October 2014 Madison Living

October 2014

charm Vintage

Madison family fills Craftsman-style home with re-purposed antiques

KidVenture Kids have fun and learn about nature at popular play destination

Time for tea Sip tea, sample scones and delicacies at Tea With Thee

by Victoria

Looking back School system’s growth a source of pride for the community, superintendent

Out of this world Local business creates rockets to return America to the moon

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Retirement Living •

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MANAGEMENT Alan Brown President & Publisher EDITORIAL Katie McDowell Editor

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31 features

Gregg Parker Staff Writer Nick Sellers Staff Writer Jen Fouts-Detulleo Photographer MARKETING Melanie McClure Marketing Consultant CUSTOMER SERVICE Tammy Overman Customer Service PRODUCTION Jamie Dawkins Design Robyn Holm Design

15

ARTS & CULTURE ADVENTURE HIDEAWAY

22

IN THE BIZ NEXT STOP: THE MOON

27

HEALTH PUTTING YOUR BEST SELF FORWARD

30

READY TO EXPAND

31

EDUCATION ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE DISTRICT

35

LOOKING BACK

36

OUT AND ABOUT

Ashley Logan Design

home

Amanda Porter Design

HOME VINTAGE CHARM

Madison Living P.O. Box 859, Madison, AL 35758 Advertising Inquires 256.772.6677 Madison Living is published monthly by Madison Publications, LLC.

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food 11

LET’S EAT TIME FOR TEA

Madison Living 3

HOME

Vintage

charm

Madison Living 5

Sentimental and ‘re-purposed’ antiques fill the Hands’ home in historic district WRITTEN BY GREGG L. PARKER PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO

M

atthew and Erica Hand restored the house at 12 Arnett Street in the Madison Historical District and have filled their home with functional yet decorative antiques.

Their affection for the neighborhood and classic architecture led them to buy the house in April 2012.

“This home was a rare find. It was 98 years old and had never been sold. The house was passed from original owners, the Broyles, to the Alsups, their daughter and son-in-law,” Erica said.

While the house needed renovation, most original features had stood the test of time. They removed carpeting to discover immaculate heart-of-pine hardwood flooring throughout. They kept original trim, doors and some tongue-and-groove woodwork.

Built in 1914, the Craftsman-style bungalow has a gabled roof. Square columns support the front porch underneath an extension of the main roof. Some

6 Madison Living

original, decorative rafters are exposed.

The Hands completely remodeled the interior but haven’t changed the exterior. Aluminum siding covers original redwood, which they eventually hope to uncover. In the attic, they found photographs of under-eave brackets, which they plan to replace.

Porch railings are original in the Starr pattern.

The 10-room house has four bedrooms, two baths and approximately 2,100 square feet. They kept all original features, including pocket doors and exposed-brick fireplaces.

By reconfiguring interior space to an open plan, the family can gather together, whether lounging, cooking or working on a project at the kitchen table.

The open plan “also gives our home a more spacious feeling,” Erica said.

Since childhood, Erica has appreciated period furniture, considering her grandmother was an antique dealer. “I have a few prized pieces from her collection, including an ornate cabinet in my hallway.

We have decorated our home with an eclectic mix of PAGE 5: Sitting on their front porch, Matthew and Erica Hand are proud parents of (from left) Grace, 6, Stratton, 3, and Peyton, 14. CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Grace Hand and Stratton Hand sit on the porch of their playhouse.

Set in neutrals, the Hands’ color scheme is accentuated with black, along with rich, dark woods.

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Madison Living 7

vintage items and many antiques,” she said.

The Hands own many antiquities in Empire style, first popular in Napoleonic France and then early America with intricate carving and ornamentation.

A prized secretary is displayed at the front entrance, while a contrasting Craftsman secretary is staged upstairs.

“All of our antiques function and are used. Very few pieces in our home are not antique,” Erica said.

Matt’s interest in “repurposing” industrial antiques led to his designing a custom island for the kitchen.

He used a lineberry factory cart and an industrial cotton cart, found in South Carolina. “It’s an extremely unique, one-of-a-kind feature,” she said.

In addition, Matt built the range hood from tongue-and-groove boarding, found during renovation. Reclaimed from downtown Madison, pressed-tin ceiling tiles form a kitchen backsplash.

A cabinet from an old general store gives storage. A bench provides seating at their farmhouse table.

