Mark Montieth: Kanaan family all in on public-school commitment

Sometimes Deco’s friends at school make a big deal out of his dad, even when he’s just passing out Goldfish crackers and juice after a soccer game.

“Oh, I got a snack from Tony Kanaan!” one boy shouted just a couple of Saturdays ago.

They also love seeing the Corvette pace car Kanaan received for winning the Indianapolis 500 in 2013, not to mention the McLaren he occasionally drives. They show their admiration by sending drawings and good luck cards home with Deco as well because, well, Deco’s dad is a big deal.

Kanaan’s been competing in the Indianapolis 500 since 2002, finished second in 2004, won the pole in 2005, and led at least one lap in his first seven starts before winning it. For his humble and approachable nature, not to mention his talent and longevity, Kanaan will once again be one of the most popular drivers in this year’s race, which he says will be his last.

But here’s the thing. Kanaan and his wife, Lauren, consider themselves nothing special amid the parents whose kids attend the same elementary school as Deco, a second-grader, and Max, who is in kindergarten. To their relief, the parents don’t treat them as celebrities, even if some of the kids do.

And here’s the other thing. The thing. The Kanaans send their kids to Indianapolis Public Schools. They obviously could afford to send them to any private school within driving distance—veteran racers are well-compensated, in case you haven’t heard—but share an adamant desire for their children to grow up as close to the “real world” as possible.

“Unfortunately, or not, we live in a city where everybody knows racing, and everybody knows who his dad is,” Tony said of Deco.

“We pay a lot of attention to making [our kids] feel they’re no more important than anybody else, because we’re not. We’re just normal people. I happen to have an extremely cool job, but we’re not entitled to anything more or less than your friends at school because we’re ‘somebody.’ Everybody is somebody.”

Tony and Lauren moved to Indianapolis five years ago this month from South Florida. They had a couple of years to explore the educational options for their children before their older son, Deco, entered kindergarten, so Lauren researched the schools within driving distance of their Kessler Boulevard home. She checked out seven or eight possibilities, and Tony was able to visit three. What she found both surprised and pleased her.

“IPS offered so many incredible choices,” she said.

They had decisions to make on behalf of their kids, but one of them was not whether to send them to private schools. That was one of their primary topics of conversation before they got married, and both were adamantly in favor of public schools because of their educational experiences.

‘Get the stigma out of the way’

Lauren attended public schools in Cambridge City, 15 miles west of Richmond, graduating from Lincoln High School. Tony, meanwhile, experienced the extremes of private and public schools while growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His father owned a construction company, so Tony attended an elite Catholic school “with kids who had everything, like I did.” After his father died of cancer, however, the family was plunged into poverty, and Tony attended public schools the next six years. He had to repeat grades three times because of the time spent away from school building his racing career. He quit school during his ninth-grade year.

He was more comfortable in the public-school environment. The kids were unspoiled and helped one another. Everyone shared a similarly humble background, so nobody was lookeddown upon.

“What I learned in public school was that a lot of people struggled,” Tony said. “Parents worked two jobs, and they had to count the money every month. A lot of my values come from that. I’ve learned how to be happy without ‘things.’ Be happy about people. [Think about] how you help people.

“A kid who didn’t have money to bring his lunch to school twice a week, he would get with the other kid that could bring lunch and they would share lunches. Even though your lunch wasn’t enough for you, you would share. The values are amazing. That’s what I want my kids to understand,” he said.

“My best friends were made in that school. I have some of them coming this month to the race, and they became successful people.”

Many of Kanaan’s friends in the racing community are surprised when they learn of the choice he and Lauren made for their kids’ education. They were influenced by fellow driver Ed Carpenter and his wife, Heather, who sent their children to public elementary schools and middle schools, but many others don’t understand why they wouldn’t send their kids to private schools.

“The feedback is surprising at first, and then they get to hear why, and they’re like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know,’” Tony said.

“I almost feel like it’s a little of our responsibility to get the stigma out of the way. You don’t have to go to a private school.”

Not enough credit

Tony and Lauren firmly believe their kids are receiving a quality education, but beyond that, they appreciate the “familial”—Lauren’s word—atmosphere. Beyond the fundamentals of reading, writing and ’rithmetic, the children receive more practical lessons as well.

“IPS is not getting enough credit,” Lauren said. “There are some unbelievable institutions. The way these educators make us feel, and the individual attention they are able to give our children, is frankly remarkable.

“There are incredible teachers who are tenured for 30 years who have been in their classroom for that long, and they’re still there because they love it. I know … they’ve had options and they’ve been talked to by some of the private elementaries and could easily be making a lot more money, but they love what they do and see their purpose there.”

Their appreciation of the IPS system is a primary reason the Kanaans plan to continue living in Indy after Tony retires from driving, despite the cold winters. As a show of that appreciation, Tony and Lauren will host 10 IPS teachers at this year’s race.

The Kanaan family also includes a 4-year-old daughter, Nina, who is in a Montessori preschool, and a 15-year-old son from Tony’s earlier marriage. Leo attends school in Brazil but spends a great deal of time in Indy. They are a diverse family, so they naturally are comfortable in a diverse school system.

Deco, for example, was partnered in kindergarten with a girl who did not speak English. He knows Portuguese and was able to help her in the classroom. He and his siblings also are learning not to take what they have for granted. Not everybody gets to go to Disney World over spring break. And some kids live in smaller houses.

“That’s certainly one of our goals.” Lauren said. “It’s grounding.”

Lauren serves on the school board for Nina’s preschool and volunteers in both Deco’s and Max’s classrooms each week for 90 minutes. Tony gives her credit for 80% of their parental involvement.

His racing commitments don’t allow him much time to be involved, but he does provide transportation to and from school on occasion and attends out-of-school activities whenever possible. Someone has to hand out the Goldfish and juice, and he’s up for it.

“What’s awesome is that, for some reason or another, I’m just another parent,” he said. “People have compliments, but they don’t ask to take a picture or whatever.”

The kids don’t ask for pictures, either. They just send them.•

__________

Montieth, an Indianapolis native, is a longtime newspaper reporter and freelance writer. He is the author of the books “Passion Play: Coach Gene Keady and the Purdue Boilermakers” and “Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis..”