Education Funding

A Philanthropic ‘Angel’ Rescues Private School

By Catherine Gewertz — April 04, 2001 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To keep their small Episcopal school in Philadelphia open, children had been dropping pennies into a jar in the school office. But St. Barnabas was still far short of the money it needed.

Until Patricia Walsh decided that instead of buying a new Mercedes, she’d give $50,000 to the school.

“I thought to myself, my car is perfectly good,” Ms. Walsh, a 73-year-old Philadelphia woman with a history of philanthropic work, said in an interview last week. “I’d rather use the money to help keep that school open.”

So she’ll drive her 10-year-old Chrysler Concord a while longer.

A Blessing

Cynthia G. Wright, the head of St. Barnabas Episcopal School, which enrolls 70 children in preschool through 6th grade, said that when Ms. Walsh called last month to offer the money, she couldn’t believe her ears.

“She said she had seen the article about us in the newspaper, that she’d been here on another occasion, and thought it was such a wonderful school, and that she wanted to offer a small donation,” Ms. Wright said.

“When she said $50,000, I stuttered and I had to whisper, ‘Did you say 5-0?’ She chuckled a moment and said yes,” Ms. Wright said. “It was a spiritual moment. I knew for sure that God is listening to us, that he sent us an angel.”

The 33-year-old school, in a middle-class Philadelphia neighborhood, had gone $100,000 into debt in the past few years as enrollment declined, driven in part by the presence of local charter schools, Ms. Wright said. The church that houses the school was having financial difficulty of its own and considered closing the school to save money, she said.

In February, the school appealed to its families to help. Parents and children dropped coins and bills in a big jar. Since Ms. Walsh’s March 13 donation, though, two other donors have offered $10,000 each, Ms. Wright said.

Ms. Walsh, who attended a private school as a child, said she wanted to help St. Barnabas because its students come from families who struggle to pay tuition.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the April 04, 2001 edition of Education Week as A Philanthropic ‘Angel’ Rescues Private School

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Biden's Budget Proposes Smaller Bump to Education Spending
The president requested increases to Title I and IDEA, and funding to expand preschool access in his 2025 budget proposal.
7 min read
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H. Biden's administration released its 2025 budget proposal, which includes a modest spending increase for the Education Department.
Evan Vucci/AP
Education Funding States Are Pulling Back on K-12 Spending. How Hard Will Schools Get Hit?
Some states are trimming education investments as financial forecasts suggest boom times may be over.
6 min read
Collage illustration of California state house and U.S. currency background.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Funding Using AI to Guide School Funding: 4 Takeaways
One state is using AI to help guide school funding decisions. Will others follow?
5 min read
 Illustration of a robot hand drawing a graph line leading to budget and finalcial spending.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A State Uses AI to Determine School Funding. Is This the Future or a Cautionary Tale?
Nevada reworked its funding formula hoping to target extra aid to students most in need. What happened could hold lessons for other states.
13 min read
Illustration of robotic hand putting coins into jar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus