Adults' Quotes
School Administrators and Teachers
“Cool Classics! has become an integral part of our school-wide plan to foster a love for reading and learning. Ms. Tapp's passion for the program is infectious and has transformed many of its participants.” – Carlos Azcoitia Jr., Principal, Horace Greeley Elementary School, a 2007 NCLB Blue Ribbon School
"Cool Classics! has been a staple at Greeley elementary's community school program. Its staff has worked collaboratively with Urban Gateways to bring an appreciation of the visual performance arts, as well as the love of books and learning to the students at Greeley. Cool Classics! provides the students with exposure to new cultures, literature, and experiences like live performances and classic books. For example, last summer they read The Phantom Tollbooth and took a field trip to The Field Museum, where they were able to talk with real scientists to make real connections to the book. It is these type of experiences that students may not have had access to otherwise. Cool Classics! is a great program for the students and parents of Greeley." - Scott Boscapomi, Community Programs Manager, Urban Gateways
"Start to finish Cool Classics! is one of the best after-school programs your school can adopt. The primary students loved all aspects – the rigorous arts, theater, and literary-infused activities and experiences. The Cool Classics! crew held high expectations for the students and worked closely with the school and parents to achieve some lofty goals that increased parent involvement for our school. Our culminating event served to highlight the work the students had done. Thank you Mara and the Cool Classics! crew." - Andalib Khelghati, Assistant Principal, William C. Reavis Math & Science Specialty Elementary School
"It was exactly what I was looking for. The school was abuzz with excitement. It was, ‘Oh, Mara's here. Did you see whom she brought? Did you see the kids? They're so excited!’ and it was obvious when you were here with your program, and it was first rate. It was quality." – Dr. Kathleen Hagstrom, Principal, Walt Disney Magnet School - Watch video
"There are so many ways to take a book and make it the focus of learning. We focus on the literature to teach children reading strategies to improve comprehension and critical thinking skills. We teach children to question what they read, and that reading should inspire thoughts and ideas that can be discussed, explored, and interpreted in various ways. Learning, especially for young children, needs to be equally fun and educational, and there is educational value in art-making activities. With Ferdinand we also promote reading for enjoyment -- to laugh, feel or experience something new through music, dance, theater, and role-playing. These activities allow the children to identify with characters in the book and make comparisons that further their own understanding of their place in society." - Evie Pena-Shives, Kindergarten teacher, Walt Disney Magnet School, Cool Classics! teacher and Board member
"It's wonderful that each child has their own book and they're getting exposure to a really interesting children's story that they all seem to like a lot. [It’s] an arts integrated way of learning literature. So they're making props. They're moving. They're acting. They're dancing. They get to see real life artists [and learn] what they do and how they think about their work. I think the kids like it quite a bit and [are] very excited." – Natalie Butler, Music teacher, Walt Disney Magnet School
"Criseyde suddenly was coming up and hugging me, because I think she felt a connection to the school in a different way than she ever had. That one incident made me think that's neat. She feels differently about school. She feels differently about everything. I do think that parents are looking for this for their children, and I think the level of parent involvement that you had [was] really outstanding. It’s also a way to bring in parents, and it’s also a way to make parents feel the way that Criseyde felt – part of the school – because it gives them an opportunity to become involved in a different way." – Leonie Deutsch, Former Early Childhood Center Director, Walt Disney Magnet School - Watch video
Parents
"My first impression was that we were going to be reading from classic literature. I didn't realize that the kids were going to be active in the creation of the play. I didn’t realize that there was going to be so much arts surrounding it. I thought it was going to be one of the run-of-the-mill after-school programs in which there's a lot of good intentions but it doesn't really manifest and boy, did it." – Henry Anderson - Watch video
“One day after a bilingual parent meeting, I [heard] how successful Cool Classics! was the previous year and how kids who didn’t like to read ended up liking it. At that moment, I knew this would be the perfect choice for my son who simply doesn’t like to read, but, to be honest, I didn’t know how quickly he would start reading. Now my son reads much better and he actually likes it. He reads without me asking him to do so. At the moment he’s reading one of his older sister’s books called Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1. He just looks so proud of himself and so am I. I just know that at the end of the school year, he’s not going to just like to read, he will looove it!” - Araceli Acosta
"Cool Classics! helped my son to not just read words, but rather to analyze the content of the book. With Cool Classics! he has learned to become part of the story and enjoy the experience of reading." – Veronica Norber
"Cool Classics! has opened up my daughter's imagination and made her eager to explore the world through reading! Mara Tapp brings classic novels to life in the eyes of the children, and makes them really understand what, where and why a book says what it does. ...[The program] has shown that any book, old or new, can be fun to read and show you parts of the world you may never get to see." – Suzy Harrington
"Cool Classics! is the paradigm for what after-school enrichment can look like; it's an ambitious and true synthesis of the creative arts with the world of great children's literature and its extant ideas." – Tony Getsug
"My daughter has benefited greatly from her time with Mara Tapp in Cool Classics! When Annie reads, she sees that it is more than just words on a page - it's a whole universe of imagination waiting for her!" – Jane Cornett
