New Haven Independent

The kids remained excited as Joanna Murray Keylock and her sister Paula Murray took the stage to present their book, Pupazzo’s Colorful World. The book was conceived both as a story and a language instruction tool. Each page is not only printed in English and Spanish, but also includes helpful pronunciation cues for both languages.

The sisters read from their story to satisfy general curiosity about Pupazzo, who turns out to be a very friendly bear”“un oso amable. With sponsorship from the Grand Avenue Village Association, the school was able to offer each student a copy of the book to take home.

Elsa Marrero was delighted to see her granddaughter, Alice’s, copy of the book. “I am learning English, too,” she exclaimed. “It is difficult to learn, but it is very good to have both English and Spanish in the book,” explained the grandmother, mixing the two languages herself.

Of course the cleverly marketed story wasn’t only unusual aspect of the meeting. Christopher Columbus’s remarkably deft publicity blitz attracted kids and their families to share in other surprising facets of their monthly parent-teacher meeting. Families browsed a colorful book fair to stock up on more reading material for the kids. Edna Cruz-Cedeno, a representative from the United Shoreline Federal Credit Union, offered a short presentation to educate parents about banking services, including educational savings accounts and international wire transfers. Parents listened attentively during the presentation in Spanish and English, and asked pointed questions about their options.

Dr. Abie Benitez, Christopher Columbus’s director, smiled as she surveyed the crowd. “Of course we were expecting an even bigger turnout. It is often much more crowded.” She and her staff have found a model that really seems to work: “Every month we share information and education, and we definitely break bread together.”

Several members of the staff helped to foster the festive atmosphere on Thursday. Mario Rosas-Soto, a first-year teacher who came from Puerto Rico to work at the school, served pizza to the families after story time was over. The food and drink were sponsored by local businesses. To keep the energy up, door prizes wrapped in brightly colored cellophane were raffled every 15 minutes. Students, who are encouraged to attend the monthly meetings, stayed busy coloring pictures at several large tables.

Just as the school relies on clever strategies to spark the kids’ sincere interest in reading, it encourages parental involvement by making its parent teacher meetings informative and even fun. Dr. Benitez emphasized some things that are notably absent from the Christopher Columbus parent-teacher meetings. “There are no long speeches from teachers or administrators, and no lectures admonishing parents to participate differently in their children’s education.” Apparently, Christopher Columbus has found that family and fun, not to mention free pizza, are much more persuasive.