WARREN New school offers Orthodox education

Seven pupils are enrolled; resgistration runs until Aug. 26.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
WARREN -- Johnmichael DiGiacobbe has found the thing he likes best about the classroom he'll attend as a second-grader this year.
"I like the pretty drawings in there," he said, "of Noah's Ark and all the animals."
He points at the drawings: "I like the hippos. I like the horses and the gazelles and the storks."
Also in Johnmichael's room is a stained-glass window, a poster of the Ten Commandments and another of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
He didn't see these things in his first-grade classroom in the public schools.
August opening
Johnmichael and his brother Paul, a kindergartner, will be two of the