Views From the Top: How George W. Nebinger School stays above the South Philadelphia skyline by Andrew Mendelson

Views From the Top: How George W. Nebinger School stays above the South Philadelphia skyline

Text and Photos by Ashley Hall and Ashley Nguyen

School of Communications and Theater Philadelphia Neighborhoods Philadelphia

ÂŠ 2011

School of Communications and Theater Annenberg Hall 2020 North 13th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 Philadelphia Neighborhoods www.philadelphianeighborhoods.com

Introduction When we first began interviewing the staff at George W. Nebinger School in early September, they referenced the word “close” a lot. In a preliminary plan last year, the School District of Philadelphia listed closing Nebinger as a possible step to implementing its Facilities Master Plan. According to the district’s investigation, the school was underutilized, and students could be relocated to the nearby George Washington School. Built in 1925, the facilities, though sturdy looking from the outside, were aging. Located on Sixth and Carpenter streets, Nebinger looks like any school in Philadelphia: a little dungeon-like, and frankly, despite being surrounded by beautiful homes in Queen Village and Bella Vista, a tad depressing. As area resident Rebecca Phelan told us, “No one really knows what’s going on in there.” But once we began visiting the school weekly, we started to understand the dark aura surrounding the idea of closing Nebinger. On the first day of school, we met students’ parents who went to Nebinger when they were kids living in South Philadelphia. Deborah Fisher, an autistic support teacher, has seen the school through its learning support program for the past 22 years. Nebinger’s halls may be 86 years old, but whoever said age was a bad thing? There is a character and history to Nebinger we came to enjoy, and it became clear with every student, teacher, lunch lady and faculty member we met that the charm doesn’t seem to be fading. We found out in November Nebinger won’t be closing in the immediate future, and while we don’t know why the district decided against closing the school over others, it offers something detrimental to Nebinger: time to continue its development. In the past year alone, Dr. Ralph Burnley encouraged community partnerships, such as art classes with Fleisher Art Memorial and Mother Bethel AME Church’s adoption of Nebinger, to better the curriculum. By the start of the 2012-13 school year, the black top “playground” could be replaced by grass if enough funds are raised.

As you revisit classrooms and voices throughout this book, we hope you’ll find what we see at Nebinger: Underneath the umbrella of a large and at times problematic urban school district are children who, at this time in their lives, remain innocent and ready to mold like clay. They’re turning into their teachers or principal or neighborhood art curators, and it’s an imperfect yet rich thing to watch. -Ashley Hall and Ashley Nguyen Temple University, Class of 2012

Community Partnerships Foster Growth at Nebinger Queen Village and Bella Vista parents decided their neighborhood could only be as good as the “fortress” a few blocks away – and the Friends of Nebinger was born.

or nearly 11 years, Rebecca Phelan could see a fortress from her home on Kimball Street in Queen Village. Phelan’s home neighbors George W. Nebinger School, located at Built in 1925, the school doesn’t lend itself to the softer aesthetics of the neighborhood: The structure consists of thick, grayish cinder blocks, and the playground is only asphalt. Until last year, Phelan knew little about what went on inside the walls of Nebinger. “We knew the test scores weren’t that good when you went on the school district website, but no one knew,” Phelan said. “There’s no brochure for public schools like there are for private schools.” But last summer, a neighbor informed Phelan the School District of Philadelphia began a search for a new principal for Nebinger, and as a community, they should have a say in who it would be. Phelan agreed and wrote a letter to former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman expressing her concern. Not long after, Phelan found out the principal had already been selected. Formerly the school district’s

interim superintendent for the south region, Dr. Ralph Burnley joined Nebinger with an aim to boost test scores and foster community development. “[Dr. Burnley] wanted us to be involved with the school and the decision-making process,” Phelan said. “We didn’t actually get to have our vote, but once I met him, I felt very inspired so I wanted the other moms in the neighborhood to meet him.” Most of the parents Phelan knows from her block don’t have children who are of school age. In fact, Phelan’s own daughter Nora is just three years old, and Phelan’s son still rests in her womb. But in case they do go to Nebinger and for future South Philly families, Phelan said she wants Nebinger to be a viable public school option. So this past summer, Phelan and fellow community members created the Friends of Nebinger. “Most of us who have kids don’t want to have to move for any specific reason,” Phelan said. “We don’t want to have to move because the schools aren’t good enough so we wanted to find out what the school

