Beneath the bleachers in a backstage hallway of the Denver Coliseum, past clown cars and occasional jugglers, is a set of tables and chairs that serves as a makeshift school for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Thirteen students from first through 11th grade take classes from two teachers.
“This is probably one of the last one-room schoolhouses left,” said teacher Jonathan Leiss. In reality, there is neither a room nor a house for this school that brings a sense of normalcy to the hectic traveling world.
Students are children of performers, managers or concessionaires, many of whom come from third-, fourth- and even fifth-generation circus people.
“I have students from Ukraine, France, Russia, and students who have grown up in European circuses, Cuban circuses,” Leiss said.
In his first year, Leiss got the job by answering an ad on — deciding he wanted to take his teaching career on the road.
The circus’ 300-person unit is in Denver through Oct. 13. The group travels by train and truck and will visit 42 North American cities this year, racking up 16,000 rail miles.
Denver’s two-week stint is one of the longer stays.
“We are truly seeing the country,” said Leiss, who uses travel to aid his instruction. “Part of my job is to expose them to things outside of the circus.” He takes students camping in Colorado, to the zoo in San Diego and to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
Students are in school three hours a day, five days a week for 11 months of the year and study from the Calvert home-school curriculum. High schoolers learn from the American School of Correspondence.
They hit the three Rs, learn art, sing and dance. Many will likely stay in the circus profession, like generations before them. Some have gotten higher degrees, say circus officials.
Richard Labady, 11, whose father is a juggler and works with the circus animals, said he wants to be a veterinarian.
But he also likes juggling.
The school began in the 1970s as a way to teach the ever-expanding circus family.
The circus unit in Denver features 102 performers and workers from 20 countries who speak 11 different languages.
“I think when they graduate, they will have a greater sense of the world than students who are stationary,” Leiss said.
It’s not easy, however, holding class backstage at a circus.
Often school is in session while rehearsals are underway a few feet away. Even in quieter times, technicians work on equipment, and performers constantly practice their routines.
“I tell them to block it out,” said Sister Dorothy Fabritze, who teaches first through third grade.
“(The teachers) are doing a marvelous job, considering the circumstances,” said Maria Garcia, mother of two and the show’s comedic trapeze artist, “Queen of the Clouds.”
Garcia, from Ireland, was born into the circus and says her children are getting a fine education — nearly one-on-one attention from their teachers.
Her elder daughter, 12-year-old Shannon, is not too happy about it. In fact, most of the adolescents said circus life is wearing.
The teens miss traditional school experiences such as football games, homecoming dances and proms.
“We learn the same things (kids learn) in public schools,” said Julissa Segrera, 14. “There’s no difference in the school, just the fact that we move around a lot.”
“I don’t like it,” said Daniella Diaz, 11, whose parents work in concessions. “I’m not getting used to the circus, the moving around.”
Leiss, like teachers everywhere, works to keep his students engaged and happy.
“Being a teen is hard wherever you are,” he said. “They are struggling because they are different. They don’t have experiences that other teens have. But this is home for them. It’s home for all of us.”
It’s a juggling act, he said — working with kids across all grade levels.
“I guess I’m like the master of ceremonies,” he said.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
