Solidarity School :: Frank Hanna

EDUCATION

Underwritten by Acts 1:8 inc.

By Robert Mims

J amie Arthur needs to look no further

than into the faces of the 65 Latino

preschoolers at her Sandy Springs,

Georgia Solidarity School to feel the

impact of the receding economy up close

and personal. These children’s parents—

most of them landscapers, painters and

day-laborers who live on the economy’s

bubble—have never been able to pay

more than a fraction of what it costs to

teach their 3, 4 and 5-year-olds English

and other skills needed to successfully

enter kindergarten.

Charitable contributions have

always been the mainstay for the school’s

$500,000 a year budget, but with the

recession in full, dismal bloom, Jamie,

head of the preschool in suburban

Atlanta, estimates donations have dipped

50 percent. Hoping to survive, Solidarity

has made contingency plans to cut

enrollment to just 33 youngsters next

year, along with slashing its current staff

of 13 to just three.

“If we can’t recoup some of the

operating expenses for next year, we will

be forced to cut the size of the school and

its staff drastically,” Jamie says, noting

that in addition to the 65 children (all

US citizens) currently enrolled, there is a

waiting list of 70 more.

An Awesome Opportunity

Hope for Solidarity’s future manifested

itself recently when builder Robert Beecham

entered the picture. Robert owns a vacant,

$600,000, three-bedroom home in the

middle of a scenic vineyard in the north

Georgia mountains of Dahlonega. A deal

was struck to give that house to Solidarity

at cost for a fundraising rafﬂ e, with all

proﬁ ts going to the school.

“We need to sell 13,500 tickets at

$50 each for Rob to break even,” Jamie

says. “If we don’t reach that goal, we will

refund the tickets. Of course, we hope

for a lot more sales than that.”

Solidarity and its supporters are

praying the rafﬂ e will raise at least

$500,000 for the school’s dwindling

operations fund. Meanwhile, the winner

will not only get a new home in a beautiful

setting, but also $100,000 in cash.

Jamie’s dream is for a rafﬂ e that

draws beyond initial hopes. For example,

a $1 million effort would not only allow

Solidarity to maintain its stafﬁ ng and

enrollment, but perhaps to expand to its

licensed capacity of 100 students.

Serving Needy Children

are in space shared with the Holy Spirit

Catholic Center at 120 Northwood Drive.

“As Christians, we see each child

here as having dignity,” Jamie says.

“When you serve children from very low

social and economic conditions, you are,

as scripture encourages, ‘doing unto one

of the least of these my brethren.’ The

reward for us is seeing these children

with the stability of the classroom,

a challenging curriculum, nurturing

teachers and the balanced meals we

provide for them each day. These are

babies—3, 4 -and 5-year-olds. Our goal

is to provide this experience to as many

children as possible.”

Serving a predominantly poor

Latino community where English is

not spoken in many homes, Solidarity

is the best chance many children will

have to enter kindergarten prepared to

succeed. In addition to an education and

activities stressing Christian principles,

the school teaches English by immersion,

considered one of the most effective

means for learning language.

With the aid of bilingual teachers

and volunteers, English is introduced to

the students incrementally. Teachers also

reinforce pride in the Spanish language

and culture. Music, art, personal and

social skills, as well as proper nutrition

are other priorities.

“By the time they leave us, they

can go into the public school system’s

kindergartens with two to three years

of a proper foundation in academics

and social skills, as well as totally

comprehending and speaking—and in

some cases even reading and writing—

English,” Jamie says. “In past years,

some of our students have even gotten

scholarships to private [kindergartens].”

The Solidarity School—an offshoot

of local Catholic parish services to

the largely immigrant Sandy Springs

community—was founded in 2001 in

a trailer with 12 children. It, however,

is organizationally—and ﬁ scally—

independent of the Catholic Church, and

as a 501-3C non-proﬁ t entity, dependent

upon contributions. Today, its facilities

Long Term Success

Long-term, success for Solidarity

School would be to encourage similar

programs in other immigrant communities

in the greater Atlanta area, the state and

even the nation at large. “This school

could be a model for many areas right here

in Georgia where Latinos, Vietnamese,

European and other non-English speaking

families have settled,” Jamie says.

A Labor Day drawing is planned to

pick the rafﬂ e winner, but Jamie hopes it

will be Solidarity and its youngsters who

end up the biggest beneﬁ ciaries.

To learn more about Solidarity

School or to enter the lottery online,

visit the web site at http://www.

solidarityschool.org. For rafﬂ e-related

questions, please call the school at

404-236-0868.

July/August 09

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBIN NELSON

Christian Living 57