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Jayla Cuomo and Matthew Dodge, 10-year-old fifth-graders at St. Ann’s School on Staten Island, marveled at how special education student Anthony O’Malley, 9, of the Seton Foundation for Learning at Mother Franciska School, also on Staten Island, skillfully worked a pair of scissors.
“Wow,” Matthew said. “See what he can do?” Jayla agreed. “He’s a good cutter.”
St. Ann’s School and Mother Franciska School recently formed a partnership to teach pupils at both schools that although they may be different they are also very much alike.
In December, a contingent of students from Mother Franciska visited their peers at St. Ann’s. After a February snowstorm postponed St. Ann’s turn to visit Mother Franciska, the field trip for a group of St. Ann’s fifth-graders was rescheduled for March 25.
Keeping with the themes of love, belonging and acceptance, students from both schools partnered to craft multicolored construction paper hands by first tracing their own hands and eventually gluing their mini-masterpieces, in a rainbow formation, to two large posters—one for each school.
As Jayla and Matthew applauded Anthony’s way with scissors—moments earlier, all the St. Ann’s students had been instructed to help their Mother Franciska friends with the instrument—Anthony’s teacher, Andrea Fusaro, happened by the trio’s table.
Ms. Fusaro described Anthony as “a master cutter.” Among the many skills she said he possesses is the ability to write in cursive, do double-digit addition, tell time and count money. “He’s a very smart boy,” she said.
Jayla said she enjoyed being around boys and girls who needed a little help and who, at the same time, just wanted to make some new friends.
“We’re all one,” Jayla said. “We’re not different. We can all be friends.”
Her approach to the assignment, and to life, she said, is simply to be “a follower of Christ” and to treat the Mother Franciska students as she herself would want to be treated.
Jayla and Matthew described their new friend Anthony as a “cool” and “kind” boy.
“This was a very magical day for everybody,” said Denise Lorelli, school psychologist at Mother Franciska.
It was helpful, she said, that St. Ann’s students quickly grasped the concept of empathy toward their Mother Franciska peers. “Empathy is becoming such a large part of curriculums across the country,” she said.
Ms. Lorelli credited the administration of both schools, Diane Taranto, director of elementary school programs for the Seton Foundation, and Bernadette Ficchi, principal of St. Ann’s School, for the initiative’s success.
“The students from St. Ann’s really rose to the occasion,” Ms. Lorelli continued.
Before the student exchange, Dr. Taranto and Ms. Lorelli administered a general assessment. The students at St. Ann’s were asked to use descriptors to compare how they were alike and unlike students with special needs. They then had the students rate, on a Likert scale of 1 to 5, how different they felt from students with special needs.
Some students admitted they were fearful of the differences. “The key to that,” Ms. Lorelli said, “is just love and understanding.”
St. Ann’s students then learned, through lessons in neurochemistry and genetics, about the differences. “We told them the reasons the students have special needs,” Ms. Lorelli said, “and we talked about ways that they can help.”
For example, when a child with special needs screams, “that child is trying to communicate—it’s not just some person screaming and we don’t know why,” Ms. Lorelli said.
“The basic message is, we are the human family, we are all God’s children,” she added.
Alejandra Contreras, age 8, of Mother Franciska, smiled proudly after she affixed a pink kitten sticker to her construction paper hand. It was no coincidence that Alejandra’s favorite color is pink and that she has a kitten at home.
Assisting her were St. Ann’s students Emily Salek, 10, and Rachel Eid, 11, both of whom were happy to help and even happier to befriend Alejandra.
Also on site to give a helping hand was Haley Salvo, 17, a senior at St. Joseph Hill Academy. The academy and Mother Franciska share the campus on Hylan Boulevard. “Miss Haley,” as the Seton students affectionately address her, regularly volunteers at Mother Franciska. After graduation, Haley plans to major in special education in college and hopes to return to Mother Franciska as a teacher. “I couldn’t see myself working anywhere else,” she said of the special education field.
Jonathan Pasquale, 9, of Mother Franciska, was jubilant as he made a high five after crafting his construction paper hand alongside St. Ann’s students Richard Travaglione, 10 and Connor Rowe, 11.
“It was fun,” Richard said. Connor conceded he was somewhat scared when the Mother Franciska students visited St. Ann’s School last year. But his fears were quickly transformed into friendships once he got to know the students. Jonathan’s “really nice,” Connor said. “We both like basketball. I know his brother. He goes to camp with me.”
Robert Volpe, 10, of St. Ann’s, thoughtfully worked across the table from Mother Franciska’s Anthony Forlano, also 10.
Robert was amused by Anthony’s antics, namely, how he playfully claimed his stickers were stuck to his fingers and his creativity with construction paper beyond the assigned craft. “He’s pretending to make stuff out of the papers, like gum and airplanes,” Robert said, adding, “It’s just really fun. It’s so interesting to see how their school works and ours works. Everything is similar, it’s a regular school, we’re all the same. I enjoy it very much.”
Sofia Santos, 11, of St. Ann’s, was practically giggling nonstop with new pal Jillian Lamboy, 12, of Mother Franciska. “We’ve had a lot of fun,” Sofia said. “We bonded. I learned that we’re not so different. We like the same colors, we like to have fun, we like boys. We talk about everything, just like best friends.”
Sofia and her classmates at St. Ann’s are taught to love one another. “Jesus would be very proud of all of us,” she said. “We’ve tried to put them before ourselves. We’re just trying to do as Jesus would do.”
