WHAT'S GOING ON NOW:

RISING STAR RELIGIOUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

An East Side Success Story
Financial troubles to rising test scores at St. Stephen’s

The auditorium, a sea of red and white t-shirts, is filled with students from kindergarten through eighth grade who cheer: “We say red, you say white!” “Red!” “White!” “Red!” “White!” “We say Saint, you say Stephen,” and so on. Waving their pom-poms in the air, they cry out when their teammates’ names are called.

Despite all the usual trappings, this is no ordinary pep rally. This is the academic pep rally at St. Stephen of Hungary School, one of many programs initiated by the new principal, Adele Kosinski. Before each pep rally, the student body of 200 is divided into two teams that study collectively for midterms and finals. At the culminating school-wide event, the points each team member earns for test scores, classroom conduct and report card grades are tallied to determine a winner. The assembly ends with a prayer.

Founded in 1928 and originally operated under direction of the Daughters of Divine Charity and Franciscan Friars, this small kindergarten through eighth grade Catholic school has continued to pursue its twofold mission of educating children of diverse backgrounds while instilling in them a strong sense of values.

When St. Stephen encountered financial problems several years ago, it was, according to Kosinski, her predecessor who saved it from sinking. It was then up to Kosinski to bring the school back to life. She took the position in August 2004 and wasted no time launching innovative programs that introduced students to the classroom of New York City. While Kosinski credits St. Stephen’s pastor with providing the support that allows her to take risks, she has taken those risks and run.

“She has a real passion for the school,” says David Kallenberg, whose daughter began St. Stephen in kindergarten. “A school where the principal cares that much—that’s where you want your kid to be.”

With more than 35 years in Catholic education spanning every grade level and then some, Kosinski sought a position in an elementary school because she missed the creativity that exists in young learners.

“You set expectations, and they just live up to them,” she says of the students. It doesn’t hurt, she adds, when they notice if she has a cold or a new pin.

The “Learning Through Activity” program, an effort of Kosinski and volunteer parent Mayí Alvarado, provides just one opportunity for students to learn while getting their hands dirty. This program takes classes to the opera, the National Museum of the American Indian, and even the main stage of Carnegie Hall, where this past May, fourth, fifth and sixth graders played the violin and recorder to an audience of 2,800.

“Our goal is to create lifelong learners,” Kosinski says. “We are educators, which is not just about reading, writing and arithmetic, but about the whole person.”

Kosinski believes that in elementary school an educator can outdo the toughest competition—television and video games—by making learning active and relevant. Not only have test scores gone up after Learning Through Activity was implemented, but school enrollment continues to increase, as well.

“My daughter wanted to go to school on Thanksgiving Day,” Kallenberg said. “That tells you a lot about the school.”

Kosinski also can’t seem to get enough of St. Stephen. She leaves her home in Staten Island every morning at 5:30 to be at school in time for a phone appointment with Alvarado and a meeting with teachers before she is outside to greet the students as they arrive. Not a day goes by where she misses school, because she herself is having too much fun being a learner.

Walls plastered with thank-you cards, desk piled high with thank-you bouquets, Kosinski sits in her office after the last day of her second school year at St. Stephen and says, “You know, there is something about the Rising Star award.”

-- Lee Norsworthy