Students at Otsego Academy, a program for individuals with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, brought their live poetry to The Gatehouse Coffee Shop in Morris Thursday, Feb. 26.
Four students who are part of the academy’s Poets Among Us class read their poems aloud to an audience during the morning event.
Karen Knavel, the president and CEO of Pathfinder Village, said that Rosanne Westgate, a professor of poetry at Otsego Academy, has been with the school since 2024 and teaches poetry class to the students weekly.
“It is a showstopper,” Knavel said. These kids can write. They are so talented.”
Pathfinder Village, according to its website, is a community for people with Down syndrome or other intellectual and developmental disabilities, based in Edmeston, containing a variety of programs. Otsego Academy is a post-secondary school within Pathfinder Village that provides opportunities for continued learning after high school graduation.
In addition to academic classes and social experiences, Knavel said, the academy offers enrichment in the fine arts. She said Poets Among Us has done poetry readings at The Gatehouse about three or four times before.
“When they first come to us in their first year, they are like any other student,” Knavel said. “There is a lot of growth and maturity that happens over the two years. That maturity also goes to their writing.”
Westgate, who also is a professor in Hartwick College’s education department, said about 20 years ago, she served as the director of the Kennedy Willis Center, which is part of Pathfinder Village. She said she would volunteer at night to teach poetry to the adults and was “amazed at what was generated through their language.”
She said in 2024 she offered her services to do the same kind of work for a younger group through Otsego Academy. The poets that read Thursday also are expected to graduate from the academy in May.
“It has been a really eye-opening experience because I want to show the world and the community that they can,” Westgate said.
Each of the poets — Kaiya Stafford, Tyler Hochwald, Emma Dodici and Caleb Bigsby — read one poem themed around the sentence starter “Love is,” and another representing a particular season.
In her poem about love, Dodici compared it to a “snowball from the bottom of my heart.” Bigsby said “love is ice skating in a chair on the ice.” For their poems about a season, Dodici wrote about summer and Bigsby wrote about spring.
Stafford said she has been writing poetry since high school. She said her favorite part of participating in the poetry readings is “seeing people smile.”
“Or maybe cry,” Stafford said. “I made my mom cry with my poetry.”
In her “love is” poem, Stafford called it a “self reflection” and “pursuing and achieving goals.” She added in the poem that “love is The Backstreet Boys.” She reminisced about winter for her seasonal poem, recalling “hot chocolate and winter socks” and “quiet snow falling.”
Hochwald said he told his parents he would become a writer one day, adding that he has pushed through challenging times throughout his life, which can be showcased through his words.
“That is why I write this poetry,” Hochwald said.
Sharing his poem about fall, Hochwald reflected on the “brisk sun warming the day as we picked apples,” and “falling leaves gracefully spinning.” He said “love is traveling through the iris and visiting the solar systems of the universe,” in his “Love is” poem.
At the end of the poetry reading, Westgate announced that Poets Among Us was selected to travel to the Fenimore Art Museum in April to read their poetry live.
Chris Riffle and Tim Atticus, the owners of The Gatehouse, said they enjoy the partnership the coffee house has with Pathfinder Village. Riffle said it is “so much more than just about us making coffee and providing the community space.”
“This just warms my heart every time I get to start my day listening to their poetry,” Riffle said.