Opinion: In Praise Of Hallett
Artie’s Story: Another Reason This School Is Worth Saving
By Andrew Sense
For the GPHN
We are so fortunate in Park Hill to have so many wonderful neighborhood schools to choose from. But in our current system, they are all in constant competition with each other for students, funding, and resources. Given the declining enrollment in the district overall and the subsequent threat of closures, the situation feels dire for the schools that face systemic disadvantages. This includes the amazing Hallett Academy, at 29th and Jasmine.
In recent years this newspaper and the Park Hill Neighbors for Equity in Education have covered the story of Hallett’s miracle worker of a principal, Dominique Jefferson, in the face of systemic inequity. (Links to two past stories are at the end of this column.) My family’s experience at Hallett Academy is typical, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to share a little of it so that neighbors can see what a critical part of the neighborhood the school is, and so that folks might join us and help us fight for it.
The most extraordinary thing about Hallett for my family has been the incredibly short learning curve it took them to figure out my kid. My son is a brilliant, sensitive, beautiful learner. He is also on the autism spectrum and can be a challenging student.
When we first got Artie’s diagnosis in kindergarten, we thought we needed to find him a more specialized school to meet his unique needs. We choiced into a small charter which the district closed last year due to low enrollment, so we found ourselves looking for a new school for our child in the middle of his elementary school years. I emailed Mrs. Jefferson, and got an immediate response, and on a snow day last January she made time to get to know us and to describe her vision.
At Hallett Academy, every child is seen for the individual that they are, and every child gets loved into learning. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to meet Mrs. Jefferson, you know that this isn’t just something she says. It is what she lives. And it works.
Artie was excited to go to Hallett because it meant that he could walk to school on his own just like his big brother. So on his first day at his new school, off he went. On that first day, I couldn’t help myself from following him at a distance. I watched as, on a crowded playground surrounded by adoring kids trying to tell her all about their summer, Mrs. Jefferson spotted Artie, warmly engaged him, showed him where to go, and then watched to make sure he got there. For a nervous parent of kid who has an extra tough time with change, this meant the world to me.
Mrs. Jefferson treats my son like she treats every kid at Hallett: genuinely, like they are her own. She still doesn’t know this, but the profoundest thing about that exchange was that in that moment when Mrs. Jefferson greeted him, I saw Artie look up and meet her eyes. Artie doesn’t do eye contact most of the time. But he did it right away with her.
From day one, Artie’s teachers have gone above and beyond to figure out how to make school work for him. His language arts teacher started working with Artie’s outside occupational therapist to make sure everybody was on the same page with writing, which is Artie’s kryptonite. The music teacher found out that Artie plays the bass guitar and set up times before school to jam with him.
Even though Artie doesn’t qualify for a one-to-one para on his IEP, it was clear that he needed extra support in the transition, and they matched him up with a para who has been the most incredible mentor to him and whose patience and kindness appears limitless. Right before winter break, Artie’s math teacher showed me a test Artie completed that demonstrated a level of growth that I could never have imagined. My son is having the experience of being a successful student for the first time in his life, and it is transforming him.
In some ways our experience is specific to the unique learner that our son is. But the culture at Hallett of valuing every kid as the individual that they are means that every kid’s needs get met and celebrated, regardless of their level of skills. Teachers and staff at Hallett Academy are well equipped to figure out every kid, just like they figured out mine.
Hallett Academy is the quintessential neighborhood school. It is just waiting on more neighbors to become part of its community.
Andy Sense loves living in beautiful Park Hill and is the proud parent of two DPS students.
Editor’s note: Past coverage of Hallett’s history and leadership can be read at the following links:
• greaterparkhill.org/news-and-opinion/hallett-academy-soaring-to-new-heights/