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| NETWORK
Q & A A conversation with Don Danforth, founder and president of City Academy |
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City Academy president Don Danforth comes from a long line of civic leaders with an interest in education. Danforth’s father, Donald Danforth Jr., was board chairman of the American Youth Foundation – which his grandfather founded – for more than 30 years. In addition, Danforth’s uncle, William Danforth, was chancellor of Washington University for 24 years. The City Academy is an elementary school that is part of the Matthews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club, located near the intersection of N. Kingshighway Boulevard and Hwy. 70 in the city of St. Louis. The Academy provides an opportunity for children to receive a challenging, college preparatory education regardless of income level. NETWORK caught up with Don Danforth at his office at Matthews-Dickey. NETWORK: How did you become involved with this project? Danforth: After I graduated college I went to work at Ralston-Purina in the marketing department, and I began tutoring at Matthews-Dickey after work. Mr. Matthews had always been very supportive, and eventually he suggested that I help initiate a summer education program. I came on full-time in 1993 and headed up the summer program that consisted of academics in the morning and enrichment programs such as art,music and drama in the afternoon. I think one of the toughest jobs I had in the summer was school bus monitor. The summer programs were held at MICDS for a while, and later at Crossroads School, so we would meet at the club and take busses from there. In the first few days the kids getting on the bus were not very thrilled about having to do school work during the summer, but I watched them gain enthusiasm for the program over time, until they really wanted to be there and were excited about what they were doing. That was very gratifying for me. N: How did the idea for City Academy come about? Danforth: We talked about the idea for several years, but we really started planning for the school in 1997. Duncan Marshall, who had been one of my teachers at Country Day, worked with me to develop the initial plan and curriculum. The school started in 1999 here at Matthews- Dickey, with a junior kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade.We have added another grade each year, and have just completed our fifth full school year. In the 2004-05 season we will offer classes through sixth grade. N: Are there plans to go beyond the primary school level? Danforth: We are looking into the feasibility of adding middle school classes, but that has yet to be determined. The school is still young and growing, though. This year we had students from more than 20 zip codes. N: And the idea is to be able to offer a high-quality educational experience to families that would otherwise not have that opportunity? Danforth: Yes, and it takes several important elements to make that happen. First, we place a strong emphasis on hiring teachers who are dedicated to what they do and able to engage the kids. We also place high expectations on parents and students. It takes all of us working together to make it successful. N: How does the tuition assistance work? Danforth: The big key to the whole program is fund raising. We are very fortunate to have a good community in St. Louis that supports our efforts. Scholarship money comes from corporations, foundations and private donors. The tuition we collect accounts for only 15 percent of our operating budget,with charitable contributions making up the rest. All families are expected to pay some tuition, and scholarship assistance is evaluated on an individual basis, taking into account income and other factors. This year we received $584,000 in annual giving. N: After five years of holding classes at the Matthews-Dickey Club you are finally getting your own facility. You must be excited. Danforth: It is very exciting. The new City Academy building is located right next to the club, so students will still be able to take advantage of the facilities there, such as the tennis courts and sports fields. The new building is an $11.5 million project, which includes the cost of acquiring and clearing the land, new construction, furnishings and fixtures. We will have spacious classrooms for all grades, plus a big library that extends to a second floor area that will be used by the older kids. We have also planned for future growth by including some extra classrooms that will give added flexibility. There will be a large multipurpose area that will serve as a gym, as well as a performance and meeting space. There will also be separate rooms for music and science, and a lunchroom. Outside there will be lots of green space, including a large playground and an artificial turf area that gives the kids lots of running room. We have also planned a walking trail with a wide variety of plants and trees, and each grade will have a planter that they will be responsible for maintaining. We have even planned a butterfly garden. The whole building will also be equipped with wireless Internet connectivity, and we recently received a donation of several laptop computers. We will be adding more computers soon. N: When will the new facility be ready? Danforth: Work is moving along well, and they are telling us they will be ready for us to move in by July 19. The whole facility will be equipped and ready for the new school year this fall. We are all excited and ready to move in and start the new year in our new school. |
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