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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 firstis 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 School School 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

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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