Last week I had the good fortune to visit the site of the new
StarShine Academy location. All I can say is WOW!
This is a dream come true. Ten years ago when Trish McCarty opened
the first StarShine School, she had to be satisfied with a run-down property that
barely housed 130 kids. Over the ten years that the school has been open,
Trish, Jan, the teachers and volunteers, managed to turn the property into a
wonderfully warm and welcoming place for kids and their families. At the same time,
they transformed the crime-ridden neighborhood into a safer place.
Trish’s dream was to have a larger property, with a school for
many more children that would serve as a community center at the same time.
Now, those dreams are coming true as a new StarShine school is
being built, at a new location, with room to serve the surrounding community. I
will let Jan give you all the details. I will just say that it has been an
amazing thing to see an entire school packed up and moved.
When I arrived at the new property, there were people all over the
place, hammering, painting, tearing down and building up.
I was pleasantly surprised with bear hugs from two of my favorite
people, Maria and Mr. Dan, the Kindergarten teacher. Maria and I walked to
where her new kitchen will be, and later I found, to my delight, space for two
roomy libraries. One will serve the Kindergarten through 5th grade
classrooms and is close to those rooms. The other will be for 6th
through 12th grade students.
This is my dream come true and I am so grateful to be a
small part of this great endeavor.
Happy New Year to StarShine and all the movers and shakers who
make it work.
By Lois Jamieson
From Jan:
We call the volunteers at school the StarShine Movers and Shakers. If you would like to become a
StarShine Mover and Shaker, go to the StarShine website at: www.starshineacademy.org to sign up.
We would love to have your assistance and expertise.
