One glimpse of the joy inside a classroom at CREC Ana Grace Academy of the Arts, and it’s clear that the school was built from love.
We continue to honor the lives lost and forever changed on 12/14, exactly one decade ago.
The town of Bloomfield is where you'll find a remarkable school - the only in the state named after a child.
One glimpse of the joy inside a classroom at CREC Ana Grace Academy of the Arts, and it's clear that the school was built from love.
"Ana was a very loving person. This building wouldn't reflect her if love wasn't found in it," Ana Grace Márquez-Greene's father Jimmy said.
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Jimmy knows a lot about the heart. The world renowned saxophonist lost a piece of it ten years ago.
"I wouldn't wish this journey on anyone because it's been incredibly difficult," he said.
His six-year-old daughter was one of 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. A tragedy that left CREC searching for a way to bring about light.
CREC was transitioning toward a building to combine the arts magnet schools for elementary and middle schools. Nearly two years after Ana's death, her parents were asked if they'd be amenable to naming the school in her honor.
Jimmy and his wife Nelba Márquez-Greene have attended, worked and taught at CREC schools in the past. Their roots run deep.
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"What an amazing and thoughtful way to honor our little girl," Jimmy said.
From Ana's artwork to precious portraits, affection is evident in every detail of the state-of-the-art building in Jimmy's hometown of Bloomfield.
"We don't have her in the physical so that makes me very sad, but I'm overcome by the love because we did have her for six-and-a-half years and boy did we do everything we possibly could to make her know that she was loved," he said.
When you first walk into the school, there's a flower that Ana drew on display.
"My daughter loved singing, she loved dancing," Jimmy said. "My daughter loved the color purple."
The color is featured in just about every room of the school.
"Whether it's in the paint, or whether it's in the carpet, the tiles on the wall, the artwork. All the things she loved are kind of woven into the fabric of this building," Jimmy said.
It's a special place for more than 800 pre-K through eighth graders.
"What I see on the faces of the children when I walk into the school and attend a performance is that they feel loved, they feel seen," Nelba said.
And in their educators, they are able to see themselves.
"We have a diverse population of students and families, I make sure that I am representing not just myself, but my culture, my identity, my existence," said J. Levi Nichelson, a music teacher at the school. "Not only am I teaching music, but I’m teaching life through music."
That exposure is a cornerstone of the Ana Grace Academy.
"There are a lot of students who will go through their entire career and never see a teacher who looks like them in that classroom," said CREC Executive Director Greg Florio.
"So what we did a few years ago, we decided to invest in a program that’s not unlike a residency a doctor would go through to actually provide training,” he continued.
After a paid year of instruction, mentorship, and certification, participants are ready to teach.
“You look in the eyes of all these kids here in this building that are being taught, they are singing and dancing and doing things they’re interested and passionate about. This is a place where they can grow," Jimmy said.
He says he's learned more about himself and his family through the lens of grief. It's a lesson he's willing to share.
"Talking to my wife, talking to my therapist, talking to my friends. That's one thing I would encourage, if you know someone going through grief," Jimmy said. "The best thing to do to someone who is hurting, who is experiencing trauma, who is grieving, is just be there to listen."
There's comfort in that silence.
"Why on Earth was Ana taken? I can't answer that. I'll never know that while I'm here on this Earth, but I do know that during this time we've had to deal with it, we've had a lot of help," he said.
In January, Nelba set a goal of giving $100,000 to the school that bears her daughter's name. Through her foundation, The Ana Grace Project, she has surpassed that goal.
