Even at three campuses, St. Thérèse’s mission continues

Imagine an elementary school campus in a park encompassing 56,000 square feet on 8 1/2 acres that features interactive exhibits detailing the origin of food and how it arrives at a grocery for purchase; sensory-rich music and bubble rooms; displays on the uniqueness of New Orleans; and a 100-foot-long Mississippi River Water Table demonstrating commerce along the river.

That’s what 50 St. Thérèse Academy students in grades pre-K3 through 4 have experienced over the past few weeks at the Louisiana Children’s Museum (LCM) in City Park since being displaced from their Metairie campus by Hurricane Ida. (The academy’s middle-school students landed at Archbishop Chapelle High School, and the eighth-grade and high school students eventually moved to the Gentilly headquarters of the archdiocese’s CYO office.)

St. Thérèse head of school Shannon Bland said the move by her younger students to the Children’s Museum was beneficial because the “hands-on, multi-sensory way of learning is so important.”

The archdiocese opened St. Thérèse in 2019 specifically for students with learning differences, which run the gamut from autism to intellectual disabilities and genetic disorders. The school has grown quickly – adding approximately 60 students just this year – as more parents have discovered it as a perfect place for their children.

Bland said the past 18 months having to deal with COVID and then the hurricane have been unsettling for students who do best with routine.

To keep them on track, she scrambled to find a new home for her students while repairs were in progress – turning to her sister-in-law Julia Bland, CEO of the museum, for help. She knew the museum had housed Langston Hughes Academy charter students last year.

“All the skills are skills they need to learn, but, one step further, it’s in a hands-on environment with an edible garden, an area with percussion drums and other things,” Bland said. “The museum’s indoor open spaces have been great for play on rainy days. And, the students’ social skills are being reinforced.”

Teachers love it
St. Thérèse teachers quickly adapted to the content-rich museum exhibits by creating new lesson plans.

Pre-K and kindergarten teacher Katie Pareti and first- and second-grade teacher Sheri Barkemeyer retooled the social studies/science curriculum around the museum’s exhibits. They incorporated videos and books on how food moves from barges by a pulley system along the Mississippi and taught students how to distinguish fruits and vegetables using the exhibit on “Mr. Okra,” a recently deceased New Orleanian who sold produce from a cart. They said students have adapted beautifully.

“We use the museum as an education resource every day,” Pareti said. “We didn’t want the museum time to just be recess or for students to see this as just play. I think this is a whole new experience. When does a school have an opportunity to come to a museum for like a month-long field trip? The museum is going to benefit from us being here, and we benefit from being here. These exhibits are so rich. Hopefully, we can bring it back to our school.”
















This year’s new partnership with Crane Rehabilitation and DePaul Community Health Centers, which provides therapy and behavioral health for students, has translated well in a museum room.

“Students don’t have to leave the school to get therapy,” Bland said.
Community-minded design

Julia Bland said the museum envisioned many uses when it reopened in 2019 in City Park. Exhibits are embedded with Common Core standards and are compliant with federal laws for those with disabilities, and the museum allotted space for community purposes. Built to sustain a Category 5 storm and three feet of ground water, the museum sustained little damage during Ida. 

“But, I never would have thought that a school would move in for a year like (Langston Hughes) did last year,” Bland said.


Without a formal study, Bland anecdotally said Langston Hughes students who spent their 2020-21 school year at the museum outperformed their peers in the same charter system by 35%; nearly half the class scored above grade level.

“They made tremendous gains last year,” Bland said, not only academically but socially and emotionally.

The museum piqued the students’ interest and curiosity in new things and taught life skills, she said.

“Our museum is play-based in the way children learn,” Bland said. “They are understanding concepts in a way that is interactive and social. They were in an environment they do best in – learning through play.”

The mental-health setbacks that students elsewhere were experiencing during COVID weren’t seen, Bland said. Students at the museum were “singing, twirling and playing ‘Ring Around the Rosie.’ We knew the kids were happy.”

The teachers were equally content, she said.

Thankful to be here
Shannon Bland said because the storm affected each student differently, St. Thérèse is constantly talking to parents to gauge each student’s needs. Those who have been unable to return to the classroom are using Google Classroom.
 
“Overall, I feel like it’s been pretty smooth,” Shannon Bland said. “We were able to get back pretty quickly. Teachers are going above and beyond to help families out. We’re doing what we have to do to educate our students. It’s been wonderful here. The Louisiana Children’s Museum is an unlikely place to have a classroom, but it was designed to teach.”

“We all learn differently,” Julia Bland said. “This unique partnership gives us a chance to take what we designed and see how it works for children with special needs.”

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