In the cafetorium, a teacher was cross-hatching a cartoon character’s robe when a fourth-grader walked over with a carton of apple juice. “Will you draw me one?” Tavis Inabinett asked.
“I don’t like to draw for other people,” replied Reginald Augustine, the school’s art teacher. Augustine said he would give Tavis a greater gift — teach him how to draw for himself.
Click on the arrow at the top of the story to watch their exchange.
The interaction came Wednesday afternoon as part of a new experiment at the Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School on Derby Avenue, which is one of the first schools to take part in what will be a citywide school reform effort. The school was one of seven pilot schools to be graded last March and placed into three tiers, based mostly on student test scores. Barnard scored at the bottom level, Tier III. While the school isn’t being reconstituted, it is undergoing some changes this year, including a longer work day for teachers.
One change is taking place in the school cafetorium, where teachers now sit down and eat lunch at the table with their students. The school has 35 classroom teachers for 580 students in grades pre‑K to 8.
The new setup aims to extend learning beyond the classroom, and to build better relationships between students and adults — something that was identified as missing in the school last year.
The verdict is still out whether the changes will boost student achievement. In the lunchroom Wednesday, some relationships appeared to be forming.
Augustine, the school’s art and drama teacher, just joined Barnard this year after nine years at Wexler-Grant. He pulled up a chair to a table by the stage and started sketching with a pen. Around 12:30 p.m., three students sat nearby, quietly making their own pencil sketches in an informal drawing club.
The students naturally gravitated to his table, and often sketch beside him during lunch, said Augustine.
On Wednesday, his work drew particular interest. He was drawing Batman crouching on a brick ledge, with his cloak draping down. Augustine said aimed to show students how to draw shadows using small dots (called “stippling”) and crosshatches.
His students are working on the technique in class. Some are using traditional objects as models, such as a candle in a glass. He said he wanted to show them the technique in a less classical setting, in a fantasy world.
“I chose Batman because he’s such a dark character,” Augustine said.
At the change in lunch shifts, a handful of seventh and eighth graders gathered around to see his drawing.
“Is that Batman?” one asked.
Tavis (at left in photo) came in with the fourth-grade lunch shift. He picked up his lunch and apple juice made a bee-line for the art teacher.
He asked what materials Augustine used. The answer: pencil, then pen. Would the teacher make one for him?
Augustine said no.
“If I teach you how to draw, you’ll be able to draw this the rest of your life,” he explained. “If I just draw one for you, then you’ll just have one picture.”
The new lunch shift aims to build better bonds with teachers. On a school survey taken last year, 17 percent of students said they do not have an adult in the school whom they can trust. That’s a bit higher than the district average of 13 percent.
About 12 percent of students said they were uncomfortable or very uncomfortable approaching a teacher about a problem they’re having in class.
“Creating strong connections among adults and students” is one of four focuses of the school’s reforms this year, according to Principal Mike Crocco. He said during the new joint lunch hour, some teachers play games with kids, some chat informally, and others bring in food. By union contract, teachers still get a break during the schoolday to make up for the free time they used to have during lunch.
Teacher Judy Berman admitted she was at first skeptical of the idea of eating lunch with her students.
“I really wasn’t sure the students were going to get into it,” she said.
When she walked into the cafetorium Wednesday, she was met with a warm welcome.
“Miss Berman!” called out eighth-grader Alyssa Alston. “We have pineapple for you.”
The group of eighth-grade girls had won slices of pineapple from teacher Marjorie Drucker, as a reward for following directions.
Alyssa said she wanted to share some with Berman because the teacher always shares with her. Over the first couple of months at school, the group of students has grown from making fun of Berman’s lunch to making requests to eat it.
Berman said she often brings fruit and vegetables along with her standard crackers with cheese or peanut butter. Students looked over with interest.
“It started with the carrots,” Berman said. She passed around carrots with ranch dressing. They were a hit.
Strawberries came next. On Wednesday, Berman (pictured) handed out red, seedless grapes, which the half-dozen girls eagerly accepted.
Most of the students know Berman from the classroom, where she teaches Read 180, a literacy intervention program. She teaches small groups of students in grades six to eight.
Berman sat down Wednesday and opened a ziplock bag of crackers and a wedge of Laughing Cow creamy Swiss cheese. Around her, students gobbled up the fruit.
Alyssa said she enjoys eating with her teacher. She said it’s not much different from class. In both settings, Berman “preaches about being good,” she teased, after eating a plate of Berman’s grapes.
Berman said she used to eat in the teacher’s lounge, or in her classroom. She now looks forward to the daily lunches with students.
“It really has turned out to be a lot of fun,” she said.
Previous Independent stories on Barnard magnet school:
• Surprise! It Came From A Goat
• Barnard Teachers Set To Work
• Barnard Teachers Sign Up For Longer Day
• Schools Get Graded — & Shaken Up
THOSE TWO PRINCIPALS BEFORE CROCCO RUINED BARNARD....AND GUESS WHO SUFFERS THOSE THAT ARE THERE NOW...
SHAME ON YOU.....