Michelle’s grade school throws a party
Bouchet students march and re-enact the oath, sing, and dance
By Rachel Cromidas
CHICAGO — Before Barack and Michelle Obama even hit the dance floor at any of their inaugural balls Tuesday evening, Kaimera Easley, 4, was twirling around in a white gown on the floor of her pre-kindergarten classroom to the television music that preceded Obama’s swearing-in ceremony.
Kaimera’s “Inauguration Ball” took place at Bouchet Math and Science Academy—formerly known as Bryn Mawr Elementary— the South Shore pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade public school that boasts Michelle Obama among its alumni. Michelle graduated from Bouchet, located at 73rd and Jeffery Boulevard, then went on to the elite Whitney M. Young Magnet High School.
“I’m very excited. I voted for him!” Kaimera said, a broad smile on her face.
“He’s the president. He’s very nice. I watched him on TV everyday,” added Maurice Williams, 5, a slender boy wearing a collared shirt.
Both he and Kaimera dressed up from head to toe for the occasion, their outfits completed with polished dress shoes despite the half-foot of snow outside. Their teacher, Sandra Stuart, said the students were asked to watch news stories about the Obamas for homework—“you know, instead of all cartoons. We also had the children do a mock election with a secret ballot [in both of the two classes].”
“Obama won in both sections, but not by a landslide,” Stuart said.
After another round of dancing, the children recited a poetic tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., titled “Ring Ring Ring,” written by their teacher, Anna Moore, and a song about Obama.
Meanwhile, the kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade students re-enacted the swearing-in ceremony in the gym. Pairs from each grade shuffled together across the hardwood floor while seated onlookers in hand-decorated red, white, and blue hats watched and clapped.
In its heyday, Bryn Mawr was the largest elementary school in the city, according to math and science teacher Francesca Little. In recent decades, the school’s neighborhood has faired poorly economically, but “our scores are going up tremendously,” Little said.
“We’ve been on probation for a couple years … but we have a new administration that supports its teachers. And I think the kids are thinking, ‘Wow, we go to the school that had Michelle!’ Being from Chicago, and the South Side, this is really something for them to see. She’s inspired them.”
