Thursday, January 27, 2000
Ky. school is like an open canvas
BY KAREN SAMPLES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — There's a spirit walking these halls. Has to be. How else to explain the way it all comes together?
Parents write and perform plays. Preschoolers set up an animal clinic, write a book, learn ballet steps and see The Nutcracker.
Teachers stay after school to sculpt and paint. Professional designers play hooky to help decorate the halls. Businesspeople come and go, dropping off donations and goodwill.
No day is ordinary at the James E. Biggs Early Childhood Education Center. It's a public school with a mission to serve low-income families, and its success is widely recognized.
How do they do it?
Only the spirit knows.
“If you figure that out, we'll write a book together,” says Bev Schumacher, the parent involvement coordinator.
“It's not me,” says Director Diane “Rocky” Roketenetz. “It's everybody. There's a sense of teamwork and joy in risk-taking.”
“They're always thinking about what they can make better,” says Joyce Moscoe, whose children attend. “The parents come up with a crazy idea, and (Ms. Roketenetz) says, "We can do that.'”
Crazy ideas, indeed.
Wednesday morning, 10 parents dashed about in top hats, capes, sunglasses and snowman costumes. For an audience of giggling 4-year-olds, they performed Winter Wonderland, a play they wrote themselves.
The kids got to throw shredded-paper snow at Ms. Moscoe, aka Frostina the Snow Chick.
“That's Crystal's mom!” one child shouted as another character ran by, trailing multicolored scarves.
Next month, Ms. Roketenetz will pick up an award from Kentucky's governor for her use of arts in the classroom.
Of all the honors bestowed on Biggs, this one is particularly apt, because Biggs is more like an open canvas than a school.
It's also the ideal workplace — one where everyone's ideas matter and nobody clamors for credit. Best of all, the boss is secure enough to hold the reins loosely.
Biggs opened 10 years ago as one of the first early education centers in Northern Kentucky. Each year, about 300 4-year-olds pass through the doors for three hours of intense fun and learning. Another 70 children, even younger, are visited in their homes by teachers.
Most of the youngsters qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
Once in kindergarten, many score higher than average on 15 measures of school readiness, such as ability to follow directions and respond appropriately to questions.
The arts are key, says Christina Kelley, the assistant director. Biggs obtains grants and relies on local businesses to help with costs.
The Carnegie Theater next door is an essential partner, displaying the kids' artwork and inviting them over for plays.
Children's author Barbara Libby recently helped the students put together their own storybook.
Now her husband's design firm, Libby Perszyk Kathman Inc. of Cincinnati, is producing a new brochure for the school. Libby employees also are helping decorate the walls in a winter wonderland motif.
The Biggs staff is always learning more. Soon, 10 teachers and assistants will attend a lecture followed by a symphony concert. Their purpose: to discover the benefits of playing Mozart for chil dren.
Talking about all this, both Ms. Roketenetz and I got a little weepy. You know how it is. Some things are so good they tickle your nose and catch in your throat.
Bringing happiness to children is one of them. So is discovering the artist within.
Karen Samples is Kentucky columnist for the Enquirer. Her column appears Thursdays and Sundays. She can be reached at 578-5584, or by e-mail at ksamples@yahoo.com.
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