Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Christian Principal Saves Inner City School
Christian Principal Saves Inner City School
Ruth Jones believes God sent her to the struggling school in Grand Rapids to give the students a chance at life.
The moment Ruth Jones stepped into the building, she new it was going to be bad.
The Grand Rapids MI public elementary school known as Henry Paideia Academy looked like the ruins of something,
she said. The building was dark and cold, and there were no pictures, no signs anywhere that children were inhabiting
this place.
But as she stood in the hall, she said God began to reveal His plan for the school that was on the verge of closing.
God let the hallway appear pitch black all around me. But where I stood there was light. If I moved, the light moved.
God said: You are the light in this place now.
That was 20 years ago when Henry Academy was about to become the only school in Grand Rapids history to be closed
because of failure. A study had shown that in 10 years only a quarter of its students had graduated from high school, and
none had gone on to college.
Today students from Henry Paideia are not only graduating from high school, they are joining National Honor Society.
The school’s dramatic turnaround had been the subject of media reports, and the academy has received numerous awards
and accolades, as well as visits from form Michigan Governor John Engler and President George W. Bush.
What is more the 300 student school that one faced closure has a waiting list.
At the center of the transformation stands Ruth Jones, a celebrated inner city schoolteacher who did not have a master’s
degree on or experience in administration and never wanted to be a principal.
But when her file somehow ended up on the superintendent’s desk as a candidate to lead the struggling school, she
sensed God leading her to pursue the position.
A 20 member panel interviewed her, asking for an introduction and her philosophy on education. Ruth Jones told them
how the Lord changed my life. She told them, God is bringing me to this school because he wants to heal these children
and give them a chance at life.
Ninety minutes after her interview, she was named head of the school. That is when her work began. The school had
long been dysfunctional. One teacher stacked books on her desk like a fort so the children would not hit her.
Many of the students lived in poverty, and their neighborhoods were infested with drugs and crime. Jones said she began
to pray that God’s anointing would destroy every yoke keeping the children from learning, a habit she
maintains.
When I touch these children, I know I am in covenant with God, and these bondages will drop off, says Jones
Jones addressed their practical needs too. Some children came to school dirty, so she installed four washing machines
and dryers to clean their clothes.
It is not always easy teaching at the school, said fourth grade teacher Rozanna Lee. Some of these students have a lot of
emotional baggage. I tell them that it is amazing what they have to deal with and still make it to school.
A staff of 100 volunteers does everything from comb hair to tutor in reading and math. The school teaches parenting
skills, and church groups and business help provide food and clothing.
I was inspired to get involved by President Bush’s speech to do something for the community, said volunteer Patsy
Lucas. By working one on one with the same child every week, I feel that I brought some stability to the life of that
child.
Jones flights to give her students the same quality of life children from wealthier neighborhoods have. We act like just
because a child is poor, they are going to be able to do without all the things our kids have and be the same as our kids
and come out all right.
Even 10 years later, Jones is still amazed at how the school changed.
book: You Can If You Think You Can; by Norman Vincent Peale
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27135090
http://www.librarything.com/work/125895
book: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk; by Adele Faber
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8259987
http://www.librarything.com/work/59941
book: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living Your Dreams; by Mark Victor Hansen
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52854787
http://www.librarything.com/work/7580935
book: The Aladdin Factor: How to Ask for, and Get, Everything You Want; by Mark Victor Hansen
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33158675
http://www.librarything.com/work/2056475
book: The Success Principles for Teens: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be; by Jack Canfield
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/251220567
http://www.librarything.com/work/5484625
book: 101 Ways to Develop Student Self-esteem and Responsibility: Power to Succeed in School and Beyond; by Jack
Canfield
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23940942
http://www.librarything.com/work/1330379
http://books.google.com/books?id=8RNKAAAAYAAJ
book: Coach Wooden, The 7 Principles that Shaped His Life and Will Change Yours; by Pat Williams
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/613427203
http://books.google.com/books?id=_Ae6QAyCpHYC
book: Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks For a Better Life; by John Wooden
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57366457
http://www.librarything.com/work/303206
book: Nurtured By Love: The Classic Approach to Talent Education; by Shinichi Suzuki
http://suzukiassociation.org
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61038074
http://books.google.com/books?id=-Qvd7Wsmb48C
http://www.librarything.com/work/557451
MUSIC in SCHOOLS and ACADEMIC SUCCESS
book: The Mozart Effect for Children; by Don Campbell
http://www.mozarteffect.com
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44731185
