Bushwick

A Catholic church in Bushwick that serves many immigrant families is opening a new elementary school with a price that can’t be beat: the tuition is free.

The new Pope John Paul II Family Academy, to be part of St. Barbara’s parish, is being funded by a wealthy Brooklyn-born businessman who insists on remaining anonymous.

He also is insisting on some conditions: families must attend Mass every Sunday. Students have to provide baptismal certificates from a Catholic church, and parents must sign an agreement promising to keep the faith.

$2 Million Pledge

“We don’t want someone who has a baptismal certificate with fresh ink, that’s not the point,” said Soren Gutierrez, a representative for the mystery benefactor, who is putting up $2 million to open the school. “Part of this is about rejuvenating faith but it’s also about giving free education to the most deserving.”

In Bushwick, where 32 percent of residents earn less than $19,000 annually, a free parochial school is viewed as a godsend – particularly in the pews of St. Barbara’s, whose 1,200 parishioners include immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Ecuador.

“It will change the community for the better,” said the Rev. Fulgencio Gutierrez, Dominican-born pastor of St. Barbara’s.

“The whole family is going to be formed, going to be reshaped, and they are going to continue to form and reshape the children,” added the priest, who will serve as the new school’s head chaplain. “It also helps me to evangelize the parents to be more active in the church.”

Immigrant Families Welcome

Gutierrez said he distributed more than 300 applications to members of St. Barbara’s and other Bushwick parishes.  The school, slated to open in September, will accept 100 children for pre-k through third grade in the first year, with plans to eventually expand to eighth grade.

Immigrant families will have the opportunity to apply without fear of being deported, Soren Gutierrez said.

“As long as they meet the financial and faith requirements, any family is welcome to apply,” he said. “We just want to educate the children of the community regardless of their immigration status.”

The benefactor chose St. Barbara’s parish because of the need in the community, strong attendance at the church and because many Bushwick families remain intact, Gutierrez added.

Among the parents excited about the new school is Arileyna Duran, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic.

“I work in public schools,” said Duran, a mother of two. “I see what those kids are like.  I don’t want my kids turning out that way.”

Esmeralda Lopez hopes to enroll her son Joey in kindergarten at the new school this fall.  “My son is a handful, so I think it will do him good,” she said.

The mother of six boys believes the school is a chance at a better education: more individual attention, smaller classes and strong discipline.

“We’re looking for a school that really interacts and cares. I’d rather them call me 100 times a week because there’s problems than not call me at all,” said Lopez’s husband, Joseph Candelaria.

Work to be Done

The new school will be housed blocks away from the parish in a Menahan Street building owned by St. Barbara’s that’s currently home to a Head Start program. Some of the 106 children from the program, which will be displaced, are applying to the new school – but many do not meet the religious requirement.

There is a significant amount of work that needs to be done before the Pope John Paul II Family Academy can open.  The building’s basement requires renovation.  Families have yet to be interviewed and selected, and teachers haven’t been hired.

Still, the venture is seen a positive sign by many at a time when local parochial schools have faced significant decline amid shrinking parishes and rising costs.

While the benefactor is providing about $2 million to fund the Pope John Paul II Family Academy in its first year, he plans to start outside fundraising as the school grows.

“I think he is in it for the long run,” said Father Gutierrez,  “and pray that he is.”

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