Shadows’ “Charley” Program Breaks 30-year Record « National Trust Historic Sites Blog

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Shadows’ “Charley” Program Breaks 30-year Record

December 11, 2008 by Max van Balgooy

Shadows-on-the-Teche decorated for Christmas, including snow on the roof and lawn!

I’m currently in New Iberia, Louisiana visiting Shadows-on-the-Teche on an unusually cold and rainy day to participate in some planning for its 50th anniversary as a National Trust Historic Site in 2011. The meetings drew together many different perspectives from the community, including board members, business leaders, elected officials, tourism experts, and staff. A very welcoming and thoughtful group with a wealth of ideas. Although working three years ahead may sound too early, it’s a smart idea when you want to maximize the effectiveness of both fundraising and publicity for a major event.

While I was in town, I had a chance to experience the Shadows’ award-winning “Charley” program for elementary school students. Begun in 1977, it has reached every first-grade student in Iberia Parish for more than 30 years. That level of commitment and consistency is hard to achieve at an historic site. Over a couple of hours, the program takes first-grade students through nearly a dozen stations on site to learn about the life of children during the mid-19th century when Shadows was a sugar plantation worked by enslaved Africans. Groups of about fifteen students tour the rooms, sing Christmas songs with a guitar player, and enjoy hands-on activities–that’s fairly typical of school programs. What is unusual is that students from the 4th-6th grades perform as children from the past–it’s children teaching children! After weeks of rehearsals, they put on costumes and perform short vignettes for the first-graders in a variety of settings, such as the parlor and loggia. Students learn about the life of children both in the master’s household and in the enslaved community during the Christmas season. Discussions of the architecture and decorative arts are mercifully interpreted at a very superficial level (the staff recognizes the interests and limitations of first graders–many Sites don’t and insist on providing the same tour for children that they provide for adults. How boring!).

The other unusual aspect of this school program is that it happens intensively within two weeks in December. This program is not offered throughout the year. Therefore, every 15-30 minutes another group starts the program and there can be 2-3 groups in the house at one time. This requires a lot of staff on a single day and it’s a bit hectic, but it does clear the rest of the calendar for other programs and activities. Indeed, despite having a small full time staff of four people, Shadows also offers significant school programs at the middle and secondary levels.

I’ve included some snapshots of the program (as well as New Iberia, a Main Street community) below and if you want more details, contact Cathy Schramm, Director of Education at the Shadows (although you may want to wait until next week when she’s had time to recover!).