nothin FAME Starts Fresh | New Haven Independent

FAME Starts Fresh

Maya McFadden Photo

Amor, Jorge, Ana, and mom Luz Almontes at the end of the first day of Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration (FAME).

The former Columbus Family Academy kicked off the school year with a new name, a new principal — and a new fifth-grade scientist, who on his first day absorbed a lesson about ecosystems.

The newly renamed Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration (FAME) welcomed more than 400 students kindergarten through eighth back to school in-person Monday for the first day of the school year.

At afternoon pick-up, parents and students celebrated a successful first day. Parents were all ears, ready to hear all about their children’s return to in-person learning.

Luz Almontes picked up her fifth, fourth, and second graders Monday. Almontes trio Jorge, Amor, and Ana agreed they had a good first day.

Fifth-grader Jorge said his favorite part of the first day back was his science lesson about ecosystems. In addition to learning about the make-up of different ecosystems, Jorge’s class learned that oil spills are a big pollution,” he said.

Almontes and husband her husband synchronized their work schedules with the kids’ school schedule. Her husband drops off the kids in the morning; she picks them up at the end of the day.

Almontes, who lives in Fair Haven Heights, is no longer working full-time. That enables her to make time to pick her kids up when released from school. Instead of clocking out at 2:30 p.m, Almontes now gets off at 1 p.m each day to get her kids while her husband works the second shift daily.

It’s been a hectic first day but I love this school,” Almontes said.

Fourth-grader Amor enjoyed introducing herself to her classmates. She told her class about some of her favorites, like purple, her favorite color, and quenepas, her favorite food.

Second-grader Ana spent much of her day coloring, she said. She colored pictures of butterflies , bringing home a purple butterfly sticker to share with her mom. Ana added that wearing her mask all day was hard for her.

FAME staffers Judy Leach, Kerry Hayes, Marisol Rodriguez, Regina Carini, and Marisol Albarran.

School staff described the first day as a smooth fresh start to the year of change. It’s a new year, new administration, and new name. I look forward to the changes. We’re off to an amazing start already,” said special Ed teacher Kerry Hayes.

FAME’s new principal, Marisol Rodriguez, was promoted this past May. After being transferred from Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy, Rodriguez quickly got to work in July preparing for the new school year.

As the day ended and students boarded buses or met their parents, Rodriguez received help from multiple staff members dressed in striped referee shirts, for a football-themed kick-off.

Rodriguez worked with her support and custodial staff to get the school building ready. The school building was cleaned and prepped as of last week, Rodriguez said. My building was ready with no problems, which is why we had a busy but organized opening,” she said.

The joy of teaching is back with them here in the building again,” Read 180 teacher Judy Leach said.

Sofia and Crystal Roldan.

To pick up her kindergartener and fourth grader Monday, Crystal Roldan pulled up a personalized QR code for school staff to scan. The new system is used for homeroom teachers to document who picked up each child at the end of the day.

Roldan and her three kids recently moved from East Haven to New Haven, where she grew up.

Going through East Haven schools, I feel New Haven has some catching up to do with organization,” she said.

Her daughter, Sofia Roldan, 4, could hardly wait to tell her mom about her first day. She practiced writing her name, she reported, although she learned to do it this summer thanks to lots of practice with mom.

It was easy. I knew when I was a baby how to write,” Sofia said.

As a single mom, Roldan had to take eight months off work during the pandemic to care for her kids at home. She has since returned to work. She arranged her schedule to be able to pick her kids up from school every day. 

Roldan enrolled two of her three kids at FAME this year because it is close to her job at Fair Haven Community Health Care, where she works as a referral representative.

I really wanted something that was multilingual,” she added, referring to FAME’s bilingual curriculum.

Sofia said she was a little nervous until she made her first friend, who she admitted to her mom was a boy. Sofia said her mask was no problem throughout the day, as she has already gotten used to wearing it often.

The New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) reopening plan requires all students and staff to wear face masks in school buildings and on buses.

NHPS spokesperson Justin Harmon reported that the district has 20,000 students enrolled for the new school year, similar to last year’s number.

On Monday students boarded their school buses at the front of the building while parents picked their kids up at the back doors on Fillmore Street.

Donald and Decari Greene.

Donald Greene picked up his sixth-grader Decari Greene, 11, from the school’s lengthy dismissal line.

As of March, Greene has been out of work on workers’ compensation. During the summer this helped his family avoid child care expenses. Now it gives him the time to pick up his son from school daily.

For the first day of school, Decari said, his classes focused on icebreakers. Like many other kids, Decari said he is used to wearing his mask. He said he did not even notice he was wearing it throughout the day.

Decari said he was most excited that he got no homework on his first day. He looks forward to going to his favorite class: gym.

Being in-person is better than virtual gym,” he said.

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