was really like and if we needed to help it improve.” The small coalition of parents has lofty goals: The largest one is to raise $100,000 to build Nebinger a new playground to replace the asphalt it currently has. The playground’s design began as a collaborative effort between the Community Design Cooperative, Bella Vista and Queen Village residents and the gifted students at Nebinger. “Any school that is successful, parents and the community bring resources whether it’s a school in the suburbs or it’s a school in the city,” Burnley said of the neighborhood’s partnership with Nebinger. “There are going to be things and programs we want and like but can’t afford,” he added. “Right now the economy, public education and education period is having a difficult time trying to come up with the funding for what we think is good education.” Phelan said arts and culture programs remain top priorities for her and other parents of young children, but the programs are often first cut when funding gets tight. Though Nebinger established

partnerships with Fleisher Art Memorial and Settlement Music School to help the arts flourish at Nebinger, it doesn’t mean Phelan’s – or any of her friend’s children – will attend Nebinger. Some families might move, and there is also the possibility they could go to neighboring schools, charter or private schools. Nebinger is also on the school district’s list of possible closing schools. The school’s capacity is 517 students, but last year enrollment stood at 250. “There’s still a chapter to be told about whether the school will close or not, but we’ll see,” Burnley said. “The outside organizations are what makes the school go.” Until the school district makes a final decision, the Friends of Nebinger will continue their pursuit to bring additional resources to the school. It’s a cause Phelan said she feels strongly about. “I just don’t want to be forced out [of the neighborhood] for any one reason,” Phelan said. “Everybody always says in Philadelphia, as soon as you have kids you’re going to move out to the suburbs, and I just feel that’s not right.”

Parents and Students Face the Waiting Room Not everyone at George W. Nebinger School went straight to classes on the first day as parents took care of loose ends in order for their child to start school. The Rios family filled out paperwork to enroll their daughter Monica (far right) in the third grade.

longside her younger siblings and parents, Monica Rios sat patiently on a wooden bench waiting to be called into the office of George W. Nebinger School to register for her first day of school in a new city. From Riverside, N.J., Rios’ parents got married and relocated to Ninth Street and Washington Avenue. “I want to learn and be nice to people, but I’m a little scared,” said the aspiring artist and newly minted third grader in response to coming to a new school. Rios’ classmates had already formed lines and headed to their classrooms, but Rios was one of the many who still lingered in the

continually came home with bruises from bullying, Feliciano removed them from the school. Feliciano’s remaining school age children currently attend the Christopher Columbus Charter School except for her son Eric, who has special needs. “I hope the bullying will stop,” Feliciano said. “I’ve heard the new principal don’t tolerate it, but we’ll see.” Only eight bullying incidents occurred last year at the school. Heather Singletary said she hopes this school year will bring change for her son too. From second grade to now, Samaad Moultrie will have had the same teacher, and his mother is worried it will foster the negative experience he has had while attending the

hallways and lobby area on Tuesday morning, the first day of school for the School District of Philadelphia. The stragglers had one similarity: All of them held a white note card with a number written in black marker. When their number came up, they could be called into the office to take care of summer’s unfinished business. The lobby of Nebinger remained a familiar place for Kim Feliciano. Before current principal Ralph Burnley took his post two years ago, three of Feliciano’s children attended the school. Located at Sixth and Carpenter streets near Feliciano’s home in South Philadelphia, Nebinger was convenient for the mother of five. But after two of her children 3

school. “He has behavioral problems, so I can’t put him in a charter school,” said a scrub-clad Singletary, who was fresh from a work shift at a nearby nursing home. “The teacher seems to constantly nitpick at him, so I just don’t think it’s a good idea for him to be in the same class again.” Though Moultrie remains apprehensive about this school year for her son, Chrystal Francais said she hopes Nebinger will bring about positive change for her grandson, Christian Paul. Because the area of Paul’s previous school was poor, Francais chose to have him commute to George Nebinger from West Philadelphia. •

Autistic Support Classrooms Prosper Nebingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second floor is mostly dedicated to learning support, where autistic classrooms have been a mainstay for 22 years.

