Miner Elementary School Enters New Building

This week, Miner Elementary School (601 15th St. NE) had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new building, which is right behind the old one. Angela Tilghman, Miner's principal, spoke to Marc Borbely about the building, which students have been in since Jan. 21, about choosing what school to send kids to, about what neighbors can do for the school, and about her career.

You've been here [in this building] since January. How has it been?

Hectic. It's been very hectic. Because we were moving in, but occupying at the same time. We didn't have [the chance to] move in leisurely — we were moving in on the jump — and so for the first month or so it was hectic. It's been a lot of getting adjusted, getting ready, being ready for the kids. The staff has been real good about giving the extra time to get things done that need to be done. So that has made it a lot smoother.

And then we've had some other things going on here. We haven't been quiet. We've had a press conference here, about a new program the D.C. Public Schools is having, called New Leaders, New Schools — that was in February — and then we had the ribbon-cutting, so we've just been having a myriad of people here. And then a lot of visitors coming to see the school. So it's been hectic, but it's been good.

The new school — what's new about it? For the kids, what are some of the advantages of being in the new place, compared to the old one?

Well, first the space. It's a larger facility. But more so than that, we have a lot of children in our building who have special needs, and so now those service providers are able to have their own space. Before, many people were using the same space at the same time, and so we had to be very creative in terms of occupying different places within the building.

This new building has a vocal music room, which we had in the old school, but we also get an instrumental music room, which we did not have in the old school, so our instrumental music teacher now has his own home and his own space.

The new building has an art room, which we are gonna hire a part-time art teacher, who will be an art therapist — that's what we hope — to be able to work with the kids who have special needs. It's real good, especially, in terms of behavior management — in terms of anger management — where kids have a different avenue to kind of vent some of that. And then also, we have some kids that show a giftedness toward art, and we want to try to capture that. Our new space will allow that person to have a home, have a space to work in.

We also have a lot of tutors that come to the school. We have a little over 100 State Department tutors that come, and then we have other people who volunteer to work with kids, and in the building we now have four what we call extended learning areas. Instead of the tutors having to find someplace to work with kids, [the children] can come right out of their classrooms, into those spaces right outside their rooms, and be able to be serviced and work with the tutors, and it kind of makes your time on task more manageable, because the kids aren't going long distances — they're right there, so it makes for better communication between the tutor and the teacher.

Upstairs, we have what we call our large-group instruction area. We have a partnership with the Kennedy Center, and so the Kennedy Center provides us with artists-in-residence. They also provide us a myriad of performers who come to do different programs with the kids, and so now, instead of having to convert our student dining area all the time into an assembly place, now we have a place where we can have those kinds of things, and that also allows grade levels to have meetings — you can have small programs. So that's a space we didn't have that we now have.

The media center, for one, is larger. We have not moved in there yet, but we do have a full recording studio that is a part of the media center, so we'll be able to actually do live broadcasts from that area, that we'll be able to send all through the building, but then also it has the technology to record, so we can actually record things from within there.

What else? Instead of a P.E. room, a full gym. It's not finished yet. We're waiting on the delivery of the gym floor, and you'll get to see that area. [There's] now a counseling suite.

There's a play therapy room that is waiting for the two-way mirror. It'll be a two-way mirror, because a lot of times it's good for parents to be able to see the kinds of things that children express, but then on the other end, children would not necessarily know the parent is having that opportunity. It's also very healing for parents, because that helps them through whatever the processes are.

We have a lot of kids who have a lot of grief issues, and often you'll hear parents who'll say, "They'll get over." But a lot of times, adults can't get over. And so this is an opportunity to kind of expand some of the services that parents will be able to participate in with their child. We have several outside service agencies, like the William Wendt Center [for Loss and Healing] that comes in and does grief counseling with kids, and we're just launching a new partnership — there's a new agency opening down on 15th and Benning Road that will also do mental health services, through Catholic University — it's a partnership that they have. And they're also gonna come up and do some grief counseling with the kids.

That's basically it. We'll have a couple of additional classrooms next year that we did not have. Right now we have a preschool handicapped program that's an inclusion program, but next year we'll also have a pre-school handicapped self-contained classroom. That will be new. I guess that's about it.

We're waiting for that old building to be torn down. We anticipate that's gonna happen some time in April.

Is the entrance to this building gonna stay on 16th Street?

No. 15th Street is the entrance. There'll be a parking lot that will be out in the front. But our temporary entrance is on 16th. So everything is shifting. And it's funny because I tell people, "Now that's the back door!" And they'll say, "Well, why am I coming through the back door?" Well, you can't come through the front door yet.

