Schools teaching more than what's on the tests

One class has just finished cooking foods from Britain, Morocco and Mexico.

There are still leftovers in the ovens when her next class -- Creative Clothing -- arrives.

Years ago, her classes would have been labeled "home economics." But here, in a room filled with stoves, sewing machines and sinks, it's The World of Foods for cooking, Survival Skills for the lowdown on health insurance and investments, and Creative Clothing for sewing.

Those are life skills that are not measured in SATs or state assessment tests. But they are equally important.

That's why school districts like Pocono Mountain strive to keep the liberal arts alive and well.

Pocono Mountain students in grades 9 through 12 are offered a buffet of fine and liberal arts courses, including 18 in art, nine in music, as well as others in drama, writing and three foreign languages. The district also offers vocational courses in drafting, auto body repair, carpentry, plumbing, masonry, cosmetology and culinary arts. That comes from a deliberate effort by the district, according to Superintendent Dr. David Krauser.

"They happen because people are committed," he says. "Our teachers believe in the value of art education for all students."

The district is unique in other ways. Since 1986, enrollment has grown by 7,000 to 10,151 students, making it one of the largest districts in the state. Currently, Pocono Mountain has one alternative school, seven elementary schools, two intermediate buildings, and a split junior and senior high school. A second high school is currently under construction. Enrollment continues to grow 5 percent each year.

Sheer size has allowed Pocono Mountain to offer unusual courses, Dr. Krauser says. "But we've always believed that students need experiences in the visual and fine arts."

With a student's day at the high school in Tannersville divided up into four 90-minute blocks, along with a half-hour lunch, there's plenty of time to spend exploring the arts and uncovering hidden talents.

GETTING THEIR HANDS DIRTY

It's just before 9 a.m. as Marie Iacobacci, a 17-year-old junior, works on two small ceramic fish lying before her on a work table shared by three other students.

Nearby, another student is throwing a pot on a wheel. The red clay is not meeting expectations, so she picks it up in wet hands, forms it into a ball and starts again.

This is the way students in Sue Crowley's ceramics class start their day.

"It doesn't feel like coming to school," Marie says, finishing up the last details on one of her 5-inch-long fish. "It's a relaxing class. It doesn't feel like work."

"Ninety-eight percent of these kids are never going to see clay again," Mrs. Crowley says.

She contends that her students learn more than how to fire a piece in a kiln. "We develop a sense of community here," Mrs. Crowley says. Students help her set up the kiln in a pit dug near the soccer field, while others give their opinions on what glazes to use on different pieces. There is give and take, and constructive criticism reigns.

Then there was the clay stomp, when students took off their shoes and socks, gathered up unused bits of clay, threw them down on a tarp and mashed them into something usable.

"You know what?" Mrs. Crowley asks. "The clay was beautiful."

TICKLING THE IVORIES

Wearing headphones and a microphone, Sue Rice takes her students through their paces in a small room crammed with electronic keyboards. It's oddly quiet in here, especially for a music class. Thanks to technology, the nine students can each play different pieces, listening on their own headphones, without disturbing each other.

"That's a good groove you've got going there," she tells one student who is trying to find her way through a blues tune.

The class -- open to students with no prerequisite -- is filled with beginners and those with some experience.

"We get kids with no musical background," Ms. Rice explains. "In the last five years, I've gotten a lot of band and choral students who have no keyboarding skills."

Sara Peitz, a 17-year-old junior with a year's worth of piano and voice lessons, is practicing a minuet. "It helps that we have a music major here," she says. "A lot of high schools don't have that. I was pretty bad when I started, but my work ethic has improved."

But this will be the last keyboarding class Ms. Rice will be teaching at Pocono Mountain. She's off to Kalamazoo, Mich., to start work on her master's degree this fall. "It's been an amazing experience for 11 years," she says.

Her students, too, are in for a new experience. Their final exam isn't on paper -- it's on a grand piano in front of an audience. "They get so nervous," Ms. Rice says. "Some of them will physically shake at the piano."

THE (LOUD) SOUND OF MUSIC

Across the hall, the over 50-piece wind ensemble is getting ready to do a little musical recruiting.

Preparing for a performance at one of the district's elementary schools, teacher Jonathan Searfoss hopes the concert piques the interest of a few who will fill the chairs in front of him over the next few years.

The rehearsal hall, called a "concrete bunker" by Mr. Searfoss, is filled with tubas, trombones, flutes, clarinets and oboes. Banners declaring the marching band's unprecedented four consecutive wins, beginning in 1997, of the Atlantic Coast Tournament of Bands competition hang in the background.

"Just play the number of notes that are actually there," Mr. Searfoss tells one flutist. "The right notes at the right time."

A music teacher for the last 18 years, Mr. Searfoss is often reminded by his students that he owns neckties older than they are. The good-natured sparring that goes on shows how different this class is from math or English. And for Mr. Searfoss, that's the point.

"They can't do anything like this in any other class," he says. "The final product depends on everybody else.

"We're not going to make music majors out of anybody."

But that doesn't include senior Brian Sadler, 18, who's off to the Navy to join a fleet band. He'll work on his music degree while he plays the trombone. "They will be paying me to play," he says.

Boot camp begins July 23.

A STITCH IN TIME

Samantha Tricarico, a 15-year-old freshman, throws her pink, green and blue flowered quilt onto the tiled floor. Both she and her teacher, Mrs. Rodite, take a good, long look.

"It certainly is attractive," Mrs. Rodite says. "Your measurements are very accurate. What grade would you give yourself?"

Samantha points to a lumpy, less than perfect edge. "A 91."

"That's very honest of you," Mrs. Rodite affirms.

Making the quilt wasn't easy, and although Samantha has no great impulse to rush home and quilt, another is likely on the way. "I didn't get my mom a Mother's Day present, so I told her I would make her a quilt."

She won't be the only one getting something from the class. All the quilts made by the students -- 40 a year for the last 10 years -- are donated to Pocono Area Transitional Housing, which serves displaced families. Fuzzy teddy bears with button eyes and noses made earlier in the year are also on their way.

Mrs. Rodite teaches the practical, making sure her students have skills they can use every day.

"They come here to sew," she says, "but I teach them life skills."

DEVELOPING A PASSION

But there's something more going on in the district's arts classes than the chance to master a medium: An appreciation of aesthetics is under construction.

"Our goal is a well-rounded student, and arts education contributes to that," Dr. Krauser says. "We believe they need to learn the skills involved in the fine arts because it helps them view things from a different perspective."

His faculty is looking to make sure that appreciation continues well beyond graduation.

"The biggest thing that kids get out of this is a passion for the arts," Mr. Searfoss explains. "Everyone is worried about what they're going to do to make a living, rather than what they are going to do to live."