Arts & Ideas Elementary Opening at Messiah

The vestry is very pleased to announce that Arts & Ideas Elementary, a small alternative school, will be operating in our building beginning September 2008.  Arcadia residents, Caroline Chavasse and Danny Mydlack, are the driving force behind the school, and have been meeting with the Vestry, Choirmaster, and Building and Grounds to discuss their plans, secure approval, and iron out details.  You may have met them at the June Adult Forum about their school, on Sunday mornings, or during our recent Spring Cleanup Day, where Danny labored long and hard in the garden.  They are both professors:  Caroline at MICA, and Danny at Towson.

The school will operate on a democratic model that emphasizes creativity and personal responsibility.  The model was pioneered 40 years ago by the Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts and has been adopted by many others around the country.  Danny has worked at Fairhaven School, a similar school in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, where he filmed the documentary entitled "Voices from the New American Schoolhouse."   

The School will primarily occupy the Upper Parish Hall, and they are in the process of making some much-needed renovations to the space, which is being refurbished and updated to more flexibly accommodate both auditorium/stage and classroom functions.  The Vestry believes that this relationship constitutes faithful stewardship of our facility in a manner that is consistent with our parish vision.  In fact, the Vestry sees our relationship with Arts & Ideas Elementary as part of our ministry of hospitality and community relationship-building.  We have crafted and signed an agreement with Arts & Ideas that will govern our relationship with the school; our goal is to offer the school the liberty it needs to be successful without negatively affecting the parish property and ministries.

Caroline and Danny have already done the necessary bureaucratic legwork to ensure that the school and the facility meet all state and municipal standards, and they have been enrolling students, holding open houses, and performing renovations now that the agreement is finalized.  The school year begins on Wednesday, September 3rd.  

This is a very exciting development in the life of our parish and our community, and it is the Vestry's hope that the relationship between the school and the parish will be positive and uplifting for everyone involved.  To find out more about this new school in Northeast Baltimore, click here.

    Welcome to all students, teachers, and parents -- have a wonderful academic year!