Amy Brenneman talks to ABILITY Magazine

Amy Brenneman spoke with us about how CHIME Institute supported her Daughter, and how She got involved with CHIMEAPALOOZA.

Like what I did for CHIMEapalooza is,

I put out a call for stories to the CHIME community

on the subject of school or inclusivity,

So my favorite thing is when people offer their stories,

and then as a theater artists.

I can shape the into an experience for the audience.

My daughter has cognitive academic special needs.

She is ike a lot of kids,

She can be in a typical classroom and be okay behaviorally,

but then once... I got an IEP when she was three

Individual Educational Program,

I mean, if there's any concerns that the child might need

special accommodations,

the state by law has to provide things like speech,

and occupational therapy and adaptive curriculums.

And then we were in a Waldorf school for a couple years,

and then I always sensed once we got into academics

we’d see if Waldorf is going to do it,

and it immediately was clear it was the wrong fit.

So like a lot of people, I didn’t...there was very few options.

I actually heard about CHIME

when Charlotte was about three,

because one of the first grade teachers,

her kids went to the same preschool as Charlotte.

So it actually had been in my mind.

And then I saw it and immediately knew that

this would be a great fit for her.

So we’ve been there for four years.

And then my son is in second grade,

so she’s in fifth and he’s in second.

(music)

From the very beginning the assumption is

all human beings deserve respect,

it's part of the curriculum, and it is ingrained

in to the philosophy of the people who work here.

If you’re going to make curriculum accessible to kids

of different abilities, like right now, in the fifth grade,

they’re doing the Revolutionary War.

The class is reading Johnny Tremaine.

My daughter has an adapted version of the novel

that’s better, so she can access the plot

and participate in class discussions,

but the language is more simplified.

I believe scaffolding is the word they use for,

how is this particular learner going to

access that curriculum.

It’s the scaffolding of that academic program.

People walk around and there is

these mini-classrooms especially for younger kids,

outside the classrooms will be these little trampolines.

It’s for kids who have a hard time sitting.

“Okay, he needs to jump.” There’s accommodations,

and rather than saying...

I mean, I have to say, I teach a class there,

I'm going this afternoon...

(What are you teaching?)

It’s called playmaking.

It’s basically generating material for theater.

There’s a guy that does plays with the kids,

which is great, but it’s a little bit more traditional,

like the Wizard of Oz or whatever.

And this is the stuff that I love,

which is creating character,

creating all the different ways that you can create stuff

for a performance.

We do kind of a physical stuff.

I teach them vocal warm up, and then last week was

really wonderful.

The wrote more autobiographically,

they were shy about it at first.

So there was a kid, there's an eight grader who I love,

I don’t know, but we were doing a warm-up,

we’re on the floor.

And we have two nonverbal kids, so they do the warm-up

in their own way.

But there was this one kid that I didn’t really identify

with any particular disability

and he was kind of walking around, eating snacks.

I was like, okay, can you come and sit down.

He was walking around. I suddenly realized,

I don’t know what his diagnosis is.

Maybe he’s got the it’s-hard-for-me-to-sit-down thing.

My heart just kind of opened up.

As long as he’s not disrupting, which he wasn’t,

I think CHIME just gives you a little bit more slack,

especially with an after-school program where

they’re coming off of a big full day.

It is not like -"Sit down".

So one of the reasons that I...

We fundraise all year.

There are certain things that are just for our school,

and other ones that are for the institute.

Lots of people in our school would say,

Where is the institute? We didn’t really come up through

infant toddler and all that.

So part of why I took it over is I thought,

I want to connect the charter school to this bigger mission

that may be even bigger.

If you get there and your kid didn’t have an IEP

and you just know it’s a great school,

you don’t even know how cool it is,

except everybody senses there’s something

really special about this place

and about the care that the teachers take.

And then you realize why.

It has to do with individualizing curriculum,

and seeing each kid as pretty individual.

We had done two of this kind of thing.

Amy said we’d be part of this thing

with that dramatic reading,

so myself and Benjamin Bratt,

who’s more of the well-known faces of parents,

did this small fundraiser, and I kept thinking,

This does not feel like our community.

Our community is funky and wild and eclectic.

So I had this vision for this night

and it’s funky and wild and eclectic.

It was a really great success last year,

both in terms of monies raised and just the enthusiasm

and what inclusivity feels like and how fun it is.

It’s not politically correct, “Those poor kids.”

It’s really, “This is why this community feels so great.”

I have a funny question for you,

Who can tell me the five rules of CHIME?

(silence)

- Umm, no you do it.

- Ummm...

(silence)

We are...

- Funny!, We are funny, is that one of our rules?

- Yeah!

We are... A community, we're respectful with others...

- Yes!

And property....

...How about you, You don't say anything,

and I'm doing all...

- Nothing!, Sorry!

(whispering)

I'll do it after you.

I think, We are here in ready... we are here...

and ready to learn...

Do you want I ask again?

- Yes! Miss.

Well We are ready to learn... ummm...

We're here to be respectful to ourselves, others,

and property.

- Do it!, Do it!

I can remember...

- Oh! My God.

Yeah, I can't remember....

(Smiles)

CHIME Rules!!

You know, but maybe we can teach them.

Yeah! We'll teach them.

Stay on desk, be good listeners, do good things,

marble party.

(applause)

I always think our campus is just so ghetto.

I look at these private schools and

it looks like a public school.

It just looks like crap, and I became beautification queen,

I was like, “What’s our budget?” Nothing.

Not a thing. We have no money.

However...

(You have a waiting list.)

But also, where we put our resources is in staff.

First of all, there’s about 20 kids per class,

and in that classroom is a gen-ed teacher,

a specialized teacher who usually

has three different classes, but they’re present,

and then up to two or there paraprofessionals for kids

that may need support in different areas.

That’s a lot. That makes the model appeal to everybody,

because who doesn’t want to have

small classrooms and more teachers?