Every week, students and parents at Calvary City Christian Academy, a K-12 school in one of Orlando’s most hardscrabble communities, convert groceries into care packages for scores of their neighbors.
That those neighbors happen to be homeless students at Sadler Elementary, another school three blocks away, is only the first clue that the relationship between these high-poverty schools – one public, one private – is special.
For four years, the schools have worked hand-in-hand to serve their students, parents and neighborhoods, regardless of which school the students attend.
The result: Both schools and their heavily Hispanic populations now benefit from a wide array of social services – everything from English-language classes to housing assistance – provided by the church affiliated with Calvary. Both see each other as assets that can best uplift a community by cooperating. And both are quietly offering a glimpse of what’s possible if artificial walls between public and private schools can be knocked down.
“We’re modeling what is right by working together,” said Calvary principal Denise Vega. “That sends a message to our parents. We’re not divided. We’re not two. We’re one. One with one purpose – to work together to make sure our children in our lower-income communities are getting everything possible. That only happens when you unite.” (more…)
by Nia Nuñez-Brady
ORLANDO, Fla. - At first glance, the IEC Christian Academy might look like a typical school, but a closer look reveals some distinctive features that match its surrounding community in South Orlando.
First-grade students take a Spanish lesson at IEC Academy.
Hispanic food twice a week. English classes for parents. A lawyer who gives free legal advice. The school even has a special fund, called Seeds of Love, which helps parents with various emergencies, like paying their electric bills and filling their gas tanks in times of need.
“At IEC, we are a family, and when a family member struggles, we help,” said Lissette Vazquez, the school’s marketing director.
Parents and teachers at the school, which is affiliated with the church Iglesia el Calvario, say it goes above and beyond to serve a predominantly Hispanic population.
As parents drop off their children in the morning on campus, they are greeted by five staff members who help students get their things into the chapel for morning prayer.
“They help the neediest people. Including my family,” said Maria Rivas, a mother of one who moved from El Salvador nine years ago. “They teach my daughter English, while they explain everything to me in Spanish. That is a blessing,” she added.
In an interview conducted in Spanish, Rivas, who works 32 hours a week as a maid, said she struggles to give her child the necessary $15 a week for lunch, but the school never lets her daughter go hungry.
“We have families who have had no electricity and we have paid for them, we have funds designated as ‘Seeds of Love’ for these instances.” (more…)
