstar, an athlete, nor a musician that we could have brought to Pine Butte who would have been more famous than Rusty May! It was exciting to watch our students react to his presence in the school.” – Aaron Skogen Principal – Pine Butte Elementary

I wanted to thank you for yesterday’s video for k-2 titled Look. I have a girl in my class who is deaf, so this video related to us more than you know. My girl was so excited to see your picture of the hearing aid and showed everyone hers. After the video we always talk about our feelings, but everyone was excited to talk about this girl and your video. Again, thank you very much for all you do.

Hi Rusty!
Shout out to you and your great videos! My students love them, and more importantly they are learning and transferring what you’re teaching. We watch every day and often spin into a quick discussion, role play, reflection, etc. I’ve even had parents express positive differences in their children, who attribute what they’ve learned to “our friend Rusty”.

I’ve appreciated watching you grow as well, as you’ve expressed in your videos. It’s a powerful message to students and teachers that we all learn and continue to grow through adulthood.

Thanks for all you do! Have a great day!

I have been teaching thirty two years. I have used Schooltools TV in my third grade classroom faithfully for the past four years in Anderson, CA. I don’t know what I would do without it. Your values match mine perfectly and the program helps me to make sure I talk to my students on a daily basis about what really matters. Thanks for your hard work on this. You are making a huge difference in the world, and I am sure you are not even aware of how much influence you are having on people.

Thank you so much for coming to Gerber. The kids love seeing you in person. Our class was the one that came in a bit early for the 3-5 grade group and we got to visit with you for a few minutes. They really enjoyed that. I truly want to thank you for all you do for the kids. You make a bigger impact with your show than you can probably ever dream. We have some really powerful discussions because of you and many kids are honestly helped greatly by you. Thank you very much. Keri Spengler

I wanted to send you a special thank you for your message from today. Your question about why life requires change in order to keep moving forward really got my kids (5th grade students) to think. We had a great discussion about having to act differently when we grow up. How we act as young children may be cute at 2 or 3 years old, but it is not cute when you are older. People have to learn this lesson, and this is a lesson that I have been concentrating on with my class this year.
My kids also had great questions about how to handle their friends if their friends do not make good choices and do not change as they grow.
Thanks for all you do to help today’s children. A shout-out to you for your program! Thanks!!!!

Rusty, Thanks for the shout-out this past week. It was a huge surprise and the students loved it! I really appreciate your insightful lessons. Your ability to teach such important life skills that are so easily understood is phenomenal. We watch you first thing each morning and I can’t think of a better way to start our day!

Dear Rusty: My class of 34 fourth grades (yes, 34!!) actually “whoop, whooped” when I put on one of your videos for the first time last Tuesday. We watch every day. In fact, we end our day with your message. It’s a great way to get us calmed down, watch, discuss, and leave for the day on a positive note. Thank you so much for doing these! They truly do mean a lot to our kids.

Good afternoon Rusty! I teach third grade so we watch the elementary videos. Thank you from the teachers, students, and parents. We appreciate you teaching our children some very important life skills. It is amazing the impact a one minute video can have on the young minds of today’s children. We look forward to hearing what new advice you have for us each morning. After the video, we extend the activity by discussing the Tool Box question before our day’s activities begin. I am excited for the new topics this year.

Greetings Rusty,

Our school has jumped on your videos and our students love it. Recently, a video was played at an assembly and it was super fun to hear the entire K-5 say your ending together – powerful! A few of my colleagues mentioned they have already emailed you and I wanted to let you know what my second graders think.

We watch your daily video every morning as part of our morning routine. After watching we have a quick discussion and the kids are engaged and ready for our day. At first we were watching the 2-7 video and I thought they were a bit fast and over the heads of many of my students this year and a friend/colleague recommended I try the K-2 video and they are perfect! Great speed, engaging pictures, catchy tunes, and kid-friendly language. At the end my students always say “Peace out, Rusty!” and of course I join them for many reasons, but mainly because it is fun!

Just love giving positive feedback and thought you would enjoy some more!

Your show was the best addition to my school day. As the school year unfolded my class had a reputation to be proud of! Thanks.

We cannot say thank you enough for this gift that you give us each morning. My students love listening. We have our own personalized journals and we answer your question in our journals and then share what we’re thinking. It’s been amazing to watch my students transform some of their bad behaviors.

Last week especially was important for us. Your 3 ideas of Telling your brain what to do, Slowing down and Being brave has really stuck with us. We even have it up on a poster. Some of my kids who often get sucked into the off task behavior are really feeling the power to say no as they are “being brave” to stand up for what they know is right. We have had so many special moments this week in being able to recognize students as they are brave and as they are slowing down.

Thank you for taking your time to put this together and offer it to educators at such a reasonable price! My students all wanted you to know that they are really thankful for you this Thanksgiving as well.

Hi Rusty, Just a big thank you for the morning programs. Being the only adult in the building, your presence in the morning is like having a colleague on site, at least for 1 minute, give or take. My students looked forward to our Schooltoolstv time every day and your program prompted many very valuable discussions. Your program also helps us meet our alternative standard requirement for our curriculum in the area of guidance. We’re out for the year, all of us having exciting plans for the summer. Thanks again for being there for us. See you in the fall.

I really appreciate your internet safety messages this week. This is something that doesn’t get discussed much at the upper elementary level and I know many of my students play online games. As we approach summer, we’ve been able to have some very meaningful conversations about the internet, safety, and personal information. I know this summer they’ll have the knowledge they need to make responsible decisions. We cleared up a lot of myths and dos and don’ts that wouldn’t have come up unless you had this series.

I wanted you to know that my 6th & 7th grade students have accepted your challenge to develop the habit of being more respectful. We made a commitment paper and hung it in the front of the room and we all signed it. We then check ourselves throughout the day to see how we are doing. The students are excited about changing our school by being more respectful.

Wanted to share that I just got a new student, an 8th grader with Autism, who wouldn’t talk about feelings during our morning group the first 2 days. He specifically said he didn’t like talking about feelings. I used teachertube to show a video of yours on Thursday, just to see how my class would react. It was the positive thinking one… and as soon as you gave the peace out, my student looked at me and said “I feel happy!” Pretty cool! Thanks for providing such a powerful tool for us teachers!!! Looking forward to many more cool moments like that!

I am an inner city teacher in Chester, PA and I was just writing to tell you how much I love your daily videos! My fellow co-worker and I are the only teachers with Smart boards in 5th grade, and we watch the videos every morning as a start to the school day. Our students are really enthusiastic about the messages you are sending to them each day. They will even remind us if we forget to put in on first thing in the morning! It is so refreshing to see our population of students to respond in such a positive manner. Ms. Rogers and I would just like to thank you for making such a worthwhile website!