If you get discouraged about the future of our country or the world, just consider Bishop Maginn High School. By day, it seems we were living in the land of hate and argument and fear, but there are other worlds with other feelings: Bishop Maginn is one of them.
At Bishop Maginn, they can still hug their students, and their students can still hug them. At Bishop Maginn, you can still get a good education even if you don’t have a lot of money.
And there are lots of hugs, Sue Silverstein’s classroom is a virtual parade of former students coming by to say hello. She has become a precious friend.
At Bishop Maginn, there are teachers like Sue Silverstein who opens up her classroom all summer so that her poor and refugee students can have someplace to go every day other than the street.
No, she doesn’t get paid for it.
At Bishop Maginn, there is a kind and moral school principal named Mike Tolan for whom I have enormous respect. He has a wonderful vision for his school and works day and night to make it happen. He loves to sit down with his students and talk about superheroes.
I think he might be one.
There is a great feeling at Bishop Maginn, it radiates safety and encouragement. There is a spirit about the place that affirms the best of the human spirit, and our work to support Bishop Maginn reminds us the many good people in the world eager to do good.
There is no controversy or confusion about the school’s mission: to help the needy and the vulnerable.
We are close to buying out the new Teachers Amazon Bishop Maginn Wish List. There are only two items left, 3 Dustpan and Broom sets, $11.99 each; 9 copies of Hamlet (No Fear Graphic Novel). If you need the school’s address, it is Bishop Maginn High School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y., 12202.
You can also donate directly to the school at the same address, c/o Principal Mike Tolan. Donations to the school are tax-deductible.
If you wish to support my work with the school, you can send a donation to me via Paypal, [email protected], or by check, Jon Katz, Mansion/Refugee Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Thank you.
Thank you again for introducing us to this amazing school. Its a throwback to the feeling of the little one room school houses of yesterday. ( we actually still have 2 of those in our county, where all the classes learning areas of the same room. Its hard to imagine, but the sensation it must create of all being one family must be amazing). It is a privilege to be part of the Army of Good, I just wish I could do more.