Volunteers pitch in to build up community

By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Bryant Elementary is one of those schools that gets a huge boost from parents, who volunteer hundreds of unpaid hours each year. And that's a good thing. With 565 kids, it's one of the largest elementary schools in Seattle. Its also said to have the largest core of volunteers among public schools.

"My kids are getting a much better education than I did," says Eileen Farley, president of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, whose two children attend Bryant.

The boxy old school feels like a family room, with tangles of potted plants, artwork plastered on the walls and an aquarium filled with salmon eggs off to one side.

Lee Folsom, a retired high school science teacher, has returned to the classrooms of Bryant, helping introduce students to the wonders of science. Each day he appears, helping set up science experiments and patiently tutoring kids before class.

"Why not be involved in something that is important?" says Folsom, who also teaches children how to play the ukulele.

Bryant also has an enviable after-school program, sponsored by its PTSA and run by Tamie Callahan. Classes include such things as African drumming, martial arts, Spanish lessons, piano, gymnastics and sculpture, and are open to all children, whether they attend Bryant or not.

Nearby, the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center is another magnet for kids and adults. During the day, moms and pops stop by with kids in tow to play in a tiny-tot center, says Karla Withrow, assistant recreation coordinator.

Next door, the former Ravenna Elementary School has been converted to senior housing, which also has a senior center. Though separate, the two centers work together to get seniors and children to mingle.

"There's more of a sense of community here," says Withrow, who is in her seventh year at the center. "Here, there are a lot of young families, University of Washington students and faculty members."

The center's basketball program enrolls 400 kids, while its theater productions routinely bat out performances that attract actors of all ages and abilities, Withrow says.

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