Worcester’s
South High Community School Students
Take
Art on the Road to Promote Reading
Seventy-five
Chandler Elementary School first graders were treated to an interactive Read
Across America extravaganza by twenty-five South High student artists in a
unique celebration of reading in early March. This creative project was the
brainchild of South High’s art teacher, Christine Lucey-Meagher. Ms.
Lucey-Meagher never limits her students’ learning to the four walls of the art
studio, instead she takes the time to design projects that involve the
community and stimulate students’ imagination.
When Christine heard about the annual Read Across America
initiative, she planned to combine that program with the high school’s
illustration unit to show students how art inspires learning in young children.
In addition to the art standards, she hoped students would develop their
ability to present with confidence, teach with care and give back to the
community.
Ms.
Meagher enlisted the support and collaboration of her friend and colleague,
June Eressy, principal of Chandler Elementary School. While Christine’s
students studied, sketched and painted life-size Dr. Seuss characters
from The Cat in the Hat, Ms. Eressy’s staff prepared first graders
for the celebration with conversation, sketching, and corridor displays.
Many in the South
High School community got involved. Two South High teachers, Ellen
Parkinson and Patricia Falcone, sewed ten red and white striped hats for the
celebration. Guidance Counselor, Delma Kusy, offered Thing One and Thing
Two costumes. Principal, Maureen Binienda, provided a bus and coverage
for Ms. Meagher’s other classes, and Mr. Ben Badu assisted the presentation
team by taking photos and videos of the big event. Sam’s Club donated all
the cardboard for the large scale paintings.
With Cat in the Hat books in hand, and wearing
colorful costumes and hats, the twenty-five student artists and Ms.
Meagher boarded busses mid-morning for the project’s finale--the moment they had
been planning for. Enthusiastic first graders watched with eager smiles
as the artists arrived and set up the colorful life-size Dr. Seuss character
paintings. Ms. Meagher introduced the project, then each artist introduced a
painting. After that, high school students handed out student-drawn
oversized coloring book pages and art supplies to the young
students who happily began to read and color. Next, the high school students
gathered small groups of students and read The Cat in the Hat to
them. The cafeteria transformed into a reading room where high school students
were reading to first graders, and first graders were reading to high
schoolers.
Students' reactions were positive. Kaleigh Brunell remarked,
“It was awesome. The kids were so excited. They were so eager to
sit down and read with us. They even offered to read.” Norma Gully
said, “The kids really got into it. Dressing up was a great touch and it
really got the kids involved.” Julia Truong explained, “Seeing my board
being displayed in a case in the wall was really cool. It looked nice,
and I’m happy with the way it came out.” Louis Ponce said, “This kind of
project helped me a lot. I never see kids watching our projects, and that
felt so good.”
The project exceeded Ms. Meagher’s expectations. She remarked, “I was so
proud to see how caring my students were to these young students. I was
particularly moved when my students came back and told me that the experience
made them consider choosing a career working with young children. I know my
students will remember this experience. I think it surprised them how much the
young students looked up to them. They had not experienced that before.” The
Read Across America Celebration for South High Community School and Chandler
Elementary will always be remembered as a meaningful teaching moment for both
students and their teachers. We are fortunate to have teachers and students who care enough about learning that they'll invest the extra time and care to make education a happy, meaningful, student-centered endeavor.
(Author's Note: I am
a native of Worcester, Massachusetts. Christine Lucey-Meagher is my
cousin. I am always impressed with the stories she tells me about her
creative student-centered teaching methods, and her South High School's
students' work, endeavor and effort. I was particularly impressed with
this project because it utilized students' hard work, creativity, collaboration
and communication to enliven both their own education and the education of the
young children at Chandler Elementary School.)
