Moving On

Originally, there were plans to create a new building across from All Saints Church for the Epiphany School to use to alleviate cramped conditions, but when it became apparent that the deal was untenable, a new facility had to be found.

“St. Michael’s gave us space in their basement to put the school over there”, said Finley. “So we had the 5th graders at St. Michael’s and the rest of the school at All Saints so we drove a van back and forth and the staff had to bridge between the two so that if there was something happening over there the principal could go there and then there was nobody over here – it was difficult. And it was also challenging because we couldn’t use both spaces over the weekends so we’d have to clean out and entirely store the school every Friday and then totally rebuilding them every Monday, every desk, every chair, every table.

So those teachers who would work twelve to fourteen hour days, you’d look at them at 6 o’clock on Friday after the last child left and say ‘now you have to work ‘til 10 o’clock to break down the tables and chairs and mop the floors and leave the school absolutely immaculate for the church.’ And that was what they did for two years working their little tails off very hard.” Ultimately, what was needed was a place that faculty, staff, and students could call their own, a permanent address to settle into with enough space and large enough facilities to accommodate the school’s many admirable directives. After a search that ranged over 100 different sites and the disappointment of watching three desirable locations fall through, the fates proved to be saving their best for last.

To Co-Founder and School Chaplain Jennifer Daly, the arrival of the new site as though by divine hand was nothing new. “It seems like with every time something wasn’t working, something else became available,” said Ms. Daly. “You know, when it became really clear that we couldn’t stay at All Saints one more year, we were looking through the phone book like, ‘Oh God, can we rent trailers and put the kids in them?’ Then somebody mentioned that there was this church, the Sisters of the Aquinine were leaving, this Fontbonne was looking for a really short term lease. It was really just a totally blessing for us, so those kind of things just happen really fortuitously.

And now, the new building is perfect. It’s on the T and it’s such a great neighborhood. I lived there [in the area] about 8 years ago and Codman Square was such a different place. And now it is so exciting to watch what has happened around there and feel like we are part of that. The neighborhood has been incredibly receptive and I think a lot of people are very welcoming. They’ve really been generous.”

According to Mr. Finley, the key for the smooth transition lay in the open communication between the school and the community, the ability to listen honestly to neighbors’ concerns, and a willingness to compromise. “We bought the building and began going to community meetings – St. Mark’s Civic, Shawmut United Neighbors, Mellville park Association working with the community, faculty, and students to come up with a vision and permanent plan that would suit everyone. I think the school really benefited from the input and the suggestions of the community and to the school’s credit I think, we were really good.

People said we don’t want more cars on Allston Street and so we spent easily half a million dollars structuring the school so that the access will be off Centre Street and there won’t be any cars up on Allston Street. We also made smaller windows in the back so that we are not looking over into someone’s back year so neighbors can keep their privacy. We really tried to be respectful. I think the only thing that nobody likes is the colors of the ellipse which we will repaint in the spring. So it’s not perfect but it’s darn well near perfect.” Finley says that he envisions eventually opening the facilities to the neighborhood as a way of extending the full-service idea beyond the members of Epiphany.

“Our hope is that if we can find ways to do it that are safe and reliable then, over the years, we can keep the facilities open 24-7 and have [organizations like] Dot Art using the kiln, having Citizen Schools meet in our cafeteria and then walk up to 450 together. I’d like to have Neighborhood House Charter School using our gym because they don’t have one, and we’d like to see all these things done, but in a way that is safe and doesn’t tax our faculty. But it is just like our vans. We lend them out to people, and sometimes people don’t handle them the way we’d like, but it doesn’t keep us from trying.

So that’s the kind of vision that we have for the place, that it would be a hub for the neighborhood. I think it’s fundamentally unjust when you see these schools that have these fabulous facilities that then are closed at three or closed June, July, and August. We are dependent upon the generosity of others so it would be hypocritical for us not to do this.”