Austistic support teacher Deborah Fisher said all classrooms try to integrate students with non-learning support students as much as possible.

eborah Fisher taught George W. Nebinger’s first and only autistic support classroom 22 years ago. Since autism wasn’t understood as well as it is today, few doctors offered the diagnosis. There were only three children in Fisher’s class. Today, almost the entire second floor is dedicated to learning support at Nebinger. Four classrooms are specifically for autism support, and teachers, teaching assistants and therapeutic staff support constantly circulate the hallways with their classes. Ages range from kindergarten-age students to eighth graders about to leave Nebinger behind for high school. “The autistic support population has just grown, and it keeps growing and growing and growing,” Fisher said. “I think when I started it was one in 199 children were autistic.” “There are a lot more children being identified,” she added. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated one in 110 children in the United States has an autism spectrum disorder, which includes classic and atypical autism as well as Asperger syndrome. Between 1991 and 2002 alone, U.S. Department of Education figures show a 1,700 percent increase in the number of students with autism. Though Nebinger teachers said the individualized teaching style at Nebinger contributes to the suc-

Deborah Fisher (top left) used one-on-one techniques with her students, allowing some more freedom to use computers solo or do school work on their own.

cess of its autistic support floor, the school stands out because of its education continuum for K-8 autistic support classrooms. “Sometimes one school, because of a limited amount of room, might just have a K-2 autistic support class, and then those children go to another school which might only be available for another three years,” Fisher said, adding the jumping pattern often continues through high school. A policy deemed the “automatic autism transfer policy” reportedly mandates students with autism transfer to other schools during their elementary years, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. This is not the case at Nebinger. “Here [at Nebinger], we mirror the regular [education] as far as K-8 so children can stay here nine of their educational years, which is unusual,” Fisher said. In response to a complaint issued over the summer, the school district asserted, “there is no ‘automatic autism transfer policy.’” “To the extent possible,” the statement reads, “children with disabilities remain in their assigned school until they transition, with their non-disabled peers, to middle or high school.” If autistic students do not have to transfer, continuity can help them prosper. Larry Bones, who currently substitute teaches the sixth-, seventhand eighth-grade autistic support >>

(Left) Nick does this and that (Right) they write (continued from previous page)

classroom, said some of his students already know him from when they were younger. “I’ve been here a number of times for stretches for other teachers, so I know all the students,” Bones said, noting that since students come to Nebinger at a young age and stay together until eighth grade, by the time they get to high school they’ve reached a level of social discipline not as common if children with autism are shuffled. “The [students] are seeing the same people since they were little,

so you don’t have those problems related to discipline,” Bones added. “Teachers here do very well with identifying flaws early so they don’t develop into something bigger later on.” Noting autistic support children should have the same rights as nonautistic students, Fisher said Nebinger’s program is the “really what it should be,” though she acknowledged space issues within schools. Roughly 20 percent of Nebinger’s student population is comprised of students with disabilities, but the school is also under-enrolled. Other ways Nebinger stays 6

ahead of the curve on its autistic support floor is the school’s music program. If schools within the School District of Philadelphia do have music or art programs, most schools only have one. Available to all students, Fisher and Bones agreed it helps children with autism tremendously in the classroom. “The students who perform with music do very, very well, and I’m convinced it helps them improve their classroom abilities, and it helps them later on in high school,” Bones said. “[Music has] been a nice avenue

for students who play instruments,” Fisher said. One of Fisher’s students even went on to attend the Girard Academic Music Program high school at 22nd and Ritner streets, she said. Regardless of Nebinger’s programs and set up, Fisher said she can’t imagine teaching a regular education classroom. “These kids are wonderful,” she said. “They’re not jaded. They just have this wonderful innocence about them, and they would never think to be mean to anybody.” •

Teachers and Students Stay Together for Years At Nebinger, looping enables Megan Conley’s class to remain familiar with her rules and teaching methods from year to year. Megan Conley graded papers during her prep period in her classroom.

t the start of each school year, teachers at George W. Nebinger struggle to get their class to follow new rules set by new teachers. But Megan Conley’s fourth-grade class already knew what was expected of them as they settled into their new classroom this year. After all, they’ve had the same teacher since second grade. When Conley’s class performed well during her first year of teach-

ing them, former Nebinger principal Stephanie Phillips asked Conley to continue on with her students into third grade, an educational method known as “looping.” The teacher stays with the same class for consecutive years. Looping offers students consistency, which can add to their learning experience. Emphasizing the importance of parental involvement, Conley said looping benefits parents as well. “Anytime I call them, they’re

more willing to answer,” she said, adding that she sees the same parents repeatedly at parent-teacher conferences. “They know me, they appreciate what I’m doing, [and] so they’ll come in.” But Conley said being with the same set of kids does have drawbacks. “The kids might benefit from a new teacher [and] getting to know someone else,” Conley said. “The downside for me is some of the be-

haviors that I kind of got sick of the first year. It’s now the second and third year, and it’s frustrating a bit. “Compared to most classes, their behavior is wonderful,” Conley added. “I try not to be biased based on previous years because each year they can mature. So I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s good to try to keep an open mind when you loop.” •

