School’s back in session

The sounds of the carnival can be heard in the background, as the students of Deggeller Academy start another academic year.  Not your typical school, Deggeller Academy is a traveling school for the children of employees at Deggeller Attractions. Currently, there are 10 students ranging from grades 1-7 who go to school each day from 9am until 5pm in a custom designed large white semi-trailer classroom and travel to the different venues with the carnival.

The children are taught by a highly experienced and respected educator, Miss Linda Brewer, who has been teaching at different carnivals and online for over 20 years.  She has been a teacher with the Deggeller Academy for 3 years.

“This is a family-oriented business. The school enables parents to maintain their family units while offering their children a quality educational alternative,” said Brewer.

She got her start with the carnival by working games during the summer months while attending school.  After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Penn State University, she earned her Masters at Texas A&M.

“I wasn’t ready to settle down and have a normal life, and look at me now,” laughed Brewer.

Her son Noah also was taught in her school and then sent to a boarding school and graduated high school at the age of 16. He is now at the Rochester Institute of Technology,  and he just started his last full year of Mechanical Engineering. He will still be 21 when he graduates from the Mechanical Engineering 5 year program.

The school’s curriculum is ever changing based on the tools that Miss Linda finds. Every child has a daily contract he or she has to follow to be done with work for the day. The contract is then highlighted as it is completed. If the student doesn’t have it done, it is sent home as homework. Miss Linda makes sure that each student has individualized learning.

“The contracts put all the responsibility on the child. If they want to play, they need to work hard to get done with their work,”  Brewer said.

The students do about half online work and half book and projects. Brewer works hard to teach all learning styles and incorporates a lot of field trips into their schedule with being on the road and getting the opportunity to go many different places.

“It keeps our families together while providing the best possible education for our children,” said Jamie Deggeller (CFO of Deggeller Attractions).

The parents of Deggeller Academy students are grateful for the opportunity to have their families together while on the road.

“By having a traveling school it makes a community,  and it allows us to have our son with us on the road. It also makes it so he has friends and kids his age to play with,” said Chane Dunn (MGR Employee Relations & Office Relations).