Gesu
Beacon open house:
'The teachers … care about us'
By
Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
What better place to showcase Philadelphia’s Beacon programs than
the rooftop recreation area of North Philadelphia’s Gesu School,
with its million-dollar view of the city skyline?
On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Gesu Beacon held an open house, featuring music,
dancing, poetry-reading, a moon bounce, games and food for everyone.
“It’s really fun and educational. We have poetry, we do lots
of things, and we do our homework here,” said fourth-grader Miyhani
Schowell.
Like many of the children enrolled in the Gesu Beacon, she attends Gesu
School, a former parish school that is now, itself, a beacon for the neighborhood
as an independent Catholic school.
“We pray a lot in our school, and I’m very lucky to be here,”
Miyhani said.
Beacon Programs, administered by Philadelphia Safe and Sound, are “safe
haven” after-school and Saturday programs that operate at sites
within city zip codes that meet certain criteria — for example,
the number of child abuse and neglect cases, major crime arrests for youth,
arrests for drug offenses, juvenile homicide victims and gunshot victims.
At present, 10 of the 35 Beacon sites in the city are based at Catholic
schools and are operated by archdiocesan Catholic Social Services. They
are located at St. Martin de Porres in North Philadelphia; St. Francis
de Sales; Nativity B.V.M.; Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament; St. Veronica;
St. Martin de Porres Interparochial School in Germantown; Visitation B.V.M.;
the Gesu; St. Cyprian, and St. Martin of Tours.
The Gesu Beacon has about 170 students on its rolls, according to the
youth program director, Michael Blackie. It runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
for the children, then follows with a family preservation program open
to children from the fourth grade through adults, from 6 p.m. until 8:30
p.m. Basketball leagues are a staple, but the Beacon also plans to add
a comprehensive computer program, and even an adult GED program.
Many staff members at the Gesu Beacon are Gesu School graduates. Terrance
Robinson II, for example, graduated in 2002 and then went on to La Salle
College High School and Lincoln Center for Computer Technology.
“Gesu School prepared me at an early age for life after school,”
Robinson said. “Many kids in the neighborhood don’t get that
opportunity.”
He sees the Beacon program making making headway, but every day is a challenge,
Robinson said: “We need the community to get involved, because if
it doesn’t, how can we make a difference?
Meanwhile, he said, “I tell the kids there is somebody they can
talk to if they need to — if not me, someone else on the staff,
including the director, Mr. Bill Harris.”
Tempest Bryant, a 2003 Gesu graduate, is another staff member who is a
positive role model for the Beacon children. She went on to West Philadelphia
Catholic High School and now attends St. Joseph’s University.
“When I left Gesu, I was totally prepared, because I took advanced
courses. My first year of high school was really a review,” she
said.
Philadelphia Safe and Sound assists about 150 after-school programs, and
its Beacon program is an important part of that outreach.
The value of partnering with Catholic Social Services in sites such as
Gesu isn’t lost on Philadelphia Safe and Sound program officer Karen
Smuck, who attended the open house. “This is a beautiful facility.
We are happy to have a program here,” she said.
So is Taylor Parish, another fourth-grader.
“It’s not just a program. It’s fun,” she said.
“We learn a lot. We get treats. The teachers really care about us.”
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo parish and a freelance writer.