The air outside the school bus is cold and the winter wind is blowing hard over the Gordan Parks Elementary School parking lot. Despite the freezing wind, Dr. Diana Swezy, principal of the public charter school, stands outside the bus door and, as it swings open, she takes each child and wishes them a good morning. For many of these at-risk children, that’s all it takes to change a bad day into a good one.

All the students come from low-income families and many live in chaotic environments, according to Dorothy Curry, cofounder and chairperson of Gordan Parks’ board. By greeting the students every morning, Swezy checks their “psychological temperature” to see if they are ready to face the day or need to spend time with the school counselor, says Curry.

The students file into the school, 15 per teacher, two teachers per class. They begin a day much different than a traditional K-3 elementary student would expect, but one that these children seem excited about.

The charter school is new to the Volker neighborhood, now settled into the old Kansas City School District building overlooking Roanoke Park. Curry and her high-school friend and cofounder Sue Garvis held the first school year in the All Souls Unitarian Church before they outgrew the location. When the elementary school building on Wyoming was available, Gordon Parks, with the help of some good friends, began fall 2001 in a great location.

The curriculum focus of the Gordon Park, a style of learning that Swezy has introduced, is based on learning from children’s literature. Textbooks have been set aside in favor of learning and gleaning lessons from stories. The children’s writings, posted in the school halls, reflect those lessons, written in their own hand and explained in their own way. The students, some for the first time have begun to understand, analyze and critique what they’ve read and what they’re learning. Other subjects are not neglected. Music, art, dance, theater and other classes also enter the student’s lives and studies.

The importance of the mix of classes and the focus on literature is to bring firsthand experiences to the students. With the school targeting inner-city kids, many have not been in an airplane, seen a horse or even left their home city. Now many of these students have sat in an airplane cockpit, thanks to a trip hosted by the United Parcel Services. Many volunteers have brought their stories and their experiences to share in the classrooms. This spring, the third-grade class will visit St. Louis. The students will tour the local museums and enjoy an overnight with like students of the St. Louis area. The students are packing in these first experiences and learning to relate to others through what they’ve learned.

Disciplinary action is also a change of pace for the students. There is no disciplinarian in the school, says Curry. The children are given the chance to work through their problems and disobedience on paper. Counseling is available to help the children work through their problems if further action is needed. The effect is that there is no staff member that the students learn to fear or expect punishment from.

Gordon Parks Elementary is a handmade school, says Curry and many hands have lent to its progress. Out of it’s $1.3 million budget, $360,000 was raised through local support. UPS has given time and again through personal and financial attention. James B. Nutter Co., The Kauffman Foundation, and other businesses and organizations have helped support Gordon Parks in its efforts. Above all, the staff and teachers are the extraordinary factor that weaves the program together. Their time spent with the children is devoted to helping those children discover what their capabilities are and the vast options they have in life. If the writing in the halls doesn’t show that Gordon Parks is working, the bright smiles and eager looks in the children’s eyes do.