8 Madison Living

Set in neutrals, their color scheme is accentuated with black, along with rich, dark woods. Interior doors and railings are black. Kitchen oak cabinets are stained ebony. The flooring has rich, mahogany stain.

“We’ve worked hard to make our home warm, inviting and reflective of our personality,” she said.

The Hands’ lawn has established trees, including dogwood, evergreen holly and three massive pecans.

Matthew works as a superintendent for BL Harbert. Erica is a registered nurse with Riverside Pediatrics. Matthew grew up in south Huntsville, while Erica was raised in Lexington, Alabama.

They have lived in Madison about 12 years, after one year in South Carolina and a few years renovating a home in Decatur’s historic district. The Hands are members of CrossPointe Church. Their children are Peyton, 14; Grace, 6; and Stratton, 3.

For the first time, the Hand home will be open for public viewing during the Christmas Tour of Historic Homes in downtown Madison this December.

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Matthew and Erica Hand are only the third owners of their Arnett Street house, built in 1914. In the upstairs landing, sun filters on hardwood floors and vintage office furniture and equipment. Stratton Hand’s bedroom retains historic charm while using a playful motif. For a kitchen island, Matthew Hand reclaimed industrial carts from South Carolina.

Jackson vine graces the porch’s squared columns.

In the kitchen, a bench provides extra seating at their farmhouse table.

Madison Living 9

LET’S EAT

Time

G

uests can forego mundane dining and enjoy a fresh, peaceful approach for food when they visit Tea With Thee

by Victoria.

Victoria ‘Vickie’ Barlowe is the sole owner but quickly acknowledges the “team effort.”

“I could not even think of doing this without major assistance of my sister-in-law Donna Simpson; my daughters, Tara Newlin and Kristy Biggs; my mother Ethel Simpson; and many other family members, friends and our awesome staff,” she said.

Barlowe fulfilled a lifelong dream by opening the eatery at 181 Hughes Road, Suite 6 in Hughes Plaza. While this venture is her first in the restaurant industry, she has hosted many diverse, special events during 38 years as a pastor’s wife.

Since 1979, her late husband Dr. W. Terry Barlowe had served as a Madison pastor, including at Spiritlife Family Worship Center. “If he were here today, he WRITTEN BY GREGG L. PARKER would be a driving force in the tearoom. He never PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO met a stranger and would probably sit down with our customers and be the life of the party,” she said.

On Victoria’s menu, chicken salad and grilled chicken bruschetta panini are two top orders by guests.

“Our teas are imported from all over the world and purchased through vendors in Kentucky, California and Florida,” Barlowe said. Her Victoria’s Blend, specially blended by Bruce Richardson at Elmwood Teas in Kentucky, is popular. Richardson writes for

for

tea

Sip tea, sample scones and delicacies at Tea With Thee

by Victoria

Madison Living 11

PAGE 11: Victoria Barlowe fulfilled a lifelong dream by opening her tea room at 181 Hughes Road, Suite 6 in Hughes Plaza. ABOVE: Gabrieala Armentrout, who works as a tea envoyer, often visits Tea With Thee by Victoria.

“Tea Time Magazine.” “’Cream Tea’ is a pot of tea, your choice, with a dressed scone plate that has a scone with clotted cream, lemon curd and jam.

Delicious!” she said.

Victoria’s BLT on a croissant updates a sandwich classic. Guests can order wraps with turkey-cucumber or chicken-ranch with sideline fruit. The Mandarin spinach salad with chicken appeals both aesthetically and to the palate.

Available with 24-hour reservation, the Three Tier Service starts with a first course of Victoria’s Blend Tea and dressed scone plate.

After a second course of creamy Chicken Velvet soup, the third course is served on a crystal three-tier stand holding assorted finger sandwiches and miniature desserts, beautifully decorated with fresh flowers.

Their children’s menu features a ham-and-cheese panini, fruit cup and chocolate chip cookies.

Dessert favorites are the Black Tie Affair and the Sweet-andSalty, a combination of strawberries, pretzels and cream cheese.

“And, of course, our delicious scones,” she said.

Compared to a standard restaurant, a tea room “provides an elegant peaceful oasis in the midst of our busy world,” Barlowe said.

“Everything is homemade and many recipes are old, family secrets. Our goal is to let every customer know that we consider (each one) special. We always look forward to seeing them,” Barlowe said.

