Tomorrow is the first day of classes at Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, N.Y. New posters went up above up all over the school.  There was a lot to be proud of, a lot to announce. The Poster tells a remarkable and poignant story.

The poster had great significance beyond the events it listed, it heralded the resurgence of a  school whose stated mission is to support and elevate the needy and the vulnerable, including the many new refugee students who now called the city their home.

A few years ago, it appeared as if the school might not make it, it’s core student body and their families had moved from the city to the suburbs, the Catholic Church began its long struggle with sexual harassment and abuse accusations, school enrollment was plummeting, art and music and sports programs were being curtailed or eliminated, nearly half of the student body couldn’t make their full tuition payments, and teachers dug deeply into their own pockets to buy school supplies.

These posters, this school year is really about the new Bishop Maginn.

Your support had so much to do with this. Finally, a computer lab to teach the students the skills they will desperately need in the future, a revived and expanding sports program, a new choir, a greatly expanded arts program (amazing flow of art supplies has poured into the school over the summer), a new dance program, a science lab with new working microscopes, the school’s own basketballs, school supplies for the teachers and for needy students and their families, emergency first aid kits and backpacks.

And every teacher has a brand new or guaranteed and refurbished Ipad to keep track of assignments and grades and lectures.

In addition, we are working on tuition support for some of the very gifted children who want and need to come to Bishop Maginn but whose families have no money. We already got six of them into the school, there are eight more I hope we can support in the coming months.

And enrollment is up. Bishop Maginn is a safe and loving place to go to school. The principal can sit around and chat with the students about the new Avenger movies.

It wouldn’t be fair to say we are responsible for all of this, a lot of people have worked themselves to the bone to keep this school going, but it would be true to say we are responsible for a great deal of it. We have provided a much-needed morale boost and helped spark this remarkable comeback.

People from all over the country sent small and large donations to support the school, and the very needy refugee and the local population. People can send donations directly to the school (they are tax-deductible): Mike Tolan, Principal, Bishop Maginn High School, 75 Park Avenue, Albany, N.Y.,  12202. They can also support the school’s new Amazon Bishop Maginn Wish Lists, now sold out once again.

For the first time in years, the school has some breathing room, and some resources to move forward. The teachers don’t have to spend their own money on supplies, the gym has real basketballs, and the curriculum has moved into the 21st century.

Over the next weeks, I’ll be meeting with the eight refugee students who need some tuition assistance to stay in the school. I’m hoping to raise $30,500 over the school year, for Christmas if possible. Details to come. The poster really lifted my heart, and I hope it lifted yours.

People are truly good at heart.