Principal Leadership Beginning as a teacher, Dr. Ralph Burnley continued to climb the ladder within the School District of Philadelphia. Dr. Ralph Burnley speaks with a eighthgrade student during a class meeting.

r. Ralph Burnley is no stranger to leadership within the School District of Philadelphia. Before becoming principal at George W. Nebinger School, Burnley already did his fair share of shuffling about the school district. From teaching to administration, Burnley became the interim regional superintendent in South Philadelphia before ending up at Nebinger, where he is now in his second year as principal. Burnley’s path to a career

in education was not a typical one. Originally from Mt. Airy, Burnley graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School before moving on to Wilberfoce University in Ohio to study journalism. Burnley went on to become an underwriting manager for a major insurance company. Although his initial job strayed from journalism and writing, Burnley said being an underwriter provided him with irreplaceable leadership training that would eventually help him.

After working with the insurance company, Burnley began substitute teaching within the school district. Through a program recruiting specifically African-American men, he met the certification requirements and began full-time teaching at Roosevelt Middle School, where he specialized in literacy and social studies. Soon enough, his leadership propelled him into an assistant principal position. “I just felt like it was a great

segway to move from leadership in industry to leadership and supervision in education,” he said. Today, Burnley keeps a close eye on adults who might make good educators and teachers who have the potential to become principals. Despite the enjoyment of molding young minds in his current position, mentoring adults will be another path he’s already pursuing. •

Eighth-Grade Project Explores Bullying To combat bullies in society and in their hallways, Nebinger eighth graders pursue teaching their younger peers.

resh from being outside in the fall air, eighth graders filed into the George W. Nebinger auditorium Monday morning to meet with their principal, Dr. Ralph Burnley. With less than a year left before heading to high school, the students and Burnley met to discuss their final servicelearning projects. Aimed to address bullying, the students will create presentations to show to younger peers as well as perform skits to demonstrate how to deal with bullies. Along with signs hanging in the hallways – “Our school believes, achieves, succeeds bully free!” the banners read – the students promote the anti-bullying sentiment by wearing bracelets. Wearing the

plastic bracelets, which read, “I’ll stand up to bullies,” is an important part of the project, Burnley told students. “You want the little kids to come up to you and say, ‘What’s that?’ so that they’re interested,” he said after several students were caught sans-bracelets. While some schools in the district use the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, Nebinger utilizes a behavior modification program called Second Step. “It teaches kids how to get along with each other, how to practice peer mediation, how to resolve their differences without being violent, and how to use proper language to each other and with each other,” Burnley said. The students will go into their as9

signed classrooms two or three times a week to discuss the consequences of cursing, teasing and using physical force. Though Burnley said there are “isolated situations” at Nebinger where he has to address bullying, he said he likes the program because bullying is not just a local issue. It’s also ageless. “I don’t think it’s prevalent in any one particular grade,” he said. “Our fifth and sixth graders seem to be a little more challenged, so we are concentrating on them.” “We haven’t had anything come up with extreme violence,” he added, “but we want to be proactive about the importance of getting along with each other, supporting the school and supporting your individual classmates.” •

Classrooms Need the Web As the world becomes more connected, Nebinger School tries to teach students how to properly use technologies. Ly Nguyen’s class worked on their computers as she made her rounds.

y Nguyen’s classroom on the fourth floor of George W. Nebinger School is a place where students can come, plug into their headphones and recognize something familiar: computers. Nguyen’s classroom is currently the only computer lab at Nebinger. It houses 32 Macs for students to use to learn and explore technology in their education, something Nguyen finds to be important in today’s

learning environment, especially since most children have computers in their homes. “They are able to learn so much with technology,” Nguyen said in between two of the classes she teaches. “Before you would have to go through and dig through encyclopedias and books, but now everything is so up to date on websites and the Internet that they are able to find out so much more.”

