Not just geography for kids in carnival schools

For the 21 children enrolled in Conklin International Academy, the school year began June 18 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Conklin Shows began its Canadian route. By the time the show rolls into the Big E in West Springfield, Mass., in mid-September, the first semester will be winding down.

The concept of teaching carnival children caught on in the 1990s, inspired by the home-schooling movement and a pioneering school established with Deggeller Attractions in 1985. Conklin, Powers Great American Midways, Kissel Rides & Shows, Midway of Fun and Reithoffer Shows are among the carnivals with mobile classrooms this season. Deggeller Attractions, Amusements of America and Wade Shows, which usually have them, have taken a pass this year.

"Their parents are remarkably busy for the main part of the season, so if there wasn't a school, what would (the kids) be doing with all their time?" asks teacher Linda Brewer, who founded the preschool and K-12 program 10 years ago for kids who travel with Conklin. "I think a lot of (the parents) don't remember, or don't know what they would do, if there wasn't a school."

Conklin classes are in session four-six days a week from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with mornings devoted to academics and group activities like science lab. Afternoons are split between individual study and a cross-curricular program utilizing music and the arts. The traveling academy has two custom trailers, three teachers and an annual operating cost of about $200,000, making it one of the most ambitious programs of its kind.

What are the challenges and rewards of operating a show school?

"I think what we've done so far is in more of the experimental stages of finding out how we can serve this population best. There's so much further to go," says Brewer, whose industry affiliation began as a teenager working game concessions for a family friend. After earning a master's degree in mathematics from Texas A&M, Brewer taught with Deggeller for 18 months. She also helped Wade Shows, Amusements of America and other carnivals set up their schools.

For Brewer, one measure of the concept's success is that her students consistently score higher on standardized tests than the national average.

"On Deggeller, the ones I had in kindergarten and first grade are almost all in college," she says.

Don Deggeller says he "feels like he won the lottery" since Sally MacNeill, Brewer's college classmate and Deggeller Academy's longtime teacher, married ride superintendent Scott MacNeill. The couple has two preschoolers.

"We have a bunch of small kids on the show now, so we're taking advantage of that to take the year off and refurbish the school trailer, which