A 'Toast' To Innovation

Fundraiser introduces new Fayetteville school

File Photo Still on the Hill will headline the fundraiser July 22 for the new Ann Brown Memorial School in Fayetteville.
File Photo Still on the Hill will headline the fundraiser July 22 for the new Ann Brown Memorial School in Fayetteville.

The Ann Brown Memorial School, a new private school that will start its first academic year for kindergartners and first-graders this fall, will host its first fundraiser on July 22 at the campus site at 2237 S. School Ave. in Fayetteville.

The fundraiser -- called Jam and Toast -- boasts a full slate of popular musicians on tap to perform, including Jesse Dean, Ozark Highballers, Jori Costello, who will oversee the music program at the school, and Still on the Hill.

FAQ

‘Toast and Jam’:

A Fundraiser

WHEN — 3 p.m.-7 pm. July 22

WHERE — 2237 S. School Ave. in Fayetteville

COST — $10

INFO — 512-788-1835

"Every hour on the hour, we'll have Leilani Law hosting 'Inspiration Sessions' with the children, doing artwork," says school founder Melissa Graham, who came to Northwest Arkansas from Austin, Texas. Law will oversee the school's art program in the fall. "We'll also have a great silent auction and, of course, food!"

Graham says participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to enjoy the music.

The school is a collaboration among Graham, her husband, Paul Davis; and Arbor and Rebecca Buchanan. She calls opening the school, named after longtime Fayetteville educator Ann Brown, "a dream come true" for her.

"Education has been my life," Graham says. "I have taught K-12 grade. Before this I was a preschool director and before that a reading specialist.

"Our focus here is the arts, and honoring the individual child, so that each child will have his own individual learning plan," she explains. "That includes academics as well as their own passions. At the same time, as we get to know each child and figure out what makes them tick, we can bring in curriculum for inspired learning, and reach out to the community for mentors -- bringing in a seamstress for a child who loves to sew so we can build that into her life. Each child is one hundred percent regarded as their own being, and as we discover more and more who that child is, the more we can bring our curriculum into that child's world."

"This school is like no other school I've ever been in, attended, or taught in," says Rebecca Buchanan, who will serve as the lead teacher and the educational coordinator. An experienced preschool teacher known for her work with Ozark Folkways, she says that enrollment forecasts for the fall are between 14 and 18 students. "We're teaching them to think, and relate to the world. If you don't have those things, you can't just introduce math and numbers and reading. If you don't have the part where they can help with their own emotions, they can't get to the part where they learn -- and we're addressing that at day one."

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Courtesy Photo The Ann Brown Memorial School will focus "on the individual child," says founder Melissa Graham.

NAN What's Up on 07/22/2018

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