I remember there was a thread about Orthodox Christian schools...thought this was an interesting story....
Greek school teaches language, culture
Ideals and traditions stay alive with each new generation
By Tiffany Erickson
Deseret Morning News
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The hit movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" hit close to home for Andrea Giamalakis. Growing up in a traditional home and attending Greek school, just like in the film, "our lives were built around family, food and the church."
Now as a Salt Lake parent in one of the biggest Greek Orthodox communities in the nation, she sends her children to St. Sophia School in an effort ensure those ideals and traditions stay alive and well in the coming generations.
St. Sophia Hellenic Orthodox School was founded in 1995 and is housed in the Prophet Elias Church in Holladay. With around 100 students and 20 teachers, the little school, while following the state core curriculum, promotes Hellenic ideals with an emphasis on Christian principles. Starting in preschool, students begin to learn to read, write and speak Greek.
Giamalakis, the religion teacher as well as parent of three students attending the school, was raised in a Greek family, in the Greek Orthodox church, and married a Greek husband. She and her husband chose to live in Salt Lake City because of the opportunities afforded by the large Greek community.
"We are a tightly knit bunch of people. We love our heritage, love the language, and, like other cultures, we are open, friendly, accepting, loving and rich in tradition," said Giamalakis.
Like Giamalakis, many of the families send their children to traditional Greek school once a week for more Greek language instruction as well as to St. Sophia to ensure they don't lose a strong sense of their culture.
"Not everyone has grandparents from the old country who speak the language, so that is just an extra supplement aside from St. Sophia."
St. Sophia School is traditional in many senses. To enter the school, visitors must first ring a bell outside the school. Inside, the students, preschool through sixth grade, are clad in traditional plaid uniforms.
"It's quaint and it's charming," said principal Patricia Pignanelli.
The number of students per classroom seldom strays into the double digits, and it's not uncommon to hear Greek music played on a bouzouki drifting from classrooms. Well-equipped for such a small school, they also have a full gym, multipurpose room and stage for productions.
Pignanelli said they hope to keep it that way. She is not hoping to grow by leaps and bounds in the future, but just enough to fill classes and concentrate on quality.
With such cultural immersion, from learning and speaking Greek to doing traditional Greek dances, it's easy to assume the school is just for Greeks in the Greek Orthodox Church.
Not so.
Only 65 percent of the school's population is Greek Orthodox. Non-Greek parents say they like the class sizes and the environment of the school, and learning another language is just an added bonus.
And the school welcomes them with open arms.
Earlier in the year the first-grade class studied and made puppets of their patron saints they received at baptism. Don't have a saint? Pick one and we will teach you about him or her.
Non-Greek parent Karen Kinnison said what drew her to the school was the atmosphere. The school makes children feel needed and appreciated. She said her son is valued and loved — much like in a family environment. It's impossible for a student to fall through the cracks with so much individualized instruction.
For full-time elementary-age children, tuition hovers around $4,000 a year, with variants based on church membership status and age of the student. But for Giamalakis, it's a small price to pay.
"Bravo to parents who take on the financial responsibility as well as the cultural responsibility," said Giamalakis. "Hilary Clinton was right on when she said it takes a village to raise a child. With the church, school, family and community promoting and teaching (the culture), how can we miss?"
The school started with just a preschool and has added a grade each year. The first sixth-grade class graduated last month. Most students will continue on into public middle and junior high schools.
The change from St. Sophia's nurturing environment may be more acute than usual for the new seventh-graders.
But Pignanelli said she is confident the students will be fine with the transition.
"It's like a house. If there is a really good foundation, it's not going to rock."