In the photo above, the original school is to the right (B). The new school Burton-Pack, combining Virginia Pack and Burton Elementary schools, was occupied on 1999. Virginia Pack Elementary School was a little more than 2 miles from the Bishop in a mostly Black, middle-class community called Belvedere. As a part of the legacy of forced integration in the South, students from the Bishop were bussed to Virginia Pack despite being less than a mile from Sarah Nance Elementary School. Apparently the racial makeup of Belvedere had shifted since the 50s and 60s.
Though not a complete escape, Virginia Pack was a great reprieve from life in the Bishop for Alex. At school he still had to deal with the norms of his peers from home, but he also had to coalesce with students from Belvedere and a fabulous mix of adults who stressed academic achievement and behavioral discipline which corresponded to the teachings of Grandma Lila and "Mother." Despite not remembering the name of one of his Kindergarten teachers, Alex had a great elementary school experience that provided him with confidence in his academic and social abilities. One of the keys to his positive experience was overcoming a speech impediment which was the source mockery and taunting. Enunciating the combined consonants of words like "shrimp, and street" were a struggle which usually sounded more like "skwimp and skweet" when he said them.
Ms. Tucker was his speech teacher and as much as he appreciated her commitment to helping him, he absolutely hated being pulled out of class to go to Speech. It was somewhat understood by the students that he was being removed from class for being academically deficient in some way which led to some teasing and typically stares. Luckily for him there wasn't too much teasing from his peers as he was also known as being one of those kids ready to fight and quick to swing thus reducing the teasing. However, the fact that others didn't speak it, he felt it, and that was enough to garner the distaste of going to Speech. That along with the understanding that the only way to avoid this negative situation was to work hard and get the work done. By the time he got to fourth grade, he had mastered all the combined consonants Ms. Tucker would throw at him and we would finally be done.
Along with Ms. Tucker, there was Mrs. Greenway and Mrs. "H." in Kindergarten to provide a great amount of fun at school and inspired curiosity. In first grade was Mrs. Kinard who was a great mix of structure and caring. Her children also attended Virginia Pack and that seemed to help her connect with other students. In second grade was Mrs. Trexler. A very nice woman but LaMills doesn't remember having as close or vested a relationship with her than the other teachers. Actually Mrs. Brandyburg, also known as "Mrs. BeBe" was more impactful to Young Alex despite him not being in her class. In third grade was Ms. Mary Abel. Mrs. Abel was the queen of corporal punishment and Alex visited the queen more than a few times. As much as he feared each lick of her paddle, he greatly appreciated her commitment to his improvement as a student and person.
LaMills stills remembers one day he and three peers (Kevin Bookman, Dusty Henderson, and Terry McClain) were delighting in their ongoing flatulence in class. It wasn't clear if Ms. Abel smelled anything but she was certainly annoyed with the ongoing snickering, whispering, and disturbing of class that was coming from the usual group of boys. Eventually Dusty would let loose one last time to send the whole group to laughter and all of them were to stay in for recess which typically wasn't a good thing. Kevin and Terry lived in the Bishop with Alex and their initial thought was to beat up Dusty, but that was almost immediately ruled out as Dusty was just a goofy and wimpy little white kid that would never be of any fun to truly fight. Needless to say, the thought of punishing Dusty was reconsidered after bending over a desk and feeling the heat and discomfort of Ms. Abel's paddle.
In fourth grade, Alex spent most of his days torturing Mrs. Barrett and frequently speaking with his friend Tina Brown who also lived in the Bishop and was one of the first girls from the Bishop that he genuinely liked as a person and not as an object. If nothing else, Mrs. Barrett was hesitant and tender in dealing with boisterous means the students which often led to the students taking more control of class than she did. In fifth grade, Ms. Roman was a strong contrast to Mrs. Barrett. She was much younger, eager to engage students, not yet jaded by the norms or realities of teaching a largely low-income population, and absolutely undaunted by the aggressiveness of the students. Alex found her very refreshing and inspiring. It might have also helped that his fifth grade experience was the first where he never had to leave class for Speech.
Other highlights of Virginia Pack include going to the Library and Physical Education. The Librarian (forgot her name) was amazing at inspiring students to read and enjoying the process. The Librarian was the best witch ever at Halloween and she never spared a decoration or costume for any holiday or special occasion. LaMills admits that he's not much of a casual reader today, but clearly acknowledges his experience at Virginia Pack as the catalyst for his reading abilities. Along that same line of positive experiences was being pushed by Mrs. Mallette in PE. It was always a fun and challenging event whether it was square-dancing, tumbling, jumping rope, running, hula-hooping, or any of the many exercises and movements that she assigned. Music was fun as well, but being that there was far more than enough music, dancing, and singing at home the music experience at school couldn't quite rival home. A couple of songs that stood out for LaMills are "Jane Jane and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" which he still sings aloud on occasion and receives quite the stares.
And then there was Mr. Henry Young, the principal. For many of the students from the Bishop, Mr. Young was the first "regular" male presence in their lives. Aside from being a Black man who wore a suit on a daily basis, Mr. Young was a burly man in seemingly good physical condition and clearly a presence to be reckoned with if not simply respected. Most of the unruly young boys had to succumb to the swing of Mr. Young's paddle on at least an occasion or two and he always seemed to convey a conscience of love and positive expectation despite the pain that transferred from the paddle. For Nik and Alex, it was very important that whatever happened at Virginia Pack stayed at Virginia Pack because the wrath of Jackie was far more fearful than anything Mr. Young can do. Whatever the case, Mr. Young and other Black men in the school system would often amount to the only positive image of Black man who's not in sports or entertainment that many of these students would see. Around fourth or fifth grade, Mr. Young was replaced by Ms. Diggs who obviously wasn't Mr. Young, but also maintained a strong and respected presence with the students.
