Students and professors kick it old school for SED

It's not often School of Education students get to watch Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore shake and shimmy his way through the Jitterbug in front of a panel of dance judges and a 90-member audience.

But that's exactly what Boston University attendees witnessed Friday at the SED Elementary Education Club dance competition, "Dancing with the Professors," which helped raise $616 in donations toward new books and school supplies for Mr. Fernandes's fourth grade class at William Monroe Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester.

"It's great [that EEC is] doing this for the Trotter School," Elmore said. "It's absolutely wonderful . . . It's heartwarming."

The judges picked Elmore's Jitterbug routine as the overall winner, while the audience voted Elmore's interpretation of the Wham classic third. Elmore performed "Wake Me Up Before you Go-Go," with SED sophomore Kelly McCarthy.

"Dean Elmore definitely attracted people to come," said EEC President Lizzie Kimmel after the dance.

SED professor Donald DeRosa and sophomore Lauren Wexler danced the salsa into first place.

"There is a lack of resources and good books in the classroom to get the students interested in reading," EEC member Allison Mazurek, an SED senior, said. "It was probably one of the best moments of my life. I've had all those professors. To see them dance was spectacular."

Trotter is one of the most underperforming schools in Massachusetts, with students consistently scoring below state averages on the Adequate Yearly Progress Test, attendee Amanda Nohavec, an SED junior, said. Students at the school struggle academically and financially.

Nohavec said she and her friends attended the dance -- that paired SED faculty members with students -- to get involved with a "great cause." The evening featured a performance by professional dancers when BU step team Tru Sole took the stage.

Kimmel, an SED junior, said she was surprised by the event's success.

"Since it was the first 'Dancing with the Professors' event, we did not know what the turnout rate would be, nor how much money we would raise," Kimmel said via email. "We vaguely estimated around $150. We were extremely excited that we raised a little under $800.

"'Dancing with the Professors' was an amazing event and we all hope to continue it for years to come," she said.

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