Tuesday afternoon, Amanda, a first grader at the Mustard Seed School, was busy at work carefully molding a red lump of clay during art class.
"I’m making a Viking ship," said the eager student as she began hollowing with her small hands what would soon be the boat’s hull. The project was part of unit that combines art class and a lesson about ships and shipbuilding.
As the small artist cheerfully toiled away, she was most likely unaware of all the hard work of teachers, educators and parents that made her Tuesday undertaking possible. When the 25 teachers of the Mustard Seed School welcomed 167 students to school this September, the school entered its 25th year of service in the community.
The kindergarten-through-eighth grade Christian school is located on the second and third floor of the former Old Lady of Grace school building across the street from Church Square Park on Willow Avenue, but that hasn’t always been the case. Over the past two and a half decades, it has seen its share of church basements and temporary homes.
The school opened in September, 1979 when three founding teachers admitted 12 students at old Martha Institute building at the corner of Sixth and Park Avenue. Since that time, the school has had more than a half dozen homes.
But even in the midst of the numerous relocations, the school has developed a reputation as one of the city’s most diverse educational options. One of the reasons, said school officials, is that the school’s guiding principle is maintaining a diverse student body both culturally and economically. According to Head of School Christine Metzger, over 50 percent of the students receive financial aid, which is a conscious effort to mirror the diverse urban community where the school is located.
The mission
"Our mission," said Metzger "is to address the educational needs of the urban community, to simulate and broaden the experiences of children, and to educate children in an inter-cultural, interdenominational Christian setting. It’s hasn’t been our desire to have a school for only the affluent; we really want the whole community to come together in an educational setting."
She added that this type of thinking has allowed children from wealthy families and low-income families to go to school together. It has also allowed students of many different races and ethnicity to learn collectively.
One of the school’s founders, Shanna Pargellis, still teaches at the school, and on Tuesday talked about the school’s mission.
"We launched this school to build a learning community that celebrated the richness and diversity of urban life, and to welcome children who otherwise could not afford and excellent education," she said.
Metzger added that another guiding principle is a strong emphasis in music and arts. "We are concerned about the whole child," said Metzger, "of course, we engage the students in the academics, like math and science, but we also feel it is also important that the child be well-rounded, which means being exposed to the arts and music instruction."
Because so many students are on scholarship, the school often asks for funding from generous members of the community. The 25th Anniversary Year was launched with a school family picnic and walk-a-thon at Liberty State Park, which raised well in excess of $1,000 for the school.
The school officials have set out to collect $250,000 for the Endowment Fund. The fund will support teacher development and solidify the Financial Aid Program. This amount will be matched dollar by dollar by private sponsors.
For more information about the school or to make a donation, call the school office at (201) 653-5548. An open house for admissions is scheduled for Nov. 13.