So we anticipate that everything will be finished sometime August, September. Right now, they don't have the playground areas done. We got into the winter and the wonderful snow that has crippled everything, and so the ball fields and all the play apparatus and all that will come in the spring and in the summer.

Have you had a sense — from the faculty or the kids — what's your sense of their reaction to being in the new space.

They like the new space. We've had opportunities to talk to kids about things that they like about the new school. And it's funny, because when you listen to them, some of the things that they say — they pick up on the fact that the colors are different. They pick up on the fact that we don't have chalkboards anymore. They pick up on how the heating system is different. A lot of little things that you would say, "Well, I didn't even realize that they would pay those kinds of things any attention." The classrooms are larger. Each of the children from Head Start up through Second Grade actually have restrooms in the rooms, so they don't have to go out of the classroom to go to the restroom. Every classroom has a water fountain in the room. So those kinds of things that we never had we do have. So they like the newness — the new kinds of things that we have in the building. Generally, I think they like it.

For some of them, it's taking a while for them to adjust to the size, because [in the old school] you had a new building and an old building, so even though the size of the building was large, this building is larger. It really takes a lot to go through and get around it, and so for some of them, it's difficult to adjust to being in such a large space, and you don't know where you are — you're learning your way around, where many of them were very comfortable. So it's a whole adjustment period — you're getting used to being in a new home, a new space, and probably by this time next year, they would be over that piece.

You've been in the community a long time.

I live in the community. I grew up in the community. Most people know me. I grew up in the house I came home from the hospital into. So I've been in the neighborhood all my life. We have a lot of new people, so they don't know me, but most of the seniors that are there, or the kids who are my age know me and know the family.

You yourself — do you have kids?

I have 500 in here all day long. (laughs!) Those are my children — those are the ones I have. No, I don't.

The reason I'm asking is — when people ask you, "I'm a parent. I'm trying to figure out my choices about sending my kids places." What do you suggest, [for] how they think about their choices? I mean, in my mind, if they have a lot of money, they can spend money. If they don't, they can come to the public schools that are here [or transfer to other, out-of-boundary schools,] or move. How should people think about that choice?

I've had that asked to me. What I tell people is that you need to go see. But you need to go see in different venues. You need to go see where you make an appointment to go see. You need to go see when you just happen to be in the neighborhood and you want to go see, so you can get a real taste of whatever the schools are. And to go see different facets of the school. So you might want to see the reading program — "When do you teach reading?" — or you may want to go see math — "When is math?" — or when are some of the special kinds of things that you have.

Another thing is ask children. Ask the children who are in your neighborhood, "Tell me about your school. What kinds of things do you have in your school? What kinds of things do you like about your school? What kinds of things will my little one do when they come to your school?" The children know.

And children are very honest. I've noticed in your newsletter, you've interviewed some of the kids that are here. A couple of them have been featured in there. So the kids will tell you. But you need to go see.

I think a lot of times, people go on the premise of what they've heard about a school, rather than going to see the life of the school for themselves, and then a lot of the schools that we have on the Hill have reputations. And it very well may be that there are lots of other schools that are on the Hill, too, that you don't give the opportunity, because you haven't been in those particular schools to see. So I would tell them to go see the school — see the life of the school. That will give you a clearer picture of the kinds of things that are going on.

At this point, Ms. Tilghman began showing me around the new school building. We passed pre-kindergarten/kindergarten children, walking in a line with their after-school class. Ms. Tilghman showed me the play-therapy room, the counselor suite, and some of the classrooms. Each classroom currently has three — and will have five — computers in it. She showed me a room with a shower (for students whose clothing might get soiled), a stove, a refrigerator, a washer and a dryer. She showed me the Head Start classrooms for three-year-olds and four-year-olds. She pointed out the sinks and the big windows in the classrooms, and the skylights in the main hallway. She showed me the computer lab, where about a dozen children were playing on computers. She showed me the future playground, still under construction.

We met Ms. Portia Etheridge, a kindergarten teacher, who said her new room is "as big as a kindergarten room should be." Ms. Etheridge, who has taught for 35 years, 10 of them at Miner, said she had nothing but good things to say about the new building. She said that having a contained water fountain and bathroom makes a difference for the kids.

We saw the teacher planning rooms (there are two on each floor) and the extended learning spaces, which are large open areas with chairs, where tutors can work with children outside the classrooms.

You mentioned tutoring. Are there any opportunities or anything that people in the community could do to be useful? Are there goods or services, like tutoring, or donations?

All of the above. We don't refuse anything.