Madison Living 13

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Chandeliers, antiques, china and music establish the relaxing tone at Tea With Thee by Victoria. The Tea With Thee menu includes sandwiches, wraps, salads and more.

Barlowe carefully chose all furnishings and the decor “to create the atmosphere of elegance and rest that we desire for our customers.” Chandeliers, antiques, china and music establish the tone.

Currently, Barlowe does not cater, but the staff can prepare bulk items for pickup.

Barlowe and staff enjoy private parties, which keep them busy most weekends. They offer bridal luncheons, baby and wedding showers, teas and birthday parties. “We’re excited about starting children’s specialty birthday parties and teas,” she said.

“Madison has been my home for 35 years since I returned in 1979 with my husband to pastor a local church. I love this area and the wonderful people who live here,” Barlowe said.

Tea With Thee by Victoria is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the first and third Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, call 256-325-8327, email to teabyvictoria@gmail.com or visit teawiththee.com or Facebook/Tea With Thee by Victoria.

14 Madison Living

ARTS & CULTURE

Adventure Hideaway Where kids go for train rides, swinging, pirates ‌ and snakes and lizards, too WRITTEN BY CHARLES MOLINEAUX PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO

Madison Living 15

R

honda Brewster considers her version of an indoor playground a vast improvement over what she herself had … back in the day. “When I was a stay-at-home mom,” she chuckled, “I would be climbing the walls. I had to get out of the house. So I’d go to Target … and end up spending money. Because I needed a place to go.”

As founder of Kidventure, Brewster said her own experience underscored the dire need of parents with small children looking for somewhere to take the kids, and perhaps unwind themselves.

Today, by her estimation, her creation welcomes some 5,000 big and little visitors monthly to a colorful, roomy world inside a Madison warehouse. Over its brightly hued mats, children dart between tire swing, bounce houses, pirate ship and muscle powered trains while moms (and some dads) can decompress in a lounge area.

“I want to offer parents a place to take a break,” Brewster said, “let their minds rest. Being parents can be really hard. It’s 24/7 and some days you’re not up for it.”

And with blow-up moonwalks of every variety at every carnival, Brewster declared a desire for something more.

“I envision a place where kids could explore a variety of things to play on, not just inflatables. We have equipment that allows them to get physical exercise, but also explore their imagination,” she said.

Brewster also infused her play place with a wildly popular extra, a dose of furry and scaly zoology from a collection of unusual animals to delight every child who ever went backyard critter hunting.

“It’s a way of having my own little petting zoo. I am a huge animal lover,” she confessed, “and it started out as a way to show kids that you can have pets that are other than cats and dogs.”

And an eclectic menagerie it has become, with stars including, birds, snakes, Nilla and Coco the baby rats (“They’re super sweet,” swears Brewster), Yertle the hingeback turtle, and Jackie and Kelso the bearded dragons.

“We have a ferret that was given to us,” Brewster ticked off. “Raised in a classroom, very friendly.”

Mackie the monitor lizard is a cousin of the giant Komodo dragon.

And then there are the two geckos that look just like the Australian-accented lizard from the Geico Insurance TV commercials. Sure enough, “one little

PAGE 15: KidVenture staffer Amanda McTaggart shows off meeting room, which the center opens up to community groups. RIGHT: Familiar face? KidVenture’s menagerie includes two geckos, not quite as personable as the rest of the critters.

16 Madison Living

Pink

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Spinning and balancing become part of the challenge for KidVenture’s little customers, in play equipment unlike the bouncies (although KidVenture has them too) they’ll encounter everywhere else. There was a crooked house…

KidVenture founder Rhonda Brewster recalled painstakingly assembling the features of her play area for birds or animals. What more natural kid adventure for KidVenture than a pirate ship. KidVenture offers kids the workout of inflatables including, yes, a bouncy castle, but aims for more stimulation.

18 Madison Living

boy looked at them and asked, ‘Why aren’t they talking?’” Brewster laughed.

Brewster recalled the business getting off to a promising start when it opened on Lehman Ferry Road in Huntsville in 2009 but said it truly took off when she relocated to Madison in 2012.

“Moving to Madison was the best decision we could have made,” she exclaimed. “It has turned out beautifully.”

