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[Back to index of July 2008 articles] Bishop Walker School To Open in September By Lucy Chumbley
The Bishop John T. Walker School, an elementary school for boys set to open in September, has hired its first teacher and is in the process of selecting its first students. Bruce Holmes, a Washingtonian with four years of experience, will co-teach the school’s junior kindergarten class, said the Rev. Preston Hannibal, the diocese’s canon for academic ministries. Also, the Rev. Kwasi Thornell, former Canon Missioner at Washington National Cathedral, has agreed to serve as the school’s chaplain and community outreach director. Prospective pupils are now being screened, Hannibal said, with 16 students expected to enroll in the inaugural class. “We hope to have a full class by the first of August,” he said. “That would be our delight.” While students and their families go through the admissions process, the curriculum is being finalized and work is under way at the school’s current and future sites. Asbestos has been removed from the school’s future home, Holy Communion in Congress Heights, and various committees are working to fine-tune renovation plans. Meanwhile, the school’s temporary location at St. Philip’s, Anacostia is being readied. “It’s a great space,” Hannibal said. “We’ll be using their lower parish hall. We’ll get room dividers to divide it into two classrooms and they’re giving us office space.” Carpets are being put in, and donated classroom furniture is already on hand, courtesy of St. Francis Episcopal Day School in Potomac, which is merging with St. Andrew’s Episcopal School this summer. While the physical space is being prepared, the School Design Committee – made up of teachers, child development experts and heads of school from St. Columba’s Nursery School, St. Patrick’s Episcopal School, Norwood School, the National Cathedral School, Washington Episcopal School and Christ Episcopal School, among others – has been working on the curriculum and overseeing the admissions process. “Basically, it’s bringing kids together to make sure they play nice and can interact well with each other,” Hannibal said. As teachers observe, he said, the students move through several stations, playing with clay or blocks and taking part in story time. They also are observed engaging in independent play. In addition to screening prospective pupils and their families, work has been done to prepare the community for the fledgling school, said project director James Woody. “There’s an awful lot of groundwork to do in order to build trust,” he said. Informational postcards have been mailed to community members, and Woody, Thornell and Hannibal have visited local government officials and businesses to spread the word about the school. “We’re trying to create an awareness of the school and its importance for the community, and trying as we move into the community to dispel a lot of the myths about what private schools are like, as there are not a lot of private schools in Southeast,” Hannibal said. “We’ve had a tremendous positive response from the city,” Woody said. The three also continue to visit parishes around the diocese to speak with congregations, committees and ministry groups to raise awareness and drum up support. Parishes have enthusiastically joined in the fund-raising efforts with a number of special events and activities, Hannibal said. A recent book fair at the Politics and Prose bookshop on Connecticut Avenue NW raised more than $1,000 for the school and garnered 150 books for the school’s library. “We continue to receive books from people who were there or just happened to stop in,” Hannibal said, thanking St. Dunstan’s parishioners, who organized and staffed the event. Additionally, Redeemer, Bethesda hosted a benefit concert featuring the Crypt Choir of the Kings School, Canterbury; Christ, Georgetown made the school a focus of one of its Mission Monday programs; and St. Columba’s, Atonement, St. Mark’s, All Soul’s and St. John’s, Georgetown all have made significant pledges of support. Contributions have been coming in from businesses and individuals, too: The school recently received a $25,000 gift from Mutual of Omaha in honor of the faithful service of Samuel Foggie, a member of St. John’s, Broad Creek, who recently retired from the company’s board of directors. Frida Burling, a member of St. John’s, Georgetown, hosted a cocktail party to share the school’s vision with potential donors; and NPR and Fox News commentator Juan Williams, a parishioner at Trinity, Piney Branch, spoke at a fundraising reception hosted by Thornell. “We’re ever building our donor base,” Hannibal said. To that end, the school board recently hired a development manager, Farrand O’Donoghue, to support its efforts and to ensure the school’s long-term sustainability. “That’s something we’re constantly thinking of,” Woody said. “Not just how to begin, but how to continue.” “This is a wonderful opportunity for parishes that are looking for some outreach work,” said Bishop John Bryson Chane. “This is one way for a diocese that doesn’t have a lot of resources to make a unique commitment to the next generation and to change lives.” To make a donation to the Bishop John T. Walker School or to learn more, visit http://bishopwalkerschool.org/
[Back to index of July 2008 articles]
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