When Alex left Virginia Pack for middle school, he did so with confidence that we was an intelligent and capable student who could compete amongst anyone in whatever he chose.
Though not a complete escape, Virginia Pack was a great reprieve from life in the Bishop for Alex. At school he still had to deal with the norms of his peers from home, but he also had to coalesce with students from Belvedere and a fabulous mix of adults who stressed academic achievement and behavioral discipline which corresponded to the teachings of Grandma Lila and "Mother." Despite not remembering the name of one of his Kindergarten teachers, Alex had a great elementary school experience that provided him with confidence in his academic and social abilities. One of the keys to his positive experience was overcoming a speech impediment which was the source mockery and taunting. Enunciating the combined consonants of words like "shrimp, and street" were a struggle which usually sounded more like "skwimp and skweet" when he said them.
Ms. Tucker was his speech teacher and as much as he appreciated her commitment to helping him, he absolutely hated being pulled out of class to go to Speech. It was somewhat understood by the students that he was being removed from class for being academically deficient in some way which led to some teasing and typically stares. Luckily for him there wasn't too much teasing from his peers as he was also known as being one of those kids ready to fight and quick to swing thus reducing the teasing. However, the fact that others didn't speak it, he felt it, and that was enough to garner the distaste of going to Speech. That along with the understanding that the only way to avoid this negative situation was to work hard and get the work done. By the time he got to fourth grade, he had mastered all the combined consonants Ms. Tucker would throw at him and we would finally be done.
Along with Ms. Tucker, there was Mrs. Greenway and Mrs. "H." in Kindergarten to provide a great amount of fun at school and inspired curiosity. In first grade was Mrs. Kinard who was a great mix of structure and caring. Her children also attended Virginia Pack and that seemed to help her connect with other students. In second grade was Mrs. Trexler. A very nice woman but LaMills doesn't remember having as close or vested a relationship with her than the other teachers. Actually Mrs. Brandyburg, also known as "Mrs. BeBe" was more impactful to Young Alex despite him not being in her class. In third grade was Ms. Mary Abel. Mrs. Abel was the queen of corporal punishment and Alex visited the queen more than a few times. As much as he feared each lick of her paddle, he greatly appreciated her commitment to his improvement as a student and person.
LaMills stills remembers one day he and three peers (Kevin Bookman, Dusty Henderson, and Terry McClain) were delighting in their ongoing flatulence in class. It wasn't clear if Ms. Abel smelled anything but she was certainly annoyed with the ongoing snickering, whispering, and disturbing of class that was coming from the usual group of boys. Eventually Dusty would let loose one last time to send the whole group to laughter and all of them were to stay in for recess which typically wasn't a good thing. Kevin and Terry lived in the Bishop with Alex and their initial thought was to beat up Dusty, but that was almost immediately ruled out as Dusty was just a goofy and wimpy little white kid that would never be of any fun to truly fight. Needless to say, the thought of punishing Dusty was reconsidered after bending over a desk and feeling the heat and discomfort of Ms. Abel's paddle.
In fourth grade, Alex spent most of his days torturing Mrs. Barrett and frequently speaking with his friend Tina Brown who also lived in the Bishop and was one of the first girls from the Bishop that he genuinely liked as a person and not as an object. If nothing else, Mrs. Barrett was hesitant and tender in dealing with boisterous means the students which often led to the students taking more control of class than she did. In fifth grade, Ms. Roman was a strong contrast to Mrs. Barrett. She was much younger, eager to engage students, not yet jaded by the norms or realities of teaching a largely low-income population, and absolutely undaunted by the aggressiveness of the students. Alex found her very refreshing and inspiring. It might have also helped that his fifth grade experience was the first where he never had to leave class for Speech.
Other highlights of Virginia Pack include going to the Library and Physical Education. The Librarian (forgot her name) was amazing at inspiring students to read and enjoying the process. The Librarian was the best witch ever at Halloween and she never spared a decoration or costume for any holiday or special occasion. LaMills admits that he's not much of a casual reader today, but clearly acknowledges his experience at Virginia Pack as the catalyst for his reading abilities. Along that same line of positive experiences was being pushed by Mrs. Mallette in PE. It was always a fun and challenging event whether it was square-dancing, tumbling, jumping rope, running, hula-hooping, or any of the many exercises and movements that she assigned. Music was fun as well, but being that there was far more than enough music, dancing, and singing at home the music experience at school couldn't quite rival home. A couple of songs that stood out for LaMills are "Jane Jane and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" which he still sings aloud on occasion and receives quite the stares.
And then there was Mr. Henry Young, the principal. For many of the students from the Bishop, Mr. Young was the first "regular" male presence in their lives. Aside from being a Black man who wore a suit on a daily basis, Mr. Young was a burly man in seemingly good physical condition and clearly a presence to be reckoned with if not simply respected. Most of the unruly young boys had to succumb to the swing of Mr. Young's paddle on at least an occasion or two and he always seemed to convey a conscience of love and positive expectation despite the pain that transferred from the paddle. For Nik and Alex, it was very important that whatever happened at Virginia Pack stayed at Virginia Pack because the wrath of Jackie was far more fearful than anything Mr. Young can do. Whatever the case, Mr. Young and other Black men in the school system would often amount to the only positive image of Black man who's not in sports or entertainment that many of these students would see. Around fourth or fifth grade, Mr. Young was replaced by Ms. Diggs who obviously wasn't Mr. Young, but also maintained a strong and respected presence with the students.
When Alex left Virginia Pack for middle school, he did so with confidence that we was an intelligent and capable student who could compete amongst anyone in whatever he chose.