Cultural performances of Vietnamese, Latina and Somalian student groups bloomed over the weekend as students, staff, parents and volunteers of the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center gathered Saturday to bid farewell to the Old John Hay building that has housed the school for the last 10 years.
"It is going to be a painful transition to lock this building up," said Sibby DeForest, member of Friends of the SBOC and coordinator of the event.
In addition to traditional dancing by students whose ancestors hail from remote parts of the world, visitors were also treated to a fund-raiser where various items such as colorful postcards were for sale.
Major budget cuts at Seattle Public Schools led to the SBOC taking residence in the former Meany Middle School on Capitol Hill and sharing the space with Nova Alternative High School. "It's premature to merge with any group until they've got their footings," said Marge Lepley, volunteer of Friends of the SBOC. "They [SBOC students] are vulnerable to gang influences because they just want to belong."
Many donated dollars and time have gone toward renovating Old Hay into a proper atmosphere for newly arrived children often from war-stricken and impoverished countries.
"Before, outside was concrete and cars. Now, there are beautiful gardens and basketball hoops," said James Lovell, director of youth services for the Vietnamese Friendship Association, an ally of the SBOC. "This place doesn't feel like an institution anymore but [instead] a second home for the children."
Last year local businesses helped raise $85,000 to pay for a full-time school nurse and summer programs. "We cannot have this funding dry up, but who knows what will happen once we move," Lovell added.
Barbara M. Holmquist, a former student, shared her experience entering the program in 2001. "I came here straight from Venezuela when I was 14," she said. "The SBOC really helped me gain the confidence I needed."
Holmquist will head to graduate school this fall at the University of Washington to study teaching English as a second language. "I want to be able to have the same impact on students that these teachers had on me."
Currently, the school district has not announced what will happen to the building once the doors close. "What about vandalism?" asked DeForest. "Who is going to protect Old John Hay?"
For 10 years students from around the world have considered the SBOC and Queen Anne their home away from home. They came from Somalia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Panama, Zanzibar and spent six hours a day learning English, history, math and science. Based on the smiles on their faces and those of several volunteers, it was time well spent.[[In-content Ad]]
