ALTHEA BROWN: She's making a difference

Maybe it's because she grew up poor, one of 18 children. Maybe it's because her grandfather taught her practical math skills when she was just 6.

Whatever the reason, Althea Brown, a teacher at Rex Bell Elementary, is committed to giving students an education that doesn't just let them meet scholastic standards, but surpasses them.

Brown teaches kindergarten students who have tested low on entry exams. Most of them scored around 10 (out of 100) in reading and math. Now in the last quarter of the school year those same pupils, she said, would probably score an 80.

The pupils often start school with few life skills.

"Some of them don't even know how to hold a pencil," she said. "I have to show them and guide their hands."

On a recent visit to her classroom, there was no evidence of guide-their-hand tactics. These kids were on the ball. The class of 16 was seated on the floor, eagerly identifying colors, shapes and coins as Brown used a pointer at a display board. Then she pulled out plastic food, asked the class to identify it and then tell her what letter that word began with. The children eagerly called out the answers.

"People come in (the classroom) and think we're just playing," she said. "Well, we are playing. But they're 'learning' games."

The school district's curriculum requires that her students count to 20 by the end of the school year, she said. Under her guidance, they already count up to 100 as well as do it by 10s and 5s. Her insistence that they excel beyond the district's parameters is apparent in other areas.

Instead of just learning basic shapes, her students can identify trapezoids and cylinders. They know the months of the year and can unscramble letters on the computer to make words. After each group lesson, she praised them and urged them to "give yourself a nice round of applause." Hugs are common.

By mid-morning the pupils were split into groups, one using counting cubes to depict the numbers on a mat, another doing phonics, some at the computers, others doing puzzles.

"Track five just came back so we're playing catch-up," Brown said as she surveyed the room. "I have to make sure everyone is on the same page before I can move ahead."

If there's one shining example of excellence in her classroom, it would be Daniel Escobar. The spunky 5-year-old is already reading books. New-to-reading books, but books just the same.

Daniel comes from a Spanish-speaking family and spoke little English when he entered Brown's class. Though she knew he was a fast learner, he still amazed her by learning the alphabet and most sounds within four months. She gave him a book to begin reading, figuring it would take him two weeks to complete it. He read it in three days.

"I thought maybe he'd memorized the words, so I wrote them on the board out of order," she said. "But he read every one of them."

Brown, 53, was raised in Arkansas. Her mother was a hairdresser. Her father, a railroad worker who often worked three jobs to feed his family. Her grandfather was a guiding light in her life. After attaining a master's degree from the University of Hawaii and a similar professional diploma from Chaminade Academy, she began teaching in Hawaii, where her military husband was based. She spent 16 years in Hawaii, 10 of them teaching in a private school. There was a lot of ethnic diversity in the school and she was trained to work with students for whom English was a second language.

After moving to Las Vegas seven years ago, she devoted herself to teaching at-risk students and mentoring new teachers.

This month is kindergarten roundup, when youngsters get their vision and hearing checked, receive immunizations and are tested for kindergarten placement. It will mean another group of students is heading her way in the fall.

"Kindergarten through third grade is when kids have the best chance for success," she said. "You have to catch them young. Otherwise they'll have problems."

In a town like Las Vegas, a sure bet would be that next year's crop of students will also excel under Brown's guidance.