After-school director receives award for Overland Trail Elementary program

It has been a long day of school and the 34 students arrive at the after-school YMCA program distracted, hungry and ready to play.

"La la la," sings Jean Phillips, their after-school director.

"Connect the dots," the students sing back as they stop what they are doing and look toward her. They call her "Miss Jean."

This exchange is the "attention-getter" Phillips has formulated in her nine years of working with students at Overland Trail Elementary School, 6225 W. 133rd St., Overland Park.

"I've carved out a niche here," she said.

Recently, Phillips received the AfterSchool Pro Quest for Excellence Award from the School Age Notes Foundation. Kathleen Hermes, foundation president, described Phillips as an "everyday hero."

"(They) can be found in after-school programs all across the country," Hermes said in a statement. "...They bring energy, playfulness, a sense of wonder and a desire to make a difference. They are sometimes thanked by grateful parents or programs, but for the most part, their contributions often go unrecognized and unappreciated."

Phillips is specifically being recognized for her work to incorporate cultural diversity, fitness and nutrition into her after-school curriculum. Those efforts are part of her "personal commitment" to students, she said.

Phillips once used fast-food jingles as her "attention-getter." She said stories she heard on National Public Radio about increasing childhood obesity rates changed that and she decided she had to set a better example. Now she introduces new foods and recipes to students.

"It is such a teaching tool," she said. "They learn math and healthy lifestyles."

Snack time might include grapefruit and milk smoothies or papaya.

Most days she eats her own healthy food in front of students. Other days she will eat a half of a cheeseburger.

"I tell them I eat cheeseburger and hot dogs, but that it is not every day," Phillips said. "Sometimes I have a feel for something different and it is not that I don't ever eat it, but you have to change your personal diet."

Phillips came to the United States from the Virgin Islands in the 1970s. She talks openly to her young students about her accent and her dark skin color.

"I want them to know that it may be different, but it is OK," Phillips said. "It will make them a better boss or co-worker because they will be familiar with everyone."

When drawing self-portraits she encourages students to mix colors to find a matching skin tone.

Fourth-grader Flora Sharon said Phillips introduced her to new facts about Eleanor Roosevelt during Women's History Month. Earlier this year, Phillips taught Flora about Native Americans, she said.

"I think it's good to learn to respect people the way they are," Flora said. "The more people you meet, the more you learn."

Phillips also has been letting her hair go gray and talking to students about how it is OK to get older, she said.

Third-grader Jake Theiss said Phillips always sets a good example.

"She talks about (respect) all of the time," he said. "And she doesn't have to, but she decides to be kind."

Phillips has worked as a teacher and as an after-school director, mostly in inner-city schools, she said. Moving to the Blue Valley School District and seeing the abundant support system available to students was an eye-opener, she said.

Struggles are different but still exist, she said. She still works with students living through divorce and the illness of parents.

"I try to find out the situation a child is going through," Phillips said. "If every child had support they could make progress. This is where I am supposed to be. I'm doing it for them."

The nonprofit School Age Notes Foundation supports after-school programs through national awards, training and promotion of excellence.

"Jean has a personal commitment to the field of quality child care that is most obvious to the others around her," Lisa Muntz, a YMCA of Greater Kansas City official said in a statement. "She is intentional about promoting the importance and professional aspect of child care."

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