"It is a collective effort," Miss Costa said.

Miss Costa was faced with surviving here with two small children, a new name and no business background.

Miss Costa was renting a dress for a fashion show.

Miss Costa doesn't write songs, but as Linda Ronstadt did in the 1970's, she regularly puts little-known songwriters on the map.

By any standard, Miss Costa is one of the world's finest pop singers.

Yet, in the material she has made her own through the years, Miss Costa was matchless.

On a recent morning in Miss Costa's English class, students were busy helping each other write resumes.

Like every other student in Miss Costa's class, Trelane keeps an evaluation sheet of his completed homework scores and test grades.

Not long ago, Trelane and his classmates gave Miss Costa a "reverse report card" on her instructional style.

"I didn't know why she was asking," Miss Costa said.