Beyond a refuge for frazzled parents, Brewster says Kidventure in its current home has become a networking central, where special needs and therapy classes can meet, home-schooling groups gather to compare notes community groups like the Girl Scouts come together, and parents who’ve never met … can meet.

“We‘ve had parents who’ve befriended other parents,” marveled Brewster. “Our staff has been able to help parents in need. My kids are now 13 and 9.

They grew up there and they learned from being around kids they wouldn’t normally be around. This gave them the chance to step outside that circle and meet kids they normally wouldn’t have.”

With a staff, and clientele overwhelmingly dominated by moms, Brewster acknowledged she faces tough standards, and has no complaints about that.

“Word of mouth, that’s how we survive,” she exclaimed. “Moms like to talk to each other, so we make sure it’s like some place we’d want our kids to play.

“We just try to make sure everybody has a good time,” she continued. That’s what it’s all about, that and being a resource. That’s important to me and my staff. They’re all moms and dads and they love kids.”

LEFT: KidVenture features a ball pit for younger children. RIGHT: Other activities include a playground, bounce houses and pirate ship.

Charles Molineaux is an anchor and investigative reporter with WAFF 48 News.

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IN THE BIZ

Next Stop: The moon

From its tiny Madison ‘man cave,’ Moon Express works to open the Moon up for business WRITTEN BY CHARLES MOLINEAUX PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO

D

eceptively ordinary on the outside, the Madison headquarters of Moon Express emitted no earth-shaking rocket noises as its development team worked to craft the next generation of rockets for its potentially earthshaking mission, returning America to the Moon. The loudest sounds coming from the mundane-looking split-level house on four acres surrounded by trees were the rumbling rock and roll of AC/DC and the Rolling Stones, plus the occasional snarl of a circular saw as engineer Jaewon Choi of Madison cut paneling to build a clean room.

“It’s awesome,” Choi exclaimed. “We’re doing something that’s more than just a job here. We’re going to the Moon.”

Moon Express’ Madison propulsion lab is the creation

of longtime rocket entrepreneur Tim Pickens, the company’s chief propulsion engineer. His last venture, Orion Propulsion, created rocket systems for NASA and ultimately became part of Dynetics. Now Pickens’ startup Pickens Innovation works with Mountain View, Calif.-based Moon Express to put private sector missions on the lunar surface.

“We’re trying to affordably build a spacecraft to go to the moon and this will be launched on a commercial rocket,” he explained.

While the business of huge rockets to travel into Earth orbit is well established, Moon Express seeks to take payloads the rest of the way to the Moon itself on small unmanned “micro landers” the size of a dinner table. In Las Vegas in December, the company unveiled its planned vehicle, a 55-inch wide craft. “MTV-1, MoonEx Terrestrial Vehicle One. It’s not cute,” Pickens chuckled. “It’s not Wall-E.” It is the job of Pickens’ team to develop the lander’s

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Moon Express rocket components are designed to use safe, familiar fuels rather than toxic high performance chemicals.

At the workbench, senior propulsion engineer Alex Conley takes apart a main peroxide thruster for inspection. The Moon Express small 3-D printer can quickly create plastic renderings of parts. Moon Express’ jumble of gear now expands into a new/old facility, the same Madison workshop Tim Pickens’ previous propulsion business occupied before it was acquired by a bigger company.

Madison Living 23

propulsion, in workshops in a garage and a backyard shed dubbed “The Man Cave 2,” a lean shop in which every job is hands-on, in which a University of Alabama in Huntsville graduate in math and physics like Choi do carpentry work.

“We all wear every hat here, every hat,” said Pickens.

“I was sweeping yesterday and getting stuff off the floor.”

“I don’t want to be at a big company,” Choi said. “I know exactly where we’re going and it’s part of a bigger picture.”

The surroundings in the facility make that big picture, and its history, abundantly clear. Pickens has stuffed the house with his own collection of science, research, aerospace and rocketry artifacts dating back decades.

“It’s part mad scientist’s lab, part museum, part junkyard dog,” marveled Moon Express CEO Bob Richards. “It’s everything Rocket City.”

Motors from the Apollo and Gemini programs share space with components from Surveyor, the Space Shuttle and pieces of a Saturn V rocket. Coffee tables made from rocket nozzles sit beneath a working Jacob’s Ladder electric arc generator. On the wall, a photo of Pickens’ pickup truck is outfitted with a rocket engine.

