Many people sing the praises of Sharon Kampe, most of them at Barrett Elementary School in the Steel Valley School District.

	Tony Tye, Post-Gazette Sharon Kampe conducts pupils in "Feelin' Good," a music program at Barrett Elementary School last Wednesday. Click photo for larger image.

Kampe, 39, of Munhall, is a 1983 high school graduate who returned to her alma mater to dedicate herself to the musical education of the 310 pupils at Barrett.

Until two years ago, Kampe split her time as a music teacher between Barrett and Steel Valley's other primary school, Park, sharing her work with a band instructor.

Since she has moved full time to Barrett, pupils have been hitting high notes in chorus and band classes. Her colleagues and parents credit Kampe's knowledge and dedication for the success.

"She's just amazing. She's extremely talented," said Priscilla Jackman, a reading specialist at Barrett.

"Our kids don't come, generally, from backgrounds where they're taking music lessons. Now the kids have the opportunity to have regular lessons and be checked on.

"This is where some kids may find themselves, through music."

On Thursday, the results of Kampe and her pupils' work were revealed in Barrett's "All-School Revue."

The program featured every child in the school singing in a grade-level chorus. Each grade performed two songs in what Kampe not-so-lovingly referred to as the school's "cafe-gym-torium."

The children wore blue jeans or pants with a white shirt. Kampe supplied white T-shirts to children who did not have them.

They took to the risers, singing and dancing with their teacher for two shows called "Feelin' Good! A Celebration of Health and Wellbeing" that each drew a standing-room-only even after the faculty set out 100 chairs to accommodate the children's families.

The children sang about the virtues of a good diet and exercise and the importance of staying away from smoking and drugs.

Third-graders dressed as ancient Egyptians and danced using the poses from the tombs while they sang of the food pyramid. Fourth-graders wore paper hearts that they had colored on strings around their necks. They sang that the heart is more than a muscle.

The "Feelin' Good!" musical revue supported a program of nutritional studies by the children, who worked with LuAnne Szczypinski, media specialist in the school library, to find the latest information on the Internet.

Parents who attended the show said their children had not slept well the night before because they were so excited about their performances.

"They were very excited. They were singing last night," said Anitra Hughes, of Homestead, whose fourth-grader, Adeziah, and first-grader, Eliisha, were both in the show.

Eliisha, whom Hughes described as a normally shy boy, was up on the top row of the risers, striking a pose with the rest of his class.

Jaye Cawkins had three children, all in separate grades, in the show, but it was her second-grader, Ian, who was iffy about his appearance.

Ian is autistic, his mother said, and he had announced he didn't want to sing with his class. But Thursday morning, there he was, dancing and singing with the other children.

Kampe has assured her pupils' access to music, even when it doesn't seem likely.

She recruits knowledgeable people to go with her to pawn shops in Braddock to find instruments to supply them.

She starts teaching music lessons before school at 7:40 a.m. and continues with her classes and lessons until 3:15 p.m.

She will take her band members to Seton Hill, her alma mater, to work with college students and, on the way, they plan to stop at Jeannette High School to hear that school's jazz band.

Barrett band pupils have adopted pen pals at Jeannette High School as a lesson in composition.

Barrett Principal Kevin Walsh said the focus the children have to put into their music helped them direct their attention to their studies. He said reading the sheet music reinforced reading skills.

"It's strengthening our building," he said.

Under Kampe, the enrollment in the band program has grown from six children two years ago to 65. She said the children who cannot afford to rent their musical instruments for $20 a year are sponsored by teachers.

She's no pushover with the children. Kampe expects them to work at home as well as in class. If they don't progress well enough, they will hear about it.

"I will call them back to task and let them know they need to work harder because I want them to be the best they can be," she said.

Walsh said he had often had children come to him at 7:30 a.m., asking to use his telephone because they had forgotten their instruments at home and had to call their parents to bring them in.

Faculty members such as Jackman, Szczypinski and Sherrie Titmus, an instructional aid who also is the president of the school's Parent and Teacher Organization, said they were exhilarated by Kampe's dedication to her pupils.

But Kampe said it is the pupils who fuel her drive to teach.

"I'm inspired to be here," she said. "These students, some of whom can't succeed anywhere else, they can succeed in music."