COMMENTARY: Closing our schools: Where is the vision? (03/07/04)

COMMENTARY

Closing our schools: Where is the vision?

by Rostyslaw Robak

When the pastor of St. John's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Newark, N.J., announced the closing of the elementary school on February 16 he proclaimed the metropolitan's withdrawal of his blessing from the school as of this June. This move has struck at the heart of the Newark community's spiritual life. It seems to have been done in spite of the strong commitment of the vast majority of the parents, teachers and children of the school.

Since the St. John's School Advisory Board began functioning in September 2003, both the board and the teachers have worked steadily to improve the school. A large commitment of resources was made to upgrade the school's technology. A new, state-of-the-art computer center with a network and Internet access was set up. New extracurricular programs were established. These have included a Ukrainian cooking club, a science club, and a school newspaper.

The board continued to raise funds. A Christmas concert series alone raised $7,000. Other fund-raisers included the parish festival, a gala dinner, and several activities organized by the Mothers' and Fathers' clubs. Faithful parishioners kept up donations in Sunday collections dedicated to the school. The board provided detailed accounts of spending and income, including reports to the metropolitan.

When the pastor, trustees and Parish Council requested a plan for the future continuation of the school, the board presented a detailed plan of realistic action at the January meeting of the council. That plan and all others were rejected.

At the February 16 meeting of the Parish Council, the pastor read an opening prepared statement announcing the school's closing. The matter was not put to a vote; it was simply announced.

There were, and still are, many ways to save St. John's School. The school is not ending its existence for lack of effort or vision by the community. They appear to be lacking on the part of the metropolitan, the pastor and the parish trustees.

Now that the school is to be closed, the questions before the Ukrainian community at large - and the pastor and the metropolitan in particular - are: Where is the vision? What will be done for the faithful, and what will be done for the children?

There is a very strong indication that no such vision exists beyond merely locking the doors and renting the buildings. That indication came at the February 16 meeting when the pastor was unable to adequately respond to questions about any plans for dealing with the schoolchildren's needs during the transition to closing or afterward. Indeed, he appeared genuinely surprised by such a concern.

Where is the vision? The parishioners who built this school in the 1950s had a vision. They paid a self-imposed weekly building fund contribution of $5. At that time, the typical hourly wage earned by those parishioners was 75 cents!

Succeeding generations of parents have kept that vision and kept the school going. But, it seems that vision is now lacking among this Church leadership. It is incumbent on any spiritual leaders to articulate a vision for their community. This leadership has demonstrated an apparent lack of vision.

Rostyslaw Robak is president of the School Advisory Board for St. John's, Newark. He is a professor of psychology at Pace University.

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