Robbinsdale Area Schools

FAIR Crystal choir teacher wins state award

FAIR Crystal choir teacher wins state award

Kimberly Keaton is the choir director at FAIR Crystal Middle School – and the Middle School Music Educator of the Year, named by the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA). The ceremony recognizing her takes place at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, in Ballroom A of the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Mrs. Keaton, who began teaching in Buffalo, New York, in 1996 and came to Minnesota 10 years ago, recently reflected on her 30-year (so far) career.

“I just truly love children. I like working with all students, especially those from underrepresented communities. Finding ways to connect with students is what I do best. I have the ability to reach and meet them where they’re at. I can take a student that hates to sing and doesn’t want to be in my class and by the end they look at me and say, ‘This wasn’t that bad.’

“Sixth graders are scared when they first meet me. I can be intimidating at times. I am strict, I am tough, and I have structure. But it’s coming from a place of love because my expectations are high. 

“I take time to get to know my students. I know who plays hockey, what upsets them, what makes them smile. Because I take that time, I’m in the hallways and building the relationships, and I am able to get them to do what I need them to do in class. 

“Yes, building relationships takes time. When you could be teaching you don’t always want to take that time, but sometimes I would rather sit and talk with students than sing. I need to make sure everything is ok with them. 

“Many of my former students, now in their 30s and 40s, are still in contact with me. That is my biggest accomplishment.”

It is only one among many. Just a year ago, Mrs. Keaton was leading her choir onstage at the Ordway Music Theater when a protest broke out in the audience – an event chronicled in Rdale’s DEI newsletter, We R All In.

“It was a little nerve wracking,” she says now, “because we didn’t know what was about to happen. It was important for me to model what I needed the students to do. I was so proud of them and how they handled themselves. We were able to come back to school and talk about it, and we watched that portion of the program.

“You do have the right to speak and we don’t want to silence anybody. We took some time and let them decompress, and they were fine.”