"Sadie really wants to come here. In the mornings, when she's grouchy and doesn't feel like getting out of bed, I say 'Cool Classics! is today.' That changes her mind." – Henry Anderson - Watch video
“Even though I accompanied my son on some of the field trips, and listened to him when he would come home and share his excitement about an art gallery, ethnic restaurants, drama and theater, I came to realize that Cool Classics! was more than exciting trips and a fun literacy class. Cool Classics! is an excellent opportunity for our kids to be exposed to and motivated to pursue avenues that ignite their potential to be what they were meant to be through various art forms while developing their literacy skills.” - Gabryel's mother
“A pesar de que acompañé a mi hijo en algunos de los viajes escolares, y lo escuche cuando él llegaba a casa y compartía su entusiasmo por una galería de arte, restaurantes étnicos, el drama y el teatro, me di cuenta de que ¡Cool Classics! era más que excursiones divertidas y una clase divertida de alfabetización. ¡Cool Classics! es una excelente oportunidad para que nuestros niños sean expuestos y motivados a buscar vías que enciendan su potencial de ser lo que estaban destinados a ser a través de distintas formas artísticas mientras desarrollan las competencias básicas de alfabetización.” - Madre de Gabryel
“I decided to take a look at the Cool Classics! website. I was so amazed at all the wonderful emotions that the kids were showing with your staff. It was just like another day with family. …It takes a village to raise a child these days and I’m very grateful for Cool Classics!’ village. Not only does this program teach children reading, it shows students how to use their imagination & enjoy doing so.” - Pamela McCormick
"Participating in the program had a profound effect on our daughter, Vera. When I asked her what she thought about the program she said, 'It was so great I can't even tell you.'" - Janice Cody
Cool Classics! Administrators
"Because Cool Classics! is fun, the kids, and the participants, really enjoyed being part of it. What happened is the kids were exposed to various art forms, which, I think, in of itself, is very valuable, but because there was a focus through the various art activities, the kids really understood various components of literary analysis. While the Illinois State Standards were not posted and talked about, they were addressed in a very natural way. The kids learned things like new vocabulary words, and they learned various aspects of analyzing a story, but they never were asked to memorize anything, and it just was a very seamless kind of [learning] for them. ...
People are so concerned about raising test scores, and looking for the most economical and expedient way to do it, that a lot of the richness of reading gets lost, and I think a lot of schools have begun to rely on drill−and−kill techniques. With Cool Classics!, the kids developed a love for the story first. That was the way they got hooked, and then, through all the different activities, they understood the themes in the text, and they really understood the process of literary analysis. It’s a really unique approach, and especially for primary-school children, because so often people think that young children can only accept little sound bites of information. They can't look holistically at a book, and they can't focus some higher-order thinking skills. ...
With Cool Classics!, the idea is getting kids to really understand what they're doing, and to realize that test results will follow. The kids learned a lot of vocabulary words that probably most kids their age don't know, and they really understood quite a bit, but there was never any pressure. The kids really enjoyed it, and I think the kids left the program eager to read other stories, and to think a little bit more thoughtfully about the stories they're reading. Typically when you're asking kids to perform on a test, you're asking them to do a very narrow thing that doesn't have any carryover to the future, but I think with Cool Classics!, the kids develop an interest and so some skills to carry forward. ...
The program really helped the kids understand the book they were reading, and it also exposed them to creative movement, and to art-making, and to music, and probably to a lot of music they wouldn't have heard before. We know we've been facing cuts for some decades now. People are thinking that they want to re-institute some of this stuff." – Julie MacCarthy, Program Director, Art Resources in Teaching - Watch video
"I wanted as diverse a group of children as possible, particularly for the pilot, because I wanted to see how children at all ability levels, and from all different backgrounds, would benefit from this program. I am now convinced that every child can benefit from Cool Classics!. I've seen the children who are gifted, and I use that word with great trepidation, because I think most children are gifted on some level, benefited from this, but I also see how the children who had trouble staying with the group benefited. Some of those children are reading the book or have now memorized the book, and insist on it being read in their classrooms. For me, these are real success stories." – Mara Tapp, Cool Classics! Creator and Director
"A huge component of Cool Classics! is that Mara Tapp is very sensitive to children, and she brings a lot to the program. She's got a very warm, but in-command personality, so I think the kids always knew that she was the person in charge, but they also felt really comfortable with her, and she drew a lot out of the kids. When you do a program with many little bodies, it’s easy for the instructor to think of the group as a collective, and not to focus on what individual children need. One of the strengths that Mara brings to a program like this is she really got to know each child, and she really could tell each day how each child was doing, and if there was something that might be going on with the child, or something that she needed to help them work through. She also drew a lot out of all the other people who were involved with the program. Parents whose skills might otherwise be overlooked were put in a place where they could use their talents to add to the program, and the teaching assistants were also very comfortable. The group as a whole bonded." – Julie MacCarthy, Program Director, Art Resources in Teaching