Calexico Adventist Mission School began round two of its renewal by breaking ground for an elementary school. Principal Susan Smith has high hopes that construction will be completed by the summer of 2005.
Board members, faculty, school children and friends of the school gathered for a brief, up-beat ceremony on Nov. 30. Five kindergartners joined dignitaries wielding the ceremonial shovels. Several elementary classes provided special music.
Calexico City Council member Lewis Pacheco spoke during the ceremony, commending the school and its supporters for the rebuilding project. Principal of a local public school, Pacheco sends his two high school age children to the Adventist school.
The new 17,000 square-foot facility will house 10 classrooms and a commercial kitchen and will be located just north of the new high school building. The mission school occupies 3.8 acres just a few yards from the U.S./Mexican border. A majority of the 377 students live in Mexicali, a city of one million, and walk cross the border each day to attend classes. More than 85 percent come from homes where this is no Adventist member.
“For a long time, people debated whether or not we needed this school,” explained Alan Bohman, associate superintendent of education for the Southeastern California Conference and former Calexico principal in the mid-1960s.
“But,” he said, “repeated studies showed that Calexico had a positive, long-term influence on hundreds of children and their families. In addition, several students each year accept Adventist beliefs and are baptized. Today, a good number are church workers in our conference and elsewhere in the U.S. and Mexico.”
Calexico struggled for many years with overcrowded, make-do facilities. At the same time, enrollment dropped off and debts grew at San Pasqual Academy, the conference boarding school. Once SPA closed and was sold, the conference could focus more time and resources on other schools, including Calexico. Several donors also stepped forward with significant contributions for the mission school.
Phase I of the building project was completed in 2003, costing $2.4 million. Included in the 28,000 square-foot building are a gymnasium, high school classrooms, a library and administrative offices. External improvements include a good quality fence around the property and a paved parking lot.
Phase II, the elementary school, is estimated at $1.2 million. A $500,000 pledge has been made, contingent upon Maranatha Volunteers helping in the project. The volunteers will complete interior framing, doors and windows. Another $700,000 is needed from private donations.
“The training we give these young people stays with them for a lifetime,” added Don Dudley, newly appointed superintendent of education. “The new buildings are not fancy, but comfortable, and we believe the Lord is blessing.”
