THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 13, 1995 TAG: 9510110293
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THUMBS UP
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
ASK RENEE SEILER, Green Run Elementary School's Teacher of the Year, if she has any children and she responds with a big grin ``Yes, 650 of them. And they all go home at 3:30.''
The first- through fifth-graders who traipse through her cheerfully crowded art room may go home each afternoon, but it's doubtful that they'll forget about the smiling teacher who, even after 25 years in the classroom, remains impressed with what her young students can accomplish.
``They always amaze me with their creativity and the things they think about,'' she said. ``They're all creative. Even those who don't have a lot of advantages can express themselves through their art.''
It's doubtful that parents will forget Seiler either. She's the teacher who's responsible for their access to free sessions on everything from improving their child's reading to making computer banners.
The program, offering 51 different classes to Green Run parents between now and April, is called G.R.E.A.T. U. That's shorthand for Green Run Elementary Always There for U.
It's the result of an idea that occurred to Seiler after she held an art workshop at her church. ``Most of the participants spent the whole time chatting about their children while they worked on their projects,'' Seiler said.
She realized that as a teacher most of her interactions with parents fell into two categories. ``Usually I talked with them only when they came in for conferences or when I had to call them because of a problem,'' she said.
How much better it would be, she reasoned, if parents had an opportunity to get to know teachers and each other better by coming to classes at the school.
Last fall she put her plan to work. More than 50 parents participated in one or more of 22 G.R.E.A.T. U. courses during the fall semester. Since then she has been busy lining up instructors including parents, fellow teachers, a police officer, a nurse and a clinical social worker.
Parents can get a smattering of tips on everything from improving their young child's reading and preparing their older child for the Literacy Passport exam to making quilts, holiday decoration or chocolate lollipops. Advance sign-ups have been brisk
``It's a great way to get parents together with staff on a friendly basis,'' Seiler explained.
If Seiler knows whether it was her work with the children, her work with the parents or her work with other teachers (she's been the school's academic coordinator and chaired its staff and community development committee) that led to her selection as Teacher of the Year, she's not saying.
What the High Point, N.C., native who graduated from University of North Carolina at Greensboro will admit to, however, is that she enjoys all three.
``Teaching is my thing,'' Seiler, who teaches 25 classes each week and sponsors two art clubs, said. ``Art is second.''
She likes to think that all of her work - that with the parents as well as that with the children and her peers - will have meaning in the future.
``We talk a lot about all of the problems in the world but I like to think that everyone can chip away at their little corner of the world and be considered part of the solution some day,'' Seiler said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JO-ANN CLEGG
At Green Run Elementary, Renee Seiler teaches 25 classes a week,
sponsors two art clubs, serves as academic coordinator and chairs
the staff and community development committee.
by CNB