John H. Bayne Elementary, not only has the distinction of being the first Reading Room in Prince George’s County, but is the 300th in the country!  Sponsor Pohanka Automotive Group had several representatives present, (including Chairman & CEO Geoffrey Pohanka), who regularly volunteer at the school. There were also many other dignitaries from the county on hand in support!  The theme of the room is inspired by their mascot, the bear!

The 300th Ben Carson THINK BIG Reading Room Opening ceremony began with a cordial welcome from Ms. Ebony McSwain, community school coordinator, and her description of the community partnerships that had been developed for better academic results for the students. And she believes, “Reading Rooms provide a wonderful atmosphere to read and explore.” This latest room is the first Ben Carson Reading Room in Prince George’s County, as well as the first reading room for the sponsor, Pohanka Automotive Group & Pohanka Community Outreach. The benevolent organizations have supported this school over the years in various ways including providing school supplies last fall for the entire student body!

As Ms. McSwain returned to her seat, 18 Cheerleaders from various grades PreK – 5 sprang to the front of the room and performed cheers in grand formation with all the enthusiasm of their high school counterparts! The youngest young lady might have been a kindergartener as she was no bigger than a minute, but she still had all the gusto of the fiercest acrobatic competitor! The first cheer was to motivate about the school’s teams…the Bears, and the last chant included was “Think Big”! The cheerleading squad is only one of several after-school initiatives supported by the community.

As Mrs. Candy Carson began speaking to the 150 or so gathered in the gymnatorium, half of whom were adults from the community, she posed her favorite question to the students, “How many of you ever get bored?” …and then followed with “what can you do not to be bored”? Only a few raised their hands in answer to the first question; and in response to the second, the first person called upon had the best answer: READ!!! Her remarks included facts about the power of the brain as well as encouragement for each student.

Sponsor representative Geoffrey Pohanka, chairman and CEO of Pohanka Auto dealership, asked the students, “how many of you like cars?” With an almost unanimous positive response, he continued with a history of his family’s automotive business, which began with a stable boy and his progress to successful jockey. The stable boy turned out to be his eighth-grade-educated grandfather who also had a vision of becoming an auto mechanic. The young man took it upon himself to read every book he could find on the subject in the New York library, resulting in a job as a mechanic with General Motors. In 1919 he took his savings and established the first Pohanka dealership! The parallels between Dr Carson’s story and that of Mr.Pohanka’s grandfather, where reading played a huge part in their successes, are prime examples of the American Dream!

Erica K. Bennett, who introduced herself as “the proud principal of John H. Bayne Elementary School” commented on the significance of the day, and her gratitude for all the support from the community (see list below). She then introduced Mrs. Wala Blegay, their local councilwoman representing district 6. The councilwoman’s message was also one of appreciation. Councilwoman Blegay stated, “you’ve heard it said, ‘it takes a village’. No one can raise a child alone. It can’t be done by the government alone.” She then thanked the community groups who had stepped up to the plate to be integral parts of “the village”.

Dr Carson’s video message included his rise from the bottom of his class to the top of his class academically as a result of his mother’s imposed reading program.

This metamorphosis helped him realize his dream of becoming a physician. Although the rigors and challenges of neurosurgery were fulfilling, in that he could intervene in the lives of patients, aiding in restoring them to health, he and his wife, Candy felt called to do something about the alarming statistics of US high school students’ math and science scores as compared with their counterparts around the world. So, the Carson Scholars Fund was born, providing college scholarships as early as grade 4, as an encouragement and motivation for students to continue to strive to do their best and be role models that set a high bar that their peers could see is attainable. The scholarship funds are invested on the scholars’ behalf until college.

The Reading Room program is the second arm of the fund and encourages entire student bodies to develop a love of learning. He urged students to “use the reading room to fuel your dreams and inspire your imagination”, and closed with “remember to read every day, and to always THINK BIG!!”

During the awards portion of the program, Principal Bennett first presented an engraved three-dimensional crystal flame to Mr. Pohanka, in appreciation for the light he and his company shared with her students. She then gave Mrs. Carson an engraved mahogany & brass plaque memorializing the significance of the 300th landmark reading room.

The celebration of reading continued as the winners of the school’s annual reading competition were announced – (they are actually the top readers in the school for this school year). Principal Bennett reminded them all of the popular athletes’ motto, “hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard“, which applies across the board, even in reading! As she gave the name of the best reader in each grade, based on (criteria – PK – cognitive assessment results; Kindergarten through 3rd – Lexia intervention results; 4th and 5th – iReady intervention results), the rest of the student body not only clapped, but cheered!!! And each honored student received a red nylon drawstring backpack filled with educational supplies!! One student who was non-verbal when he arrived last fall, had made such progress, he was one of the winners!!!

