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Gabriella Charter School

School founder Liza Bercovici lets students into a classroom at Gabriella Charter School, named in memory of her daughter. "Liza is the special sauce," said Principal Rhonda Czapla Sivaraman. "She is so passionate about our mission -- getting children opportunities in art, not to make them artists, but to make themselves better."

School founder Liza Bercovici lets students into a classroom at Gabriella Charter School, named in memory of her daughter. “Liza is the special sauce,” said Principal Rhonda Czapla Sivaraman. “She is so passionate about our mission -- getting children opportunities in art, not to make them artists, but to make themselves better.”  (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

“I think everybody here knows that this school was started out of my love for my daughter, whose name was Gabriella,” founder Liza Bercovici said. “I lost Gabri when she was 13.” Gabriella Charter School -- where great teachers are prized, and dance is central to the curriculum -- exists in memory of Gabriella, who loved to dance. It has been garnering attention for the high achievement of its students.
Read more: Learning the dance of life, in memory of Gabriella

The focus

Eighth-graders practice contemporary dance. The philosophy is that students aren’t just learning an art form in dance, they’re burning energy and building confidence that carries over into other subjects.  (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

Stretching herself

Eighth-grader Lydia Lopez goes through her paces in contemporary dance class.  (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

Trying new things

Michael Garcia, a member of the sixth-grade jazz dance class, stretches before class. One male student who transferred from a regular school commented, “My first reaction was, ‘Ballet?’ I thought I was going to have to wear tutus. But it’s not that bad. It’s interesting to get to do something I didn’t used to do.”  (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

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