On the living room hearth sits a rocket scooter. And peering from a corner, the image of space program icon Wernher von Braun peers out from a glow-in-the-dark light switch plate.

As the local end of Moon Express gains thrust and altitude, it has grown to a full-time staff of 12 and expanded some operations into new, but ironically familiar quarters, a Commerce Drive space that used to be part of Pickens’ previous company Orion Propulsion before its Dynetics buyout.

Pickens said the tiny startup-style structure of his Madison operation paves the way for rapid and creative innovation difficult to achieve in the corporate world.

“We’re doing a very aggressive development effort and we don’t need to be encumbered by a lot of traditional obstructions … having to defend every decision at different levels of management. Here, good or bad, I can make a decision on the fly and say ‘let’s try this.’ Then I’ll just have to live with it.”

“We’ve got to fly,” Pickens said “whatever it takes to fly.”

Charles Molineaux is an anchor and investigative reporter with WAFF 48 News.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Moon Express’ mission presents a technological step across the frontier of landing an unmanned private craft safely on the moon, but also a legal one. Senior propulsion engineer Alex Conley in vacuum chamber. Even the more calm and functional looking flourishes in the Moon Express have a cutting edge, such as a table lamp fashioned from a turbine. Here, machinist James Shumate sets up the lathe in the workshop.

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Madison Living 25

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HEALTH

Putting your best self forward WRITTEN BY NICK SELLERS PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO

F

or the past four years, Dr. Patrick Lappert has been touting his signature “minimally invasive” plastic surgery procedures at his Madison Boulevard office in Madison.

It’s a marked about-face from many pre-conceived notions the general public may have about the craft, Lappert asserts.

“The era of, ‘If you want to look younger, you need a face lift:’ that’s gone now,” Lappert said.

Instead, Lappert specializes in plastic surgery procedures and practices that require minimum downtime, use local anesthesia and often can be done during a client’s lunch hour. The last 12 years during which Lappert has been a civilian plastic surgeon have seen those changes take effect.

As a former military plastic surgeon, Lappert has seen these changes firsthand. A 24-year veteran of the United States Navy, Lappert’s most recent assignment was chief of plastic surgery at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Va., the largest military hospital in the world. He held that position for nine years before his retirement from the Navy in 2002.

Later that year he opened a practice in nearby Decatur. He has worked at the present Madison location since 2010.

“The clientele here is very much in that forwardthinking, intelligent professional area,” Lappert said of his patrons. “We’re just swimming in talent around here.”

ABOVE: Lappert boasts a modest-sized accessible location on Madison Boulevard between Hughes and Zierdt roads.

Madison Living 27

A procedure Lappert said he performs with much frequency is tattoo removal, though he stressed it is not what many people think of when the term “tattoo removal” comes to mind.

The procedure Lappert uses is called the Picosure laser system. The apparatus essentially distributes laser light to the skin area containing the tattoo, with no heat injury or discomfort caused to the skin. The main draw to Picosure, though, is the three-five treatments needed to erase the tattoo. That number is lower than the accepted norm, which is somewhere between 7-10 treatments.

Lappert said much of the clientele electing to get tattoo removals come from nearby Redstone Arsenal.

To be commissioned, military personnel are not allowed any visible tattoos, especially below the elbow on the forearm.

“I’m serving people who are trying to move ahead,” Lappert said, adding his base is people aged 28-55, though he has had clients of all ages.

Another popular procedure Lappert performs is laser liposuction, or SmartLipo. Lappert was the first in the Tennessee Valley to start using this technique, which differs from surgical liposuction in that it uses lasers to liquefy and otherwise neutralize fat cells.

Laser liposuction, tattoo removal and the noLEFT: Lappert sizes up the surgical procedure room.

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28 Madison Living

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incision facelift, among other procedures, are what set Lappert’s office apart, he said. In fact, there is another term he likes to use for his work: aesthetic surgery.

“Aesthetic speaks to overall function and how you interact with people, how they interact with you,” he said.

The updated term, along with innovative technology and a fresh outlook on the practice of plastic surgery, is what keeps Dr. Lappert accessible and trusted as a leading plastic surgeon in Madison.

