Over the past two years Westwind has worked to grow instructionally and Brandy Copeland, principal at Westwind Elementary, wanted to expand that growth in all areas. She invited The Flippen Group, founded by Flip Flippen, to come to Westwind and teach them about the Capturing Kids’ Hearts (CKH) process. 

Flippen developed Capturing Kids’ Hearts through his work with at-risk young people when he saw the need for a process to help adults create meaningful and healthy relationships with children and young adults. They have coordinators across the county 

CKD focuses on the five key indicators of school performance: fewer discipline referrals, improved attendance, higher student achievement, higher teacher satisfaction and ultimately fewer dropout rates. This process equips teachers with the tools they need to face the pressures and challenges they encounter in their classrooms by showing them how to connect with their students in a healthy way that creates enthusiasm for learning. 

The program emphasized the number one job of educators is to reduce students' social anxiety and empowering the student’s voice. In addition, they worked on applying classroom strategies and creating self-managing classrooms.  

“I have never had more positive feedback on any professional development than I received on CKH,” said Copeland. “The teachers are truly excited to implement what we have learned and are reporting daily that the strategies they are trying are working. It bonded our staff as a team and veteran and new teachers alike shared that this was the best PD they have had.  We will be continuing our learning and implementation throughout this school year with CKH to solidify what we have learned and continue to build upon it.  It’s exciting to be a part of it and watch Westwind grow even more!”