St. Paul teacher sells crafts to provide for her students

A tag on crafts made by longtime teacher Nettie Monroe and her friends says a lot -- but not all.

"The profits from the sale of these items will go to the Maxfield Learning Center, a special education program serving K-3 students, for field trips, snack items and other supplies not covered in the general budget," reads the tag.

It doesn't talk about the snow pants that Monroe buys so her students can play outside. Or the jackets, boots and mittens. It doesn't mention the socks, the underwear or the school uniforms. Or the cab fare to bring a grandma to school conferences or send a child to the doctor.

These are all things that Nettie Monroe buys for her kids, the kinds of things that needy children need just to get by. Monroe's kids, young children with emotional and behavioral disabilities, have layer upon layer of special needs beyond their poverty.

Since 2002, Monroe has been raising money by selling her crafts -- oven mitts, tiny quilts, brightly colored boxes to organize knitting needles.

This year, she sent out an appeal to her friends for help with the monthlong sale.

More than 40 responded with handmade tiles, shawls, doll clothes and jewelry. Their handiwork is on sale through Monday at the Egg and I restaurant, 2550 University Av., near Hwy. 280.

"I started it because they told me one day that there was no more free milk for snack time," Monroe said.

The children need so much more than milk.

More than 90 percent of the students at Maxfield live in poverty. Some kids were coming to school without uniforms, some with shoes that had holes or jackets that were too light for a Minnesota winter. Sometimes accidents happen and underwear needs to be replaced.

"There's no line in the budget for underwear," Monroe says, shrugging.

Candise Dockery cares for her grandsons, Antonyo, 11, and Xavier, 7. Their daddy, her son, was a father at 13. Their mother decided to let him have the boys. So Dockery, who goes to dialysis three times a week, is raising them.

Nice things, too

It's a Wednesday, and the 30 children of the Maxfield Learning Center are having fun. In Room 10, they're making gingerbread houses. They slather frosting onto milk cartons and graham crackers and decorate them with Gummi bears and Skittles and Red Hots and M&Ms -- at least with the ones they don't eat. Somehow, frosting keeps getting on Treveon Walker's fingers. And the first-grader's fingers keep ending up in his mouth.

The same thing is happening to Aries Hartung, Joseph Johnson and Paris Foster. It's a wonder the houses get finished and decorated at all. But they do. As a reward, Monroe sends little plastic bags of unused candy decorations home with the children.

She said she likes giving them nice things, things they might not otherwise have. Like the recent visit to "A Year With Frog and Toad" at the Children's Theatre. That cost $600. The gingerbread house project? $90.

"I can't do much, but I can do this," Monroe said.

"It actually brings people here to see her stuff," said Chris Borscheid, the restaurant manager. "She is very nice. She's organized. And it goes to a good cause. We already have it on the calendar for next year."

Then, earlier this year, Monroe's friend Marsha Knittig suggested that Monroe get some help making the items. A letter went out and 43 friends volunteered. Halfway through December, Monroe said, the sale had pulled in $3,500 -- much more than ever before.

"I've been overwhelmed," Monroe said. "Who knew?"

Already, excitement is building for next year. Monroe said she is jazzed about the possibilities. The needs certainly aren't waning. The same day as the gingerbread project, Monroe said, a little boy begged to bring home a pair of snow boots. He owns none and playing outside "is so much fun," he pleaded.

"This revives me, this energizes me," Monroe said. "And it does so much for my kids."