COUNTER CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE RIGHT: Lappert Plastic Surgery, situated at Madison Boulevard since 2010, specializes in minimally invasive procedures. Corrie Prickett, RN, at left, and Lauren McIntyre, RN, organize behind the scenes at Lappert’s practice. Dr. Patrick Lappert holds a Biology degree from University of California, Santa Barbara, Doctor of Medicine degree from the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Md., and certifications from the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Madison Living 29

HEALTH

Refer a friend to the Hogan Family YMCA

T

he Hogan Family YMCA has some special treats for members this October. At the Y, where our cause is strengthening community, good friends share encouragement when they share classes or volunteer experiences. To encourage friends to strengthen their commitment to a healthy lifestyle with a little positive peer pressure, the Hogan Y has a fantastic offer for members and those who are thinking about joining. During Member Get a Member month in October, members who introduce a friend to the Y can receive a free month of membership when that friend joins.

The new member receives some generous gifts from the Y, too: A Y gym bag and no join fee. Because there is no limit to the number of friends they can have, there is no limit to the free months a Y member can earn.

Friends encourage and support us, and the Y provides a place where everyone can connect with their community while participating in healthy, social classes like Zumba or water aerobics, programs such as Women on Weights or Tang Soo Do, and activities

30 Madison Living

WRITTEN BY MARY ANNE SWANSTROM PHOTOGRAPH CONTRIBUTED LEFT: Hogan YMCA members Darralyn and Lee Wilson volunteered at the Madison Health Expo.

that strengthen families and community ties including youth sports and adult basketball.

Member Get a Member referral cards will go into a fishbowl with winners drawn for prizes like Y drink glasses and other goodies. On Oct. 31, all cards will go back into the bowl to draw for a grand prize: Six-month membership certificates each for the two friends on the card. More cards equal more chances to win. Visit ymcamadison.org.

Another first for the district

EDUCATION

Madison City Schools First Class Pre-Kindergarten Center WRITTEN BY GREGG L. PARKER PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO

I

n another first, the Madison school district opened a new campus in August 2014 with the Madison City Schools First Class PreKindergarten Center.

The center, located at 74 Nance Road, is nextdoor neighbors with Rainbow Elementary School’s population. The facility centralizes some prekindergarten students to one location from different Madison campuses.

The standalone center’s opening correlates directly with growing impetus in Alabama to expand the state’s opportunities for pre-kindergarten youngsters.

Each class at the First Class Pre-K Center has 18 students with a lead teacher and auxiliary teacher.

Fourteen teachers work at the center. “We currently have seven classes with 128 children at the pre-K center on Nance Road,” Assistant Principal Angela ‘Angie’ Bush said. Bush directs the center.

The center can accommodate nine classes, which translates to 162 children. “Unfortunately, this will not accommodate all of the pre-K students in Madison City Schools,” Sharon Willis said. Willis, the district’s federal programs coordinator, is one Central office staff member assisting the center’s operation.

Any 4-year-old student in Madison can apply for enrollment in the program. In April, administrators urge any family to apply who has a child they want to enroll at the center.

“We have a system-wide distribution of recruitment notices in English and Spanish placed at least one month prior to opening the applications,” Willis said. “The recruitment notices specifically state that a random selection drawing will be used to choose children for the First Class Pre-K Center.”

The drawing is held in May, and the public is welcome to attend.

Madison has another pre-kindergarten program, Early Beginnings, housed at Mill Creek Elementary School. Parents also must apply for Early Beginnings,

PAGE 31: Sawyer Lao is a student on Madison City Schools’ newest campus. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Angie Bush, an assistant principal and center director, watches a game of kickball. The pre-kindergarten students have their own separate playground for outdoor exercise. The pre-k center offers an arts and crafts station for budding painters.

ne!

Order Onli H IC WHICH W

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32 Madison Living

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Each class at the First Class Pre-K Center has 18 students with a lead teacher and auxiliary teacher. The center, located at 74 Nance Road, is next-door neighbors with Rainbow Elementary School. Assistant principal Angie Bush stands on the center’s campus. A student casts a happy grin before she joins the study table with her classmates.

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256-837-3400

ROCKETCENTER.COM

Madison Living 33

which includes “typical children and children with developmental delay,” Willis said.

The Alabama Office of School Readiness has developed early learning standards for guiding instructional practices that the pre-K center applies.

“The High Scopes Curriculum supports the teachers in developing strategies to assist children in mastering skills to ensure school readiness,” Bush said.

“The children learn through play, interaction and engagement in many activities,” Bush said.