The Bear room

With a countdown from 10, the thick red ribbon stretched across the entry door of the room was cut, and the bear reading room was officially opened!!

But this Bear room was a far cry from being bare!

There were Bears…bears….every…wheres!!

…on the walls, as the chairs, on the baskets, in the “crosshairs”!!!

…Bears that are reading, discovering another dream,

and even a bear that is letting off steam!

Room designer Ms. Charisse Holder revealed that she was inspired by the efforts of the talented muralist, Ms. Rose Jackson. The well-thought-out appointments bear witness (pun intended) to her inspired ingenuity so much that one can hardly “bear” it!!! Bears are all over the room…and in various occupations!

As you enter the room, you will notice on the right, above the bear-brown massage chairs, depictions of the school mascot JB the Bear and his buddies in various places. There are bears on the lookout, standing atop a cave; and bears exploring fields and prairies. Then, on rounded, rattan baskets in ‘bear shades of brown’ with a smiling bear face embroidered on the side, students are welcomed to “pick the bears’ brains”, that is, to choose books from their bounty in those bear-faced baskets!

Twin bears are even painted on the wall, seated next to each other, each engrossed in a favorite book under a sheltering tree canopy! Deep brown fold-out chairs have the face of a bear on the vertical pillow, where a student can lean back into a bear hug as they read! …and of course stuffed “teddy bears” are available as reading partners as one journeys through their book of choice!

Also, at the room’s center is a 5’ high dark brown bear-shaped wooden bookcase!

And the bear that is letting off steam

…in a gentle plume of perfume,

…is perched on a shelf

…at the end of the room!

…rhymes that bear witness to Dr Seuss’ influence on our culture!

By this time, you realize a “John Bayne bear” can not only go “over the mountain”…he or she has barely ANY no limitations on destinations!

For logistics and maximum enjoyment, the room has two age-specific decorated areas: one for the younger set, or “bear cubs”, from pre-K to 2nd grade, and the other from 3rd to 5th, the “almost barely teens”.

On the left, up high, next to the “welcome wall”, in appreciation for the sponsor, the muralist captured the architectural style of the nearby Pohanka dealership from whence the financial support came.

To enhance mood of the room, a video screen mounted over the chalk board sports a calming lakeside bear-friendly mountain scene beyond an inviting seating group around the dancing flames of a pit in the center of a table. The soothing barely audible sounds of crackling flames and soft, gentle waves caress the senses, encouraging warm thoughts.

A couple of kidney-shaped tables positioned to form a circle with coordinating chairs in a blue hue so reminiscent of eddying water, beg the adventurer to “take a leisurely drink” from the “fountain of knowledge” as the whirlpool gently swirls their thoughts, immersing them in the immense ocean of information in books! When one considers the definition of an ‘eddy’ as a whirlpool that flows against the main current, this significance bears witness that the room is designed to inspire ‘forward-thinkers’, and those who think ‘out of the box’ (or cave!) …trailblazers who solve problems and dedicate themselves to making our world a better place!

And the 4-sided teepee in bold, alternating brown and white stripes is parked on a campfire carpet just close enough to the flames to warm the reader’s heart!

And consider and “bear-leave” this: a student cannot escape the encouraging decor, even in the bathroom!

In the Think Big Bathroom, one is drawn in by a 30” tall vertical “welcome” sign, and one can’t miss the covers of books about a being a pilot, hairstylist, teacher, astronaut, and president that are displayed on the wall above the sink!

Can you almost hear the song, as you ponder the mural, that the ‘encouraging bears’ are present:

“…on the mountains, in the prairies, by the oceans, white with foam!” So…with that in mind,

“God bless Bayne Elementary, the bears’ sweet home!”

See more photos of the fun here.

Special thanks to:

• Pohanka Automotive Group (Capitol Heights location),
• Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
• Hemingway Memorial AME Church
• Mentors of Minorities in Education (MOMIE)
• -Revelations of All Resources (R.O.A.R)
• PGCPS Office of Community Schools
• PGCPS Elementary Literacy Support Team (ELST),
• Division VIII Westphalia COPS Unit,
• Office of the County Executive,
• Milford-Waterford Citizens Association and local council members.

Written by Candy Carson
See more written by Candy here

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