http://www.librarything.com/work/720028
book: Worms Eat Our Garbage: Classroom Activities for a Better Environment
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28532138
http://www.librarything.com/work/4048089
http://books.google.com/books?id=vI-ihPW04c8C
~
CO-OPERATIVE Games
http://www.familypastimes.com
CHESS
Chess in Schools and Academic Excellence
http://www.chessinschools.org
http://www.schoolhousechess.org
http://scholasticchess.blogspot.com
http://chesskids.com.au
http://nscfchess.org
Critical Thinking Skills: Chess and Strategic Games, Changing the Face of Education
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45951118
New York City Schools Chess Program helps Minority Students to Excel
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45951172
HEALING
Living Nutrition
http://www.livingnutrition.com
book: Prayer, Faith, and Healing: Cure Your Body, Heal Your Mind; by Kenneth Winston Caine
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39985518
http://www.librarything.com/work/1599965
book: Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacterial; by Stephen Harrod Buhner
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45732069
http://www.librarything.com/work/646512
book: Vegetarian Health Recipes for Super Energy and Long Life; by Patricia Bragg
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/259194344
http://www.librarything.com/work/10453101
dvd: Cancer, Nutrition and Healing, 2nd Edition - A Personal Odyssey; director: Jerry Brunetti
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71705777
http://www.ppnf.org
dvd: Healing Cancer From Inside Out - 2nd Edition; director: Mike Anderson
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/214285822
http://www.ravediet.com
book: Mouth Matters: Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body; by Carol Vander Stoep
http://www.mouthmattersbook.com
http://www.acresusa.com
historical book: Back to Eden; by Jethro Kloss - he was curing cancer in the 1930's
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8081330
http://www.librarything.com/work/86035
book: Vegetarian Health Recipes: For Super Energy and Longevity; by Patricia Bragg
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/259194344
http://www.librarything.com/work/10453101
http://books.google.com/books?id=xHR2MQAACAAJ
book: Cooking with Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat; by Bruce Fife
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/58985858
http://www.librarything.com/work/1583926
http://books.google.com/books?id=4kobAAAACAAJ
To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
dvd: Killer at Large, Why obesity is America's greatest threat; director: Steven Greenstreet
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/317962830
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Killer-at-Large-Why-Obesity-Is-Americas-Greatest-Threat/109343939089227
book: Fateful Harvest: The True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret; by Duff Wilson
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/46565121
http://www.librarything.com/work/569636
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fateful_Harvest
http://www.safefoodandfertilizer.org/index.html
book: Unforgiven: The American Economic System Sold for Debt And War; by Charles Walters
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50949802
http://www.librarything.com/work/1189392
http://books.google.com/books?id=LqntAAAACAAJ
book: Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods; by Jeffrey Smith
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/77541620
http://www.librarything.com/work/3361962
http://gmwatch.org
http://www.scribd.com/doc/41584887
http://books.google.com/books?id=EctxAAAACAAJ
book: Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans; by David Kirby
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/428027213
http://www.librarything.com/work/9398107
http://books.google.com/books?id=VQ9sXDyYN64C
book: Sacrifice Zones: The Front Lines of Toxic Chemical Exposure in the United States; by Steve Lerner
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/495616819
http://www.librarything.com/work/10426386
book: Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution; by Gerald Markowitz
http://www.librarything.com/work/1113868
book: Free for All: Fixing School Food in America; by Janet Poppendieck
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/317461908
http://www.librarything.com/work/8402346
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_21072.cfm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/school/school-lunch.cfm
http://www.janetpoppendieck.com/free_for_all.html
book: Third World America: how our politicians are abandoning the middle class and betraying the American dream; by
Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/609529688
http://www.librarything.com/work/10233699
book: Disconnect: The Truth about Cell Phone Radiation; by Devra Davis
http://www.environmentalhealthtrust.org
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/526057538
http://www.librarything.com/work/10261957
Book of Isaiah:
Learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow…and you shall eat the
good of the land.
Every day help someone who can never reciprocate. This is my obligation.
~ John Wooden's PHILOSOPHY
The great UCLA basketball coach
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Those who bring Sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
Luke 10:29
The Jesus Person Pocket Promise Book:800 Promises From the Word of God; by David Wilkerson
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3849783
http://www.librarything.com/work/114940
Praise God ~ Be Thankful ~ Forgive ~ Receive the Blessings ~ Give God the Glory
proverb:
Please share these web sites with friends and others who are concerned about our children's future and our
grandchildren's future.