After two months of constant phone calls, planning meetings and fundraising efforts, the community of Incarnation-St. James School, Ewing, can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Exactly two months to the day that an announcement was made to parishioners of Incarnation-St. James that their school would close at the end of the current academic year, the incredible dedication of parents, parishioners and school faculty and staff led to another major announcement – that the school will remain open indefinitely.

Trinitarian Father Daniel Houde, pastor of Incarnation-St. James, told members of the school and parish community at a gathering April 21 in the parish hall that all plans to close the school have been abandoned.

“Incarnation-St. James School is not only given a reprieve… but the school is open fully, looking forward to the future,” he said to a large round of applause. He credited the successful turnaround in the school’s fortunes to the grassroots “Save Our School,” or “S.O.S.” committee that put in a tremendous effort to prove that the school could be viable in the future, both in terms of enrollment and financial stability.

Originally faced with a challenge to raise $300,000 and increase enrollment to keep the school open, the S.O.S. campaign raised $127,000 in less than a month through several successful events, including a pasta dinner, silent auction and 5K run. It was this swift action and the broadbased support it engendered that prompted parish and school leaders to consider opening the school, even without the full fundraising goal being met.

Following consultation with diocesan officials regarding the shortand long-term financial needs of the school, a new budget was created, comprised of a specified and limited parish subsidy, tuition paid by school families and the $300,000 that was pledged to be raised by the S.O.S. committee.

According to Rayanne Bennett, diocesan chief communications officer, “We were very impressed with the results brought about by the S.O.S. effort, and we have every confidence that these dedicated folks will reach their fundraising goal.”

Referring to the S.O.S. committee as a “model for school marketing in the diocese,” Bennett stated, “We needed to see a budget that protects against undue burden on the parish – whose financial health must also be maintained – and that was made possible because of the commitment and action of the S.O.S. committee.”

Bennett continued, “The committee has made it clear that their fundraising and development efforts were not a one-year initiative, derived solely for the purpose of saving the school. They will maintain this level of funding in future years, which, along with enrollment growth, will serve the long-range plan of the school.”

The parish leadership – including Father Houde, the parish pastoral council and finance council – voted to keep the school open April 19 and that decision was affirmed the following day by Bishop John M. Smith.

If fundraising goals fall short this first year, Bennett noted that the diocese is prepared to close the budget gap for the school. However, she said, “There is no reason to believe, based on their track record and now, with the time they have to plan major fundraising events and build awareness about the school’s remaining open, they will be unable to meet their goal.”

Whole New Outlook
Father Houde said the committee that moves forward to continue the fundraising and promotional work will now operate under a new name.

“On behalf of the entire parish family, the leadership of our parish, and our school I personally wish to thank all of the members of our now defunct ‘S.O.S’ committee and our newly begun ‘F.O.S.’ – ‘Forward Our School’ – committee,” he said. “I wish to thank you for your dedication, for your hard work, for your faith in Jesus. Tonight, we reap those benefits.”

But, according to Deacon Frank Golazeski, one of the organizers of the S.O.S. campaign, the group will keep the celebration to a minimum.

“Things are happening right away,” he said. “We are not resting on our laurels.”

In addition to enlisting the help of professional marketing and public relations experts, the group has planned a full year’s worth of fundraising events with the potential to far exceed the $300,000 they had originally been asked to raise.

Among the items on the calendar are a raffle, bowling night, outings to local sporting events and a golf tournament. Attendees at the meeting were encouraged to pledge their support as volunteers for these and other upcoming events. The committee plans to continue its use of social networking tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, to spread the word about their school, Deacon Golazeski said. They also plan to increase efforts to involve alumni in the school’s future by developing an ongoing relationship with them.

Golazeski stated, “We want to let them know what is going on with ISJ, let them know where we are at and let them know how they can help out.”

The school already has an estimated enrollment of 150 for next year, only 10 short of their target enrollment of 160 students. With the certainty that ISJ will be open in September, a full-scale enrollment drive is set to begin.

“Now that the school is open, we can really help lock in the enrollment,” said Sandy Stewart, an S.O.S. committee member and father of a current fifth grader at ISJ. “Not only that, but we can implement the medium- and long-range plans that we couldn’t do in 30 or 60 days.”

Amazing Dedication
Stewart said that the members of the S.O.S. committee were filled with enthusiasm and ideas and never for a moment doubted that they could succeed in saving the school.

“We had a lot of faith and a lot of hope knowing what we had together, the energy and the commitment,” he said. “We had so many ideas, so many thoughts, it was just a matter of unraveling it all. And we’ve been successful through a lot of help from a lot of people.”

But even committee members were surprised by the support that came from all corners of the community, including St. Ann School in Lawrenceville, which held a fundraiser for ISJ, and Ewing mayor Jack Ball, who gave the school a free table at the Trenton Farmer’s Market to promote their campaign.

“People truly, really care,” Stewart said. “And when push comes to shove, the faith and the hope and the unity is there. It was amazing.”

Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Patricia O’Donnell, principal of Incarnation-St. James, said she was impressed by the work of the committee and believes they have made great strides in building for the future.

“I think it has been incredible,” Sister Patricia said. “They have a lot of expertise in that group and I think it just is going to be very positive for the school.

“This kind of gives you a shot in the arm and a lot of energy to move forward,” she added.

A Great Relief
The reassurance that ISJ will remain open was met with great excitement from parents. It was especially gratifying to Tulia Jimenez-Vergara, whose son Miguel is a fourth grader at the school.

Miguel, who is physically handicapped and must use a wheelchair, had a difficult time in other schools prior to enrolling in Incarnation-St. James last September, his mother explained. But in only one year, ISJ has had a tremendously positive influence on him.

“I really wanted this school to be open,” Jimenez-Vergara said. “I was just so scared at the beginning.

“It was very hard to have Miguel in a regular school,” she continued. “We had so many problems.

It was three years of misery. And then we came here and he was finally accepted.

People have been so kind. My house is a totally different environment since he came here.”

Upon finding a school that truly cared for her son and helped him to advance academically, Jimenez-Vergara said she was shocked and saddened to hear the news that ISJ might be closing. But after the announcement that the school would continue to operate, she said that it felt like I huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

“I am so thrilled. For me now, finally I can rest,” she said.