Upload
vokien
View
242
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
It‘s not challenging to get adults to boast about
your work within a school, or perhaps have
community leaders provide accolades on your
outstanding programs.
For Pasteur Elementary School Principal
Sharon Lawson, ‗grown-up praise‘ is great and
much appreciated. But it is the students‘ opinions
of Pasteur and their take on the learning environ-
ment that matter most to her.
―When I walk through the halls and see the
smiling faces of my students, or they hug me and
talk about how much they‘re enjoying a certain
program—that‘s what I love,‖ Lawson said. ―Children have a voice here. If they have a prob-
lem, they can come to speak with me directly.‖
Perhaps the second-ranking voice of Pasteur belongs to parents, and then everyone else
falls in line. This trait of Lawson‘s—always putting her students and parents first—is why
Marcy Feldman, President of the Pasteur Elementary School Alumni Foundation, says
Pasteur is such a successful school.
―She actually listens to parents and community members, and allows us to come in and
help,‖ Feldman said. ―That‘s not always the case. You‘d be amazed at how difficult it can be
to try to come into a school and make a difference.
It can‘t happen if the principal isn‘t willing to work
with you.‖
‘These are OUR students’
Saying the Alumni Foundation, which
originated in 1996, is active at Pasteur is an under-
statement. As the oldest and largest elementary
school alumni foundation within DPS, Pasteur has a
database of more than 1,400 alums, with graduation
dates ranging from 1934 to the early 1990s, and
roughly 255 paid foundation members.
These men and women volunteer with the
Reading Corps program, plan field trips for students,
host career day events, provide holiday dinners for
families, regularly donate hats and gloves, have
purchased curtains for classrooms, provide a weekly
book give-away to students, continuously donate items such as printers, athletic uniforms,
musical instruments, AND the list goes on!
Pasteur Elementary Pasteur Elementary SchoolSchool
Where listening to the student voice matters most
November 19-23, 2012
School of the Week: Pasteur Elementary School 1
Sheila Langford, Academic Engagement
Administrator, Marcy Feldman,
President of the Pasteur Elementary
School Alumni Foundation, and Principal
Sharon Lawson
Last year the foundation purchased 40 LeapFrog educational toys to help students
improve their reading. Within the last 15 years, Feldman estimates the foundation has
raised about $100,000 for student programs.
Journal Journey
One very unique and impactful program initiated by the
Alumni Foundation is Journal Journey, where participating
students are provided with a personal journal and are tasked
with filling out two pages about themselves, including photos.
The journals are then mailed to alumni in other states or
across the world, such as to Brazil, Hong Kong, Canada and
Israel, to name a few. The alums then fill out two pages about
themselves, and mail the journal to another alumnus. Once 5-7
entries are collected with accompanying photos and postcards,
the journals are returned to the students.
―This allows our current students to see where their
Pasteur journey could lead them,‖ Feldman said. ―We want
our students to know it‘s a huge world out there, and they can get anywhere from here.
Anywhere. But it‘s our job to show them.‖
This is OUR School’
Located near the Sherwood Forest com-
munity, Pasteur is a competitive contender
in academic achievement through the use of
continuous improvement strategies, making
the school a jewel within the neighborhood.
Just ask the Reverend April Hearn of
New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church,
which is located across the street from Pas-
teur, and she‘ll tell you that seeing Pasteur
thrive is a top priority for the entire commu-
nity. New Prospect offers a mentoring pro-
gram where church employees come to the
school throughout the day to work one-on-one with students. The church also offers an after-
school program, free of charge, Tuesday through Thursday from 3:30-6 p.m. with activities
such as culinary arts, piano lessons, Japanese Club, Science Club, French Club, character
building, scrap booking, art, health and fitness,
and more.
―I just want everyone to know we‘re not
doing this alone,‖ Lawson said. ―I tell our parents
and volunteers all the time that this isn‘t my
school. It‘s not their school. This is our school.
It‘s everyone‘s school.‖
The Pasteur commencement ceremony is
held each year at New Prospect, and following
the ceremony, each graduate is provided a new
dictionary and thesaurus paid for by the Alumni
Foundation. ―When a child knows the community
is concerned about their well-being, they prosper,‖
Hearn said. ―We‘ve seen such tremendous growth
at Pasteur. I can sincerely say Pasteur is a special
place with special faculty who care about the success of our children. The kids here know they
are loved.‖
Fifth-grade students David Okorom, 10, and Tania Hill, 10, can attest to that. Both
Okorom and Hill said one thing they love most about Pasteur is that the teachers help them to
become better students (and the regular hugs from Principal Lawson).
School of the Week: Pasteur Elementary School 2
Rev. April Hearn, New Prospect
Missionary Baptist Church, with students
David Okorom and Tania Hill
Okorom shared who his favorite
teacher is: Ms. Webster, ―because she
worked really hard to help me get better
grades,‖ he said. ―She cares a lot about us
getting good grades. A lot of my teachers
are like that.‖
Both students also agreed that one of
their favorite programs at Pasteur is the
InsideOut Literary Arts Project, which
aims to help students develop self-
expression and gain the opportunity to
publish and perform their work. During the
2011-2012 school year, Okorom and Hill
had their poems published in a book titled, ―The Purple Door.‖
Click here to see a video featuring Okorom and Hill share their thoughts on President
Barack Obama: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9gVYgToSquk&feature=relmfu
Something you didn’t know…
In April 2011, about two dozen students from
Pasteur Elementary School visited the Kennedy Space
Center in Titusville, Florida to view the last launching
of the Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-134. NASA
astronaut Mark Kelly served as commander of the STS
-134 space shuttle mission.
In addition to the launch, students in grades 3, 4,
and 5 enjoyed a 4-day, 3-night stay at the Nickelodeon
Resort in Orlando, Florida thanks to donations from
the Pasteur Elementary School Alumni Association
and New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church. Students kept a log or diary as they passed
through the states to incorporate writing and geography into the trip.
School Partners:
Pasteur Elementary School Alumni Association,
New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church, Fifth
Third Bank, First Independence Bank, Sherwood
Forest Coney Island, Buzz Barbershop, DTE Energy,
Volunteer Reading and Business Corps, Church/
Civic Mentors/Tutors, Papa‘s Pizza Corp., Detroit
Westown Hartford Lions Club, Oakland University,
Marygrove College – Student Teaching, Powerzone
Sports, Alkebu-lan Village, Foster Grandparents
Program, National Kidney Foundation, 12th Precinct
Police Department, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Oak Grove African Methodist Episco-
pal Church, Mike‘s Fresh Market, In & Out Market, Family Victory Fellowship Church,
American Mobile Dental, Starbase Program, InsideOut Literacy Arts Project, and Summer in
the City Camp.
Some Offerings:
Girls Reading Book Club, Journal Writing Across the Country, Instrumental Music, Tutoring/
Extended Day Program, Internship Program, Accelerated Reading/Math, DAPCEP, Science
Club, Basketball, Baseball and Cheerleading.
If you would like your school featured as “School of the Week,” send submissions to
[email protected] with the subject line “School of the Week candidate.”
School of the Week: Pasteur Elementary School 3