A cozy new home St. Basil Academy opened today in its new location, a building made just for the purpose.
By SHEILA HAGAR of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
WALLA WALLA -- Even as it was bathed in shiny spring light this morning, a small pole building on South Wilbur Avenue could have appeared to be a utility shop to the casual passerby, what with it being surrounded by a few yards of gravel and little else.
OLD MEETS NEW AS ST. BASIL ACADEMY OPENS
A traditionally dressed 8-year old CC Chantel plays with a Hula Hoop on hr hand outside the newly built St. Basil Academy. The academy opened to its first day of school this morning.
U-B photo by Jeff Horner
The structure, sheathed in metal siding with a color scheme of red and white, is of simple blueprint and small footprint -- looking like a Monopoly game piece on a board of 13 green acres.
At 1,400 square feet, the brand new home of St. Basil Academy is not as big as most houses and certainly not large for a school.
None of that mattered to Anysia Chantel as she walked with her mother and little brother on Reser Road toward the new home of her school early this morning.
What mattered to the 6-year-old was being able -- finally -- to go to her brand-new classroom.
After several permitting and other delays, the school opened today in its new location, about six months later than originally hoped for.
"I think it's pretty exciting," the first-grader said, taking small bites of a large slice of peanut butter toast and occasionally wiping a hand across the front of her coat. "I like the garden best."
Before today, the school met in even smaller quarters, a private home of less than 1,000 square feet. And while that environment was warm and cozy, it feels good to be in a room designed to be a classroom, Headmaster Matthew Barnett said, looking around at his teal-flavored walls decorated with traditional teacher kitsch.
Although the polished concrete floor of the school may be flatly contemporary, the shelves in Barnett's room -- the school has two classrooms and a foyer that doubles as a multipurpose room -- hold religious and educational classics.
Numerous copies of "Little Men" sit close to stacks of "Ten Tales From Shakespeare" and "Building Christian English Series."
Founded in 2006, St. Basil Academy is affiliated with St. Silouan Orthodox Church in Walla Walla. To date, the little school boasts 21 students, almost all children of families who attend the church.
St. Silouan bought the 13 acres just off Reser Road in 1999, said the Rev. Seraphim Bell. It was at a time the land was "dirt cheap," Barnett said. "At one point they tried to sell it."
Eventually, church leaders recognized the acreage was valuable -- new homes have been built in the area in recent years. It made good sense to hang onto the investment for church use, Bell said.
When it came time to think about founding a school, nothing else available fit needs as well as starting from scratch, he added.
The academy educates kindergartners through seventh-graders, and hopes to add eighth grade soon. Someday, maybe even high school, Barnett said.
Barnett teaches with one other educator, Kathy Thompson. Together, they put forth the tenets of what Barnett calls a "classical education" in a Christian environment.
"We're trying to create an environment where kids can feel safe, one that shapes their education, said the headmaster, who helped start and run a similar school in Yakima.
This morning, St. Basil students were all about environment. "Where exactly do we put our lunches?" asked kindergartner Cole Schmidt after bursting into the foyer grin first.
At 12, Tansy Schroeder is calmer but no less happy about the new beginning. "It's really much bigger. I like the colors," the sixth-grader noted, peering into Thompson's room painted "Applesauce Cake."
St. Basil works well for her, Tansy said, hardly able to get her smile under control. "I get to be with my friends and I live really close."
As for the new digs, "being in a classroom is much better than being in, like, a bedroom."
Outside, Ruth Senter was busy expending her excitement. After selecting a hula hoop from a cache of play equipment, the 7-year-old kept the plastic circle whirling for about four minutes while she shouted out to arriving buddies.
As at any other school in Walla Walla, mothers delivered children to St. Basil in minivans this morning. Several hopped out to spend a few minutes straightening little collars and tying shoes while basking in their children's excitement.
In addition to paying at least $3,000 a year per student, parents are asked to donate three hours of service time per week. It's how the paid staff of two can offer a broader scope of subjects such as art and science, Barnett noted. "We have very talented parents."
His own father, for example.
Richard Barnett planted the large garden next to the academy's parking lot. Not only will children get hand-on science and agricultural knowledge through growing a crop, but older students will apply math and other skills once the produce makes its way to a booth at the Walla Walla Valley Farmers' Market, Matthew Barnett said.
It's one use of all that land for now, he summarized. After all, "we built for growth and there's plenty of room to grow."
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Skip Ditto Russell wrote on Aug 19, 2008 9:07 AM:
" Praise God for this school and the traditionally dressed kids. What a refreshing change to see kids happy and full of life. I would much rather see a young girl dressed like this than wearing low-rise jeans and shirt with plunging neckline. Modesty is desperately lacking in our schools today. That carries over into the workplace when they become adults. Again, we Thank God for giving children a safe place like this to learn without all of the distractions and painful issues found in public schools. "
Mini-Me Academy wrote on May 9, 2008 1:16 PM:
" Amen, Sam. Doesn't look much different from the images I see on the news from that compound in Utah. I know that most parents want to instill their values and ideas in their own children, but I thank Allah and the Tooth Fairy that my parents werent into prairie clothing and religious schools. "
Sam wrote on May 9, 2008 8:46 AM:
" Just for the record, that "traditionally dressed" caption cracks me up. What is this "traditionally dressed" business anyway? "
Skip Ditto Russell wrote on Aug 19, 2008 9:07 AM: