feature stories
Making beautiful music together
Mar 13, 2008 9:30 AM
District 23 schools have building and success in common
Staff members at IS 392 show off their Distinguished School banner.
Two beacons of light illuminate a single state-of-the-art building in Brooklyn’s District 23.
At PS 156, the highly acclaimed Suzuki violin training method was introduced in January and IS 392 was one of only two schools in New York State to be honored for its superior Title I programs.
“These signs of success are indeed signs of the times as well, and they are not happening in isolation in this community,” UFT District 23 Representative Karen Blackwell-Alford said. “We’re proud to spread the good news.”
Antoinette Koram, a kindergarten teacher who is herself a violinist, volunteered her time to get qualified in the Suzuki system and then signed up her kids for practice on practice violins. Many of these budding Heifetzes were so keen on this musical adventure that they started taking weekend lessons, some individually and others with their parents.
Two principals helped make these high notes possible: Beverly Logan, the school leader, and Deon Levingston, the “principal for a day” who happens to also be vice president and general manager of radio station WBLS.
“When the program started we didn’t have violins,” Koram said. “Teachers were seeking grants and other ways to fund their purchase. Ms. Logan, who is extremely supportive of the arts, suggested that Mr. Levingston visit my class. He did and was so thrilled by the kids that he immediately pledged $6,000 to purchase instruments.”
WBLS had a special check presentation party at the station.
“The violins came fast and the sounds have been sweet ever since,” Koram said.
Logan, who used school funds to pay for the professional development in the Suzuki method, said, “What started out as a one-class project has sprouted into a schoolwide program.”
Chapter Leader Grace Small is equally excited by the music in the air.
“We are eagerly awaiting the final concert in the spring when all students will have their own violin to play,” Small said. “Ms. Koram has done a great job.”
Even in the current test-obsessed climate, the arts are a priority at PS 156. Last summer, for instance, two staff members attended the School of Rock in Washington, D.C., and didn’t need to “pull strings” to get 40 guitars donated to the school.
Meanwhile, at IS 392, harmony has also struck a chord.
In existence less than six years, the Brownsville school was one of only 71 “distinguished schools” nationwide to be recognized for its exemplary Title I programs at this year’s National Title I Conference in Nashville, Tenn.
Since 1965, Title I programs have served more than 150 million children in need of extra academic support in reading, writing and math.
IS 392 was cited for going beyond academics “to improve citizenship, character, enjoyment of the arts and community spirit.”
The school was further commended for its “documented student achievement gains that have resulted from the school’s innovations,” and for strengths that include “opportunity for all children to meet proficient and advanced levels of performance, strong professional development, coordination with other programs, curriculum and instruction to support high standards and partnerships among the school, parents, and community.”
“The principal, assistant principal, literacy coach, parent coordinator and I had a wonderful time in Tennessee, and we are privileged to share the honor that belongs most of all to our students who are, after all, the great vindicators of all our collective idealism and hard work,” Chapter Leader Sean Blanks said. “We believe in child-centered education, an interdisciplinary curriculum and a strong focus on thinking skills.”
Blanks said Principal Shirley Wheeler-Massey is a standards-based educational leader who supports “independent/paired student involvement, guided instruction, literacy and math centers, hands-on science and social studies projects as well as initiatives that are supported by our on-staff professionals. We also integrate the arts and cultural studies as part of our strategy of molding our students into well-rounded productive members of society. We are happy to work hard and agree, as the saying goes, that ‘success is just the polished face of practice.’”
The school has established partnerships with groups that comport with its philosophy. These include The Center for Arts Education, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Victorian Hands Foundation, which also engages students in a literacy program.
“We will continue to use our Title I funds for intervention services in core subjects and dedicated programs like Extended Day, Saturday Academy, Early Bird tutorials, small group instruction and peer tutoring,” Blanks said. “Reduction of class size is a priority for us.
“Title I funding has given us the opportunity to provide academic workshops and other support for our children when they are home with their parents. These parents are part of our school’s lifeblood and backbone and they and our fine staff work together very harmoniously.”
PS 156 kindergarten teacher Antoinette Koram with her students and with Chapter Leader Grace Small.