Nguyen said she recognizes that although all students are accustomed to using computers, certain sites are more educational for different age levels. “I created a WikiSpace for [students] to use, and it’s divided into grade levels,” Nguyen said. “Each grade level has a set of websites they can go on.” In her first year as a technology lead for Nebinger, Nguyen uses her

tech-saavy expertise to instruct other faculty members on how to best utilize technology in the classroom. Over the summer, Promethean boards replaced smart boards in several classrooms. The boards – along with the Macs in the computer lab – allow for interactive lesson plans. Nguyen said she teaches herself the various programs in order to stay resourceful for other teachers. •

Preschool Meets Play Time 11

The Bright Futures program at Nebinger combines learning with activities fun enough to engage three- and four-year-olds.

n her Bright Futures classroom, Tara Matise danced fast and slow danced to accomplish her lesson plan: teaching a group of 3- and 4-year-olds the meaning of opposite. “I’ve taught preschool for the past five years,” Matise said, “and I don’t know if I’d be able to sit with a calm class in the older grades if they moved me.” Matise graduated from Temple University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and came straight to George W. Nebinger School to work. After student teaching a kindergarten class at A.S. Jenks School and doing her practicum with a third-grade class teaching English at BacheMartin Elementary School, Matise said she preferred the younger classes. “Last week we made home-

made butter,” she said. “At what other age do you get to do that? It’s a very social-emotional learning time for them. They’re away from mom and dad all day for the first time.” The students attend school from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and on Friday, preschoolers get a half-day. Following breakfast, Matise starts the day with morning circle before allowing the preschoolers to do centers. Maybe they’ll choose to play in the kitchen to learn what equipment does what, read – or look at pictures – in a lounge chair or paint: Matise leaves the activity choice up to them as she supervises. “I try to incorporate learning into everything,” she said as students continually approached her to show off their paintings, drawings and crafts. • (Left) Tara Matise began teaching preschool at Nebinger five years ago, which has given her the opportunity to teach some of her students’ younger siblings.

(Left) Ricky and Roy Lin only moved to the United States this past year to live with their parents and attend school. (Right) Eileen Sheppard and Xiumei Jing met through the Philadelphia Chinese congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Northeast Philadelphia.

English Language Learners Though Nebinger no longer has a Chinese program, the language is still heard.

n back-to-school night last Wednesday, Xiumei Jing entered the lobby of George W. Nebinger School with a small entourage. Flanked on one side by sons Ricky and Roy Lin, a trusty confidante spoke in Chinese to Jing as she perused parent brochures and made her way to the auditorium. Though Jing came to the United States in 2004 and she speaks English, her friend Eileen Sheppard came along as a back-up translator.

Jing and Sheppard met at Philadelphia’s only Chinese-speaking congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Northeast. After giving birth to her sons in the U.S., Jing sent Ricky and Roy to live in China, where Ricky attended preschool. The two boys came back to the U.S. this past year, and their English is extremely limited. In kindergarten at Nebinger, Ricky is a portion of the 7.8 percent of students at the school who are 13

English Language Learners. Because his teacher only speaks English, Ricky takes cues from his instructor’s body language and other students’ actions in class to figure out what to do and how to act, Sheppard explained for Jing. “At home, I teach him very simple words, but I think he doesn’t understand,” Jing said of Ricky. “He needs to go to school to learn more. It’s good for him.” •

Speech Therapist’s Experience Drives the Classroom With 14 years of experience as a speech therapist, Elena Flagiello knows what makes students’ verbal skills turn on and off. (Right) Elena Flagiello took a break from cooking class in her office, where she is twice a week.

few weeks ago, Elena Flagiello saw an old student while on the street. Flagiello, a speech therapist for the School District of Philadelphia, waved her hand to say hello, but the female student didn’t recognize her. Flagiello began to remind her. “I said, ‘Remember, it’s Miss Fla-,’ and she said, ‘Miss Flagiello from Nebinger!” “She went on to repeat all the teachers she had from when she entered Nebinger to when she gradu-

ated,” Flagiello said with a laugh. Remembering people, wants and needs is exactly what Flagiello strives to teach students as a speech therapist. She visits the learning and autistic support classrooms twice a week while at Nebinger to improve students’ verbal communication abilities. “Because there are so many different levels of language in each classroom, a lot of the times cooking is the medium in which I get a lot of language from them,” Flagi-

ello said. Earlier that day, Flagiello taught children how to make potato strips. Flagiello said she continually reminds herself of the child’s ability in order to ensure success during her sessions, so adaptation is key. “I might say, ‘What tool are we going to measure the cheese?’ but if their comprehension is such that they won’t be able to answer, I would present them with a can opener and a measuring cup and allow them to choose,” she said.

