New Haven Independent

The parents joined a tour Thusday of the new Cooperative Arts and Humanities magnet high school building on College Street. It was one of seven tours the school system is holding for prospective parents, as well as some politicians, to “brag about our district,” in the words of schools spokeswoman Michelle Wade.

Joining Denise Stevens (left in photo) and Joan Kaufman on the tour Thursday morning were other parents, librarians, Yale Law Clinic researchers, representatives from the low-income parents’ advocacy group Teach Our Children, and two aspiring aldermen, Justin Elicker and Michael Jones.

The Co-Op tour was the sixth of seven the city conducted to show schools to prosective parents.

The school’s principal, Dolores Garcia-Blocker, said, “My vision at Co-Op is that our students get in effect a private school quality education and graduate with what they need to succeed in college and beyond.”

So off Denise Stevens and Joanne Kaufman went to see if the school would suit their kids. Stevens, who owns the Matrix Public Health Solutions Company in New Haven, has a 12-year-old interested in music and film. “And there’s nothing in Killingworth,” she said, “like an arts high school.”

Kaufman’s daughter is more interested in musical theater and dance. Even before they got to the studios and classrooms, both parents were impressed with the retail space pending rental on the College Street side of the school.

“Why don’t you find a dance supply shop?” suggested Kaufman. “My daughter and all the kids now have to go down to Greenwich to get a good variety of tights and things to choose from.”

Sue Weisselberg, who major-domo-ed the construction of Co-Op, said the economy was slowing down the rental of the place, but all ideas were welcome.

Kaufman discussed with her guide, junior Nicole Colafati of North Branford, why she chose Co-Op as opposed, for example, to taking arts courses at the Educational Center for the Arts.

Colafati said she fell in love with her choral music teacher Harriet Alfred, and that was decider.

Also important to Kaufman was that, unlike the afternoon Educational Center for the Arts program for area high-schoolers, Co-Op’s academic and artistic classes are all under the same roof. No traveling from a traditional high school to another building in the afternoon.

Denise Stevens was concerned with how Co-Op integrates academics and arts classes , and whether a spirit of excitement about learning was also sustainable when there was so much test prep also required.

Her guide, Emmanuel Almodovar, also a choral music major and a junior, said it all works for him: six academic periods and two arts periods per day. “Math is challenging to me, and Mr. Frazier, the math teacher, stays after school and helps, especially in prep for the SATs.”

This tour was the first for Kaufman and Stevens. Elicker, who is competing with Allan Brison for the East Rock Ward 10 aldermanic post, has been on four tours already. “Look,” he said, “the school system is very complex, and from Hooker in my area to Cross and East Rock Magnet School, it matters a lot to the constituents.”

Elicker asked how Co=Op determines the dropout rate. Leida Pacini, the school systems’ chief of staff, who was present, called finding an accurate number remains a challenge.The state is initiating measures better to track kids who move from district to district and, say, into Adult Ed, she said.

“Can you give me a ballpark?” Elicker persisted.

“I’d say 16 percent,” Pacini responded.

Mike Jones, running unopposed for alderman in Ward One, was there, too He said he is a great believer in letting kids pursue their real interests, and he was excited to see that everywhere at Co-Op. “Just look at these kids. Without being able to go to a school like this, many would fall through the cracks.”

Elicker pointed out that the tours on the program so far, which have included Daniels, Betsy Ross, and Co-Op, “are some of the schools the Board of Ed is proudest of. I intend to see all the schools.”

So what did Kaufman and Stevens conclude by the end of the hour-long circumambulation of one of the most sun-lit and shining interior spaces in town?

Stevens said she was impressed with the large number of honors and A.P. classes she saw. She liked the opportunities for Co-Op students to attend and get credit for classes taken at Yale, Gateway, and other area colleges.

“The only minus,” said Kaufman, “is that it’s all a lottery system, no auditions, just chance to get in.” The waiting list is long. Principal Garcia-Blocker explained that school has to follow state guidelines.

Both women said they would next tour the school with their daughters. They said the daughters would ultimately decide whether to try to attend Co-Op. “Frankly,” said Kaufman, “when I entered my goal was to see if Co-Op was a viable option. I didn’t know it when I entered. Now I do. If my daughter gets in and wants to go, that’s fine with me.”

The last tour in this year’s program is to be held at Fair Haven Middle School.