BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT -- As Joanne Fipps makes her way through the halls of Fourth Street Elementary School, pupils often stop the grandmotherly figure for a quick hug, or to show off their latest accomplishments proudly.
"Want to see my poster?" a small, red-haired boy shyly asks, as Miss Fipps, a volunteer at the school, pauses to offer words of encouragement, and one of her famous hugs.
On her birthday and holidays, it's not unusual for the 69-year-old Newport native to collect as many homemade gifts or greeting cards as the teachers.
And in the classes where she volunteers, children eagerly line up to read to her, which is her primary function.
"The kids all like the hugs and the personal attention," said Yvette Farrell, who coordinates the Help One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) program, where Miss Fipps volunteers twice a week. "And if a student feels like he just needs to just talk about something, she'll do away with the lesson plan, and listen for a few minutes." Miss Fipps shrugs off the compliments, preferring instead to put in a plug for more volunteers in schools, and praising "the hard-working teachers at Fourth Street School who do an exceptionally good job."
"You want to know my secret?" the never-married, unofficial grandmother to hundreds asked, as she gestured toward the bags of candy that she brings along on each visit. "It's called bribery."
"She always gives us our chocolate fix," said primary teacher Martha Henke, who shares Miss Fipps' services with fourth-grade teacher Jenny Cox.
Mrs. Cox first accepted the retired General Electric employee's offer of help eight years ago, when she was teaching first grade. Three years later, she began team teaching with Mrs. Henke, and Miss Fipps took on her students as well.
"She's a huge morale booster, and the kids really love her," said Mrs. Henke, who added only heavy snows can keep Miss Fipps away from "her kids."
"She really knows how to make the kids feel good about themselves," Mrs. Henke said. "She's always giving them strokes. She's a super lady who just gives and gives and gives. She, I think, gets just as much pleasure out of it as the kids do."
At first, only pupils who were struggling with reading were allowed to read to Miss Fipps. But before long, everyone in the two classes -- lured by the personal attention and the promise of a Tootsie Pop or chocolate bar -- wanted to read to her.
If a child gets stuck on a word, Miss Fipps will give them hints. For example, when a 7-year-old girl hesitated at the word, "knock," she knocked on the table, triggering a smile of recognition, as the girl correctly identified the word.
Teachers say she offers encouragement for the smallest improvements, and she delights in returning her young charges' unsolicited hugs. As Fourth Street Elementary's most active volunteer paid her final visit of the school year Friday, children surrounded her for their final hugs.
And the no-nonsense classroom helper found herself uncharacteristically sentimental.
"I think I'm going to cry," she said.