After nearly 14 years at Nebinger, Flagiello said she still faces difficulties while working with learning support classrooms. The difference now is that she’s familiar with the solutions. “It’s kind of hard to get them working and asking for things they want and need,” she said. “I might use sabotage by saying, ‘Glue this please,’ and not give them any glue. Then if one child says, ‘I need glue,’ the others can learn and follow.” •

Nebingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music classroom is fully equipped with keyboards, headphones and books for students to participate in lessons taught by music instructor Aaron Hoke (center).

Music in the Classroom

As music becomes a rarity within the School District of Philadelphia, Aaron Hoke keeps the melodies alive at Nebinger.

oom 107 of George W. Nebinger School almost always brims with noise, and last Wednesday was no different. “Great big house in New Orleans, 40 stories high,” a group of students sang, their pitches and enthusiasm levels varied. “Every room that I been in’s filled with pumpkin pie.” A few stray eyes diverted their attention from the keyboards in front of them to Aaron Hoke, the head keyboardist and vocal general music teacher at Nebinger. Hoke is one of three music teachers at the school, but he is the only person the students see regularly for classes. Hoke teaches seven classes a day at Nebinger. Coming to the School District of Philadelphia from an allgirls Catholic high school four years ago shifted a lot of things for him. “In the School District of [Philadelphia], you can’t get away with anything,” he said. “You have to be on your game at all times and ready for any number of circumstances, but I’m definitely up for the challenge.” From managing large classes on his own to smiling at a child yelling out “chicken pie” while offering his own rendition of “Great Big House

in New Orleans,” Hoke said there’s never a dull moment in his classroom. “It can be difficult from time to time if I’m not arriving to school with my ‘A’ game because things can very easily slip out of hand,” Hoke said of some behavioral difficulties. “But every year I teach in the district, this gets easier and easier.” During his time at Nebinger, Hoke has tried to maintain teaching for classes with limited to average music abilities while also narrowing in on students who might excel if they invested more time in singing or an instrument. To make sure students can relate their musical experiences with their regular classroom curriculum, Hoke said he collaborates with teachers to incorporate mathematics, vocabulary and geography lessons into his lesson plans. Music class can adversely affect the students’ learning when they return to their typical learning environments. “Sometimes it can be music class that gets kids in the right frame of mind to be successful in the regular [education] classroom,” Hoke said. “There are a large number of kids who have a facility for music, and it can give them the confidence 16

they need to know they can be successful and excel subsequently in other areas.” If a student shows promise in his or her music abilities, Hoke takes note. Two teachers already teach once-a-week classes to students who play a string, brass, woodwind or percussion instrument, and the school’s informal partnership with the Mary Louise Curtis branch of Settlement Music School in Queen Village continues to facilitate Nebinger students’ talents. “Our teachers are able to help out with details the teacher doesn’t have time for, like technical lessons,” said Eric Anderson, who left the Curtis branch after 24 years for Settlement’s Germantown branch in September. Anderson said during his tenure at Settlement in Queen Village, a lot of students from the neighborhood’s schools attended the community music school. Over the summer, Anderson met with Nebinger principal Ralph Burnley and Hoke to discuss ways to involve Nebinger students with Settlement, including financial aid packages the music school offers. “We try to get as many students as possible to reinforce what they are learning here in school through the use of private teachers,” Hoke

said, though he also tries to challenge them in the classroom. “It’s important to have a larger excerpt [of a song] for them to play or to have an alternate activity for them to work on,” he said. “It’s good to give them a little bit extra so they don’t just get bored and shut down.” Just the other day, Hoke diagnosed a student with perfect pitch after challenging the child in class by starting a song in a different key. The student identified the wrong pitch, which Hoke said is highly unusual but particularly exciting. “There are students that come through here with raw talent,” Hoke said. At the start of the school year, Burnley cited parental involvement as an “uphill struggle” at Nebinger, but it’s clear the arts piqued >>

Incorporating regular classroom lessons with music offers continuity for students.

