Sixth-grader Jennifer Acosta Gutierrez recently learned that she had a little more in common with a former president than she had previously realized – a love of science.
Gutierrez stumbled upon her discovery during a week-long celebration of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States and the man her school was named after.
The annual celebration has been held at Roosevelt Middle School for the past three years in honor of the president’s birthday.
This year, the event culminated with a special assembly featuring a Theodore Roosevelt impersonator who told the story of Roosevelt’s life from a personal point of view for the kids.
“What was interesting was that we got to know all of the things that [he] did in his life,” said Gutierrez. “All the jobs he had; he was a naturist, he liked to hunt.”
“They’re a lot more educated since we’ve been doing it.” – Al Orecchio
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Third-grader Elias Hunt’s class also experimented with some teddy bear crafts as fun part of the learning process.
But for Hunt, the biggest surprise was learning of Roosevelt’s participation in a war.
“I didn’t know that,” said Hunt. “Also, I didn’t know he was with the Rough Riders.”
Other students, like fourth-graders Sage Martin and Maiah Delgado, did different types of projects throughout the week, including crossword puzzles and worksheets.
Expanding education
The Roosevelt birthday celebration began in 2007 when then-principal Anthony D’Angelo discovered that many of the students in his school didn’t know anything about their school’s namesake.
Determined to have them know more about Roosevelt than the fact that he had once been president, D’Angelo set out to create a unique learning experience for the kids.
For two weeks, students were taught about Roosevelt’s life in their classes and then showed off their new knowledge during the game show finale of the event.
D’Angelo even donned a costume to look like Roosevelt as he quizzed students as Master of Ceremonies.
At the time the event was created, D’Angelo said he hoped to see the event held annually and expanded as it continued. And that desire has certainly come to fruition.
When Principal Al Orecchio took over his new position last year, the educational event continued with skits on stage and students playing out a timeline of Roosevelt’s journeys and accomplishments.
This year, sparked by an idea from the Parent Teacher Organization, the school decided to take things one step further by hiring professional impersonator Jim Foote to bring Roosevelt to life.
“He was the spitting image of Roosevelt,” said Orecchio. “He told about his life, things that he had done, acting it all out.”
Foote – or rather, Roosevelt – then asked the students questions about himself. And, according to Orecchio, all of the fun and education over the past few years since the event was created has paid off.
“They’re a lot more educated since we’ve been doing it,” he said. “They’ve been learning more and more [and] they’re much better informed than in the past.”
Making connections
Beyond the educational component, Orecchio said the commemoration of Roosevelt’s birthday every year helps the students to connect to their history.
“Obviously they need to know why their school was named the way it is,” he said. “And unless they’re taught about it they really don’t have any conception of how many presidents there were and what they did.”
But, he added, there’s something special in teaching kids about “one of the greatest presidents” who did a lot for the people and showed good values.
“He had humble beginning like some of these kids have,” said Orecchio. “So they can relate to him.”
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.