KES kids celebrate human connection

Lawn posters in front of Katonah Elementary School. PAUL WIEMAN PHOTOS

By PAUL WIEMAN

For the purposes of this column today, I would like to take us back to early June, before the summer heat set in, while school was still in session but the taste of vacation was in the air.  

If you were lucky enough at this time to wander up Huntville Road to Katonah Elementary School, by car or on foot, you were in for a real treat. There, on the sloping lawn, 150 or so lawn posters were placed in an orderly fashion, displaying the energy and excitement one finds in the art of the 5- to 10-year-old set.

At first glance, it was simply a burst of vibrant color on a verdant lawn with a brick and white New Deal school building serving as backdrop. That alone was enough to make the trip up the hill, and when my wife and I first walked past, it brought smiles and good cheer. We told our neighbors it was worth the trip.

On our second passing, we realized that there was a message in this public display of art. The colors were arranged as the colors of the rainbow, and a small sign off to the side reminded everyone that June is Pride Month. Things were beginning to make sense.

Parents plan, kids execute

On this trip, we chanced upon a KES parent, and she explained that a parent committee and a school committee coordinated on this collective art display, but it was the students that did the work.

Each row of posters was a color, each row was done by individuals from the same grade, and each row represented a different value that the school tied into its curriculum for that month. With that guidance, we ventured a little closer, meandered off the sidewalk and into the work itself, and there we saw a row for “Respect,” one for “Joy,” one for “Relationships,” one for the “Environment,” one for “Love,” one for “Friendship,” and so on.  

A home on Bedford Road in Katonah.

‘Abstract’ art

On our third visit (to be honest, walking past the school is part of our regular walk) we noticed an employee walking amidst the posters, and he offered a little more explanation, showing how the older students did this particular row, and as the rows progressed, the students who did the posters were younger and younger. And then, in what might be the best artistic compliment I have heard, as he pointed to the kindergartners’ row, he said, “You can tell these are the littlest ones … their work is more, shall we say, abstract.”

Indeed, it was.

“Was there any pushback?” we asked, concerned that a connection to Pride Month might raise some issues in our politically divided world.

“None,” he replied.

After two weeks or so, the posters disappeared, but miraculously, they reappeared a few days later down in town, on the front lawns of the churches and some of the homes on the beautiful main street of Katonah Village. They were split up, and some of the message was lost, but for those in the know, the mere fact that the work of KES students had been transported down into town for public display shows a level of support and commitment and connection that we should applaud.

Linked to pride

I do not know how teachers and administrators linked this art to Pride Month, but it was obvious that at some age-appropriate level, they did. I do know that the values on display were above reproach and excellent for all people to contemplate, and I can imagine teachers thoughtfully presenting and discussing these values with their charges.

Congratulations, KES! You deserve attention, applause, and recognition. You have enriched our community, brought beauty to our streets and sidewalks, and helped our youngest citizens move in a positive direction as they discover over time the many different ways we all relate to each other.  

Paul Wieman is a retired educator. His “Neighborhood Notes”column offers occasional observations about the Katonah neighborhood he has lived in for 35 years.