Meeting the people of Greystone

December 28, 2016 7:35 PM

Photo by Sydney Cromwell.

There’s a story behind each face that walks through the halls of Greystone Elementary. By the end of the school year, art teacher Blue Horn hopes to know all of them.

Horn has taught in Hoover City Schools for 23 years — first at Trace Crossings and Shades Mountain elementary schools, then at Greystone for the past nine years. About two years ago, she fell in love with the photography project Humans of New York and decided to propose a similar project at her school.

“I was fascinated and taken by it all at once,” Horn said.

With a name change to People of Greystone — to avoid the unflattering acronym HOG — Horn brought the project to life this school year. Her goal is to feature the entire student body, as well as teachers, parents and all the other people who make an impact on the school.

“I want to get everybody … because they’re all a part of our community and what makes our school function,” Horn said.

The process is straightforward. Horn, along with two parent volunteers and peer helpers from Spain Park High School, choose a few People of Greystone subjects each week to take their picture and ask a few questions. Another parent transcribes the interviews to be posted on the website, peopleofgreystone.com, and music teacher Sara Womack posts them on the People of Greystone Facebook page.

One of the big challenges, Horn said, is asking the right questions to draw out interesting answers, especially from elementary school students who clam up as soon as she turns on the tape recorder. She said the project has been a “big fat learning experience.”

But along the way, Horn has discovered just how wide a web Greystone Elementary has in the community. It’s not just students, teachers and parents, but also grandparents, visitors, Hoover police officers and even regular delivery drivers. These interviews often lead to much longer conversations after the recorder has been turned off.

“The community, our little bubble here, is actually so much bigger, and it joins so many other parts of Hoover or Birmingham based on just who comes into the school,” Horn said.

It also helps the students get to know people at their school who they otherwise would rarely meet.

“It’s wonderful to spotlight people and their individuality and their diversity, and the kids love it,” Horn said.

Some of the interviews are more serious, Horn said, such as a student who talked about his Tourette’s diagnosis or a boy with color blindness. However, most are fairly lighthearted, such as the young girl who just wanted to talk about how much she was enjoying the taste of her gum.

“The happy stuff is nice,” Horn said.

People of Greystone has become popular with the school faculty and students. In October, the school turned Horn’s web project into an art installation at the entrance to the school. The pictures and interviews can be changed regularly, so there will always be a new person to learn about.

Though she started the project and is still its driving force, Horn emphasized that the focus shouldn’t be on her.

“I really have a problem with attention on me, but I love shared attention for, really, all people,” Horn said.