In each teacher’s schedule, time is allotted for “whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, recess, music, art and Spanish,” Bush said. “In each of these learning opportunities, the children learn skills related to all subjects.”

The pre-K Center follows the district calendar, with opening at 7:40 a.m. and closing at 2:20 p.m.

34 Madison Living

daily.

“Currently, the children travel by bus to the cafeteria at Rainbow for lunch. We anticipate that our cafeteria will be ready very soon,” Bush said.

Preparing for the new center, Madison Board of Education purchased the former Legacy Academy for Children and three acres for $837,500 in December 2013 and then spent $621,100 in renovations during the summer of 2014.

Along with the First Class Pre-Kindergarten Center, Madison City Schools has two high school campuses, an alternative academy, two middle school campuses and seven elementary schools. In May 2014, Madison Board of Education purchased 17.5 acres on Browns Ferry Road at Wall Triana for a future elementary campus.

For more information, call the pre-K center at 256-824-8080.

ABOVE: Sawyer Lao heads out from his home for another day at the Madison City Schools First Class Pre-Kindergarten Center.

Looking back

EDUCATION

School system’s growth a source of pride for community

R

ecently I had the built in 1974. pleasure of attending Nearly 20 years of no new the 25th anniversary buildings in the County at that time. celebration of Liberty Madison City can hardly go that Middle School, where I spent some many months without consideration memorable years as principal from of a new school building.

1993 to 1998, when we became a As I drove to Liberty down Dr. Dee County Line Road past James separate district.

Fowler When Liberty was being built, Clemens High School and County Line Road didn’t connect Heritage Elementary, I pondered highway 20 to 72. It was said that if one how wonderfully the Madison City wanted to hide a school, Liberty was in the School System has evolved. Those schools perfect spot. When the school opened, its represent all sectors of our system – holding tank was emptied every other day elementary, middle and high school. because there was no sewer. The County They exemplify the quality schools our built Liberty to alleviate overcrowding community expects and deserves. at Monrovia Middle and Madison I had the same trifecta reflection on the Middle (now Madison Elementary). east side of Madison when I accompanied Liberty was a special place from its State Schools Superintendent Dr. Tommy inception. It was the first new school built Bice to Rainbow Elementary in late August. by the County Board since Bob Jones was We were there to celebrate Rainbow as a

national School of Excellence. Rainbow is the only school in Alabama to win this National PTA designation.

While checking that week on the renovation of Bob Jones High School I learned that Bob Jones and James Clemens made the America’s Best High Schools list of Newsweek’s Daily Beast.

Of course, our high schools wouldn’t be what they are without the help of excellent feeder schools. These schools thrive because of strong PTAs, quality teachers, a supportive community, great students, wonderful parents and guardians, and a visionary Board.

I am so proud to be Superintendent of Education in Madison City. I am excited for the greatness that lies ahead.

Dr. Dee Fowler is Superintendent of Education for Madison City Schools.

Madison Living 35

Parrots of the Caribbean

1

Nearly 700 attended the Parrots of the Caribbean presented by the Rotary Club of Madison.

1. Amy Patel, Dianne Reynolds, Pat and Roger Cross, Marc Jacobson, Debbie Overcash and Jim Reynolds 2. Madison Mayor Troy Trulock with wife Dana Trulock 3. John and Karen Krakus 4. Cory and Terry Sellars with Jeremy and

2

Georgia Lawrence 5. Lisa Jackson and Janice Alex with Mindy Edge

3

6. Janet and Dennis Creech 7. Blaky Palmer with Lauren Sanders 8. Bob and Lisa Jackson

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NICK SELLERS

4

7

6 36 Madison Living

5

8

Sausage Festival

1

Madison’s Blue Pants Brewery hosted the first annual Sausage Fest in August.

1. Stuart Krammer with Chris Fulton, sausage judges at the first annual Madison Blue Pants Brewery Sausage Fest 2. Dana and Hannah Grace Sanders 3. Raynie and Dustin Riddle

2 4

3

4. Tony Mancuso and Vince Andrus with Bush League BBQ in Madison 5. Ben Tangye with Craig and Nissa Weisser 6. Brandon Hanes, Dave Moreau with Wayne Myers 7. Brandy Malone, Randy Croft and Brian Malone 8. Laura and Damon Eubanks

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHARLES MOLINEAUX

6

5 7

8

Madison Living 37

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