Kids and Stanwood seniors pair perfectly

STANWOOD — For Florence Chase, the opportunity to see the smiling students of Summit Academy is reason enough to get up in the morning.

On a recent day, she brought them trimmed pages of the newspaper so each child could fold a paper hat.

Chase, 85, lives in the Lincoln School Senior Apartments, adjacent to the Stanwood Senior and Community Center. Summit Academy, a new private school that serves 15 students in kindergarten through second grade, is housed in the same building.

Seniors and students worked together this fall to write and illustrate a book. The intergenerational interaction between the seniors and the young students has been both natural and purposeful, said school founder, board member and parent Jane Cassady.

“So far it has surpassed our dreams,” Cassady said. “It’s all about enduring relationships and being part of a community.”

Earlier this school year, students were paired with senior mentors, who read to the children or listen to the kids read.

“They are all really nice to talk with, too,” said John Yengoyan, 7.

For a special literary project, the students interviewed their senior buddies and then wrote and illustrated stories from the older generation’s lives.

The stories were published in book form, a collective product that binds the two groups together, Cassady said.

Now the kids, their two teachers and the seniors throw parties for each other. The older folks are a great audience for the younger ones when it’s time to perform songs or dances.

“In a room full of grandmothers, the kids are completely uninhibited,” Cassady said.

It’s a lot of fun, said mentors Gloria Watanabe, 66, and Rita LaHatt, 70.

“To see their wonderful minds mature is very exciting,” LaHatt said.

She and second-grader Eva Hushagen, 7, enjoy reading to each other.

“We like the ‘Geronimo Stilton’ books,” Eva said. “These books are really addicting. Most are scary and fun, too.”

Summit School students learn to read and write as well as discover math, science and social studies through planned experiences and classroom academics, school director Vivian Scheidt said. The private school provides a nonreligious education that is an alternative to public and Christian schools.

Recently, Summit Academy students served as docents at the Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival. Having written their own picture book about snow geese, they had lots of knowledge to share, Scheidt said.

The students also bring a lot of joy to the older people, Lynn Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson, 73, works as a receptionist at the senior and community center. The highlight of her day is greeting the kids as they arrive at school. In the hallway near her desk, a line of children’s rain boots and small jackets hung on hooks above are a reminder that life is sweet, she said.

“The children have enriched my life,” Wilkerson said. “Having them here is an asset to seniors that is beyond belief.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.

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