(continued from Page 16)

parents’ interest. “We managed to have a good turnout and parental involvement last year with our music program,” Burnley said. Art classes could offer similar success this year, and Burnley was interested in weaving art classes into Nebinger’s curriculum, but he had to look for ways to outsource. The principal tasked Hoke to find art teachers who would volunteer to come in to Nebinger. Hoke approached the Fleisher Art Memorial located at the nearby Seventh and Catharine streets about a collaboration and was successful: In the near future, a guest art teacher will begin coming to Nebinger’s seventh grade class twice a week for 90 minutes. “They are going to do a collaborative project that will tie in with art, language arts and social studies,” Hoke said, adding that starting with a singular class enables the school to establish a lasting relationship with Fleisher. “Hopefully when we get the chance to do this again, another class will get that same experience,” Hoke said. •

Lone Lunch Lady Facilitates Feeding Frenzy With just one woman to do it all, Nebinger gets fed due to early-riser Cora Ceniza.

(Right) Cora Ceniza prepares for lunches after serving breakfast.

ora Ceniza devours Filipino fish dishes. Her students grin at the sight of meatballs and hot dogs. Needless to say, Ceniza’s tastes are a little different than the first through eighth graders at George W. Nebinger School, where Ceniza serves as the lone lunch lady. Ceniza arrives at Nebinger every morning at 6:30 to meet the delivery truck, unload the food and begin preparing breakfast. Since the kitchen is on a separate floor than the cafeteria – which doubles as a gym – Ceniza carts the food to the stairs and carries everything up and down the

flights. After serving breakfast at 8:45 a.m., Ceniza returns to her kitchen to begin work on the day’s three lunch periods. “People say, ‘Cora, why don’t you go to a different school with a kitchen closer to the lunch room,’ but I like it here,” Ceniza said. “The nicer kitchens in the Northeast are so far,” Ceniza, who lives at 16th and McKean streets, added. “Here, I don’t have to wake up early. I can wake up and be on the bus and here in 10 minutes.” Despite the extra legwork required work18

ing in an older school, Ceniza said she enjoys working with the kids. Before moving to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1993, she taught for 10 years. She worked for a catering company for 11 years before coming to Nebinger, but the work began to take its toll on Ceniza, now 48. In her fifth year, she said she still likes what she does even though it can get just as stressful. “It’s like World War II down there,” she said jokingly while packing up Monday’s lunch for the second eating period. •

Home Improvements A federal grant will allow students a different kind of classroom experience.

(This page) Two carpenters worked on the science classroom on a November Monday. It is scheduled to be completed by March. (Next page) The smart boards mounted on the walls will compliment the older charm of Nebinger, which provides rays upon rays of natural light.

he fourth floor of George W. Nebinger School used to bustle with energy from sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, but this past Monday, the floor was mostly vacant. With the exception of two carpenters, the emptiness of the hallways made it seem like Thanksgiving break had come a week early. Currently under construction, four classrooms on the last floor at Nebinger remain student-less. Work is underway to convert three of the classrooms into smart rooms and the remaining space into a science room. Completion is scheduled for March, principal Ralph Burnley said. Construction on the fourth floor was supposed to begin last year, but nothing ever came of the plans, which have actually been in place for several years as a part of the federal government’s Qualified

Zone Academy Bonds program. QZAB was created in 1997 and put into effect the following year in an attempt to save low-income school districts money while repairing or upgrading classrooms. The School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Educational Technology can assign improvements to schools as long as the district can match 10 percent of the bonds issued by the federal government through a private grant. More than a decade after QZAB began, it has finally touched down at Nebinger in the form of Promethean boards for the smart classrooms as well as a new science classroom. As part of the grant, the library – which is without a librarian – will be upgraded. “In elementary school, and sometimes high school, science is more of a social science than the

experimental part,” Burnley said. “There’s no room or capabilities in the regular classroom to study chemical reactions or dissections.” Though plans aren’t solidified for the science classroom, it will be equipped with gas and electricity for projects. Carpet will mask the current hardwood floors, which are being sanded down and redone for the smart classrooms. Much like the music program at Nebinger, Burnley said he’d like to add a prep position to provide a science-only teacher. Otherwise, regular classroom teachers will utilize the room without the same expertise offered through a specialized learning experience. When the classroom modernization project is complete, the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders will relocate back to the fourth floor. •