Allow St. Joseph's school ‘to succeed in the future'

Editor’s note: The author, Yvonne Capone, sent the following e-mail to Pope Benedict and the Archdiocese of New York in hopes of saving St. Joseph’s School in the Village of Florida from closing. To the editor: Where else can you go in Orange County, N.Y., and find a school like St. Joseph School located in Florida, N.Y.? Where can you go in Orange County, N.Y., and find an interim principal, a group of teachers, students and parents that truly care about and treasure the gift of life that we as parents/teachers have been given? We have trusted our childrens lives to the mission and values of the Catholic Organization and the Archdiocese of New York. St. Joseph’s School in Florida is #1. We as parents, students and teachers are spending every day rallying in full force to keep our school open. Three weeks ago, we raised $2,100 in just three hours during a fund raiser at our school for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. That may sound amazing but we can do that because it is all about working together as a team, our commitment and our Catholic faith. I know if we are given the opportunity of at least one year to truly make a difference we as parents, teachers and students, we can do so. We have car washes planned that can bring in close to $1,000 in just one Saturday a month. We have been among the “hidden” and “unknown” Catholic School in Orange County for a number of years and now we are rallying to fight to keep our school open. I know four people alone that I work with who have enrolled their children for the September 2006-07 school year just based on the success and education that my two children have obtained at that school. We are on the move and the growth potential for our area has increased incredibly over the past year alone. I beg: Please don’t base a decision on numbers from the past. Allow us to succeed in the future. I am extremely grateful that you have taken the time to review my e-mail and I also hope that my e-mail reaches Pope Benedict and Cardinal Egan before a final decision is made. Let us take the time to look into the hearts of the 130 students currently enrolled in our school and look at the close to 170 students enrolled for the September 2006-07 school year. They are our future and deserve a fighting chance. We have an exceptional leader currently in place at our school and we will continue to thrive and enroll students for the upcoming school year. Yvonne Capone