If you had a wish list for the community —

Probably the biggest thing, right now, if I'm just wishing, is we're trying to figure out what kind of things we're gonna put together for an emergency — like water and those kinds of things. So those are our immediate kinds of things that we're starting to look at, that we really know we need to put together. But budgetwise, there's certain things you can buy out of your budget, and food, water, those kind of things you're not permitted to buy. So that probably would be an immediate wish kind of thing. Small quantities of that.

Canned foods?

Well, see, canned foods probably no. Because if it were an emergency you can't cook. So it would have to be non-cookable kinds of things.

What's ideal? What kinds of foods would be ideal?

That's what we're brainstorming about. Crackers, and cheese and those kinds of things.

Tutoring or food — what should [neighbors] do if they're interested in [offering] either of those?

Just call. They can just call the school. [724-4565].

We saw the future gym, where the floor and the bleachers still had to be installed. Ms. Tilghman pointed to the two-sided stage, in one of the gym's walls. The stage opens up to the gym on one side and the dining room on the other.

We saw the media center, with equipment still to be installed, and the instrumental room, containing about numerous keyboards. We saw the library and the dining room. We saw the restrooms and community sinks in the halls on the upper floor, for the older children.

As we walked, Ms. Tilghman greeted children whom we passed — "Good afternoon." Some of the kids responded in kind. Others just gave her a hug.

How long have you been in the school system or in education?

Since '79.

Can you trace your career a little bit?

Professional? Or going to school? Or what?

Whatever you want.

Well, I went to Lovejoy, at 12th and E Street, and Lovejoy is getting ready to become the lofts and all. So I started there. At the time when I went to Lovejoy, we had a million children in the neighborhood. (laughs). Most families had four or five children per household, and Lovejoy was too crowded, so they split us up. When I was in second grade, I went to school part-day, because we had so many children. We went half a day. And then at the end of fourth grade, they moved us to Kingsman, in the 1300 block of E.

So I went to Kingsman and Lovejoy, and then I went to Catholic school — Holy Comforter - Saint Cyprian [Roman Catholic School], which is up on East Capitol [at 1503 East Capitol St. SE].

Catholic school was high school?

I went to Catholic school all the way through high school. Then I went to Catholic University. I had three-fourths of my tuition paid, so I went to Catholic University with a scholarship. Then I graduated, and I enrolled full-time in graduate school, and then I got the opportunity to open up a kindergarten classroom, so I started teaching up at Nativity Catholic School. I was there for a year, and then I came to D.C. Public Schools in '79. In '79, I was RIFed from public schools — because that was the year they had their RIF [Reduction in Force].

What does RIF mean?

It means that they let teachers go. And then I went out and taught in Fairfax for a couple of years, and then I came back and taught in my church school for three years, and then came back in D.C. Public Schools in '85, taught for two years down in Southwest [at a school that's now closed], and then I went into a program for training for principals, which they called an administrative internship program, which I did for a year. I was an intern up at Shepherd Elementary School, and then the following fall, which was '88, I went to River Terrace in Smothers — I was assistant principal there two years — and in '90 I went to Capitol Hill Cluster, where I was at Watkins and Peabody for two years. And then I came here in May '92, and I've been here ever since.

We saw a teacher teaching multiplication (kids were very excited, receiving play money for answering questions correctly) in the large-group instruction area.

Ms. Tilghman showed me how classrooms could be opened up and combined, to make larger spaces.

Aside from getting all this [construction and moving in] done, what are your very long-term hopes or dreams?

Keeping our test scores moving. I guess that's the long-range. Just to keep our academic achievement level where it is right now and moving to increase. That's the long-range. So all the kinds of things that you have to do to do that, that's what I want to try to do.

We saw the art room. Ms. Tilghman said there was a kiln in the closet.

One of the parents [whose children are at Miner and] who lives close to me — I told her I was going to come talk to you. The one concern she had was about discipline.

Any school you go to, you're gonna have some kids that have some issues, but then how you address them is what we try to work through. So for some children, you may find that they have a difficult time.

But what we try to do is look where they came from, to where we're trying to get them to go to, and that's why we try to look at the services that we can provide. I did mention to you about grief issues. We have a lot of children that have a lot of anger. And so until you can get families to work through those, you have to work through them in school.

This is the first time, in this newsletter, that Miner is really being featured. Is there anything else that you'd like neighbors to know about Miner?

A: We have a lot going on here — you just have to come in and see the wonderful things that we are exposing the kids to. I guess I'm kind of the mindset that if somebody offers, we'll try. And so that's how we've been able to get a lot of the services and programs for the kids — to give them a rounded experience.

And it's good for them, because they have the opportunity to learn to read and to write and do math some other ways, so it doesn't necessarily have to be the traditional — a lot can be achieved through the arts, and we do a lot here with the arts. I guess that's about it.

Thank you. §