January 23, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 2Oakland, CA

‘At risk’ schools are bouncing back to health

Active recruitment,enrichment programs,
tuition grants helpincrease enrollment

By Sharon Abercrombie
Staff writer

Never underestimate the inventive methods and sheer determination that five financially struggling Catholic schools in the Oakland Diocese are using to keep their doors open and their enrollments climbing. A couple of unexpected windfalls have helped as well.

First, the background: Two years ago, St. Martin De Porres, St. Bernard, St. Joseph the Worker, Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Barnabas schools found themselves on an endangered species list, so to speak. Unless they increased their enrollments within a defined timeline, they risked losing diocesan subsidies and would have to close their doors.

The situation that anxiety-ridden spring was even worst for three other Oakland schools: St, Augustine, St. Cyril/ St. Louis Bertrand, and St. Paschal Baylon had already experienced seriously dwindling student populations. Unable to recoup their losses, they closed at the end of the school term with much sadness.

During ensuing weeks, the campuses of the three schools became home to North Oakland Community Charter School, Aspire Charter School and Northern Light School, a private school.

Faced with a similar scenario down the line, principals, teachers and parents at the remaining five schools immediately began regrouping. They had been given an extended timeline by the diocesan school office, as well as the offer of assistance from Catholic School Management, a national advisory organization which helps schools to regain stability.

Two years later, while none of them are as far along as they’d like to be in terms of finances or student enrollment, “We’re holding down a nice fort here,” says Kathy Gannon-Briggs, president and principal of Oakland’s St. Bernard School..
She credits this optimistic state of affairs to the generous help of friends in Contra Costa County.
As a former principal of St. Isidore School in Danville, Gannon-Briggs has never cut her suburban ties. Instead, St. Isidore’s has become a sister school to St. Bernard’s. Gannon-Briggs believes that the sister school concept can serve as a tremendous support system for financially strapped inner-city classrooms.

“This is a great way to go. A sister school can supply things you can’t get for yourself,” she said.
“Once a month they think of us,” said Gannon-Briggs. In recent weeks, each St. Isidore family has adopted a St. Bernard student and supplied him or her with a warm sweatshirt bearing the school logo. The Danville school is also contributing new books to the library.

Innovative fundraising and accessing federal grants are also ways these struggling schools are gaining financial equilibrium.

Says Sacred Heart Sister Barbara Dawson: “We’re out of the woods for now.” During the past months, Sister Dawson, president of Oakland’s St. Martin de Porres Regional School and a gifted, nonstop fundraiser, has independently brought in over $100,000 to help parents with tuition costs.

Her joy, however, is tempered by hard reality. “We will always be in a crisis situation because most of our parents can’t afford $3900 a year for tuition,” she states frankly.

Sister Dawson does not tap into the FACE or BASIC funds, typical sources of tuition grants, because her parents need more help than those programs can provide. The highest these grants go is $1500. With school scholarships, however, “We’re making it affordable for everybody. Parents can afford to pay $150 a month, but not $390,” she said.

Last year, Sister Dawson also successfully applied for a combination of grants from the Soda, Valley and Rogers Family foundations. Then she paired them with matching funds from Signature Properties for the total sum of $300,000.

The money has gone to renovate the gymnasium at the school’s St. Patrick campus and to refurbish the bottom floor of the Sacred Heart campus for the Leo Learning Center, an after-school homework program for 60 middle and high school students in the neighborhood, operated by the Christian Brothers. About half of the middle schoolers attend St. Martin de Porres.

Sister Dawson has also added an after- school learning center for kindergarten through fifth graders, financed by a Title One Federal grant.

St. Martin de Porres’ president has another plan. She wants to have a hot lunch program five days a week instead of the one prepared by parent volunteers each Tuesday. To make it happen, she has brought in Holy Family Sister Elaine Sanchez, former president of her community, and a successful organizer for affordable housing in Fremont. Sister Sanchez started work two weeks ago as community outreach person and grant writer.

Another chunk of good news comes from Natalie Tovani-Walchuk, principal of St. Joseph the Worker School in Berkeley. Faculty there are beginning to work on WASC certification for the school, a year-long self-study process which helps them assess where they are now and guides them in ways to improve.

“It’s an exciting time,” says Tovani-Walchuk. This past year, St. Joseph’s has added an after-school enrichment program. Ten students are learning to play guitar and ten are mastering the keyboard. Another 12 are taking an impressionistic art class and seven more are studying Lego engineering.

Coming up in March, a new school garden will make its debut, thanks to the volunteer efforts of Jerry Peters, a carpenter and landscaper. Peters, whose son Jason is in the eighth grade, is single-handedly building raised redwood beds for students to begin planting crops.

The garden at the southern most end of the campus replaces an unsightly, run-wild tangle of native plants. Peters has planted climbing vines on the chain link fence to provide privacy. Another parent is donating and installing plumbing supplies for water to the garden.

The youngest St. Joseph students have something to cheer about as well -- a new play structure designed to delight the kindergarten through second graders.

Like three of the other schools, a majority of the children at St. Joseph’s receive BASIC and FACE grants. They are supplemented by grants from the school which average between $200 to $2000, depending on need.

Besides fund raising, volunteer help, and grants, most of the schools are celebrating an increase in enrollment.

Here’s the current picture: St. Bernard --158, up from 145 two years ago; St. Joseph the Worker in Berkeley -- 135 from 120; Our Lady of the Rosary in Union City -- 163 from 142; St. Martin de Porres -- 162 from 94.

St. Barnabas in Alameda, however, has reversed itself – from 150 to 127, but Sister Marie Myers, principal, attributes the downturn to the graduation of 35 eighth graders last May. “We’re working zealously to increase our enrollment.”

Shortly before Christmas, in fact, one family enrolled their three children and “Last week we registered two more kids,” she said.

Sister Myers is exploring the possibility of adding a pre-kindergarten class next year that would have more students in place for kindergarten. On the advice of Catholic School Management coaches, two parishioners who are professional public relations persons have volunteered to help write newsletters and brochures to get out the good word about St. Barnabas.

Aside from the lower enrollment, there are plenty of good words to report from the Alameda school. Sister Myers has added a new music program called “Rhythm and Moves” for all the grades. Run by an outside group, the daily program teaches kids how to read music, play the recorder, learn simple dance movements, and keep musical time with sticks and maracas.

How does she afford it? “We just try to squeeze everything into our budget,” she said.

St. Barnabas is one of two schools that received unexpected financial help.

In early 2003 Father Bob Mathews, a resident priest, made what he thought would be a routine sick call to a parishioner. According to Sister Myers, however, the gentleman and the priest struck up a friendship.

One day, during a visit, the man asked Father Mathews if he knew of any worthy causes he could remember in his will. Well, yes, as a matter of fact, the priest did know of one in particular. As a result, St. Barnabas School became the recipient of a “significant endowment.”

“I pray for that man daily,” said Sister Myers. She also prays for Father Mathews, who died of cancer in May 2003. “He loved kids. When he was in residence here, he would come over and tell them stories,” she said.

At Our Lady of the Rosary School, when the mail arrives and Gloria Galarsa spots a certain envelope in the batch, she lifts her eyes towards heaven with gratitude. The envelope, which has arrived often over the past two years, is filled with an anonymous cash donation to help with school expenses. “This person is truly an angel as we can see the goodness, but not the angel,” said Galarsa, school principal.

Galarsa attributes her enrollment increase to the efforts of pastor, Father Jose Leon. The priest hasn’t been shy about touting the school’s benefits during his weekend homilies. When parents bring their new babies to be baptized, if Father Leon spots their older siblings, he urges the parents to contact Galarsa about registering them for school. “He’s been wonderful,” said the principal.

New enrollments have also come through word of mouth and she expects even more registrations from a new brochure and from the school newsletter which goes out to parishioners.

Other good news is the major renovation of an area outside the kindergarten classroom. “The kids will be able to do their lessons outside some of the time,” she said.

The project was helped by local businesses which provided the building materials at cost. “We’re working to build more relationships between the school and the community,” she said.

Galarsa expressed her gratitude to the diocesan school office which helped get federal money to pay for enriched math training for teachers. Another grant from No Child Left Behind has supplied the school library with a Leapfrog Learning Lab to help children improve their reading skills.

Jessica Academia and her third-grade classmates, Arielle Sanchez and Chloe Feng, participate in a rhythm exercise during a music class at St. Barnabas School in Alameda, taught by Tim Ho.

Sophia Thomason practices the recorder during a music class at St. Barnabas School.

Five kindergartners at Union City’s Our Lady of the Rosary School – Abraham Jebril, Israel Avila, Precious Tendencia, Agueda Ulloa and Jerome Concepcion –enjoy recess in an area outside their classroom that is being renovated by volunteers.

CHRIS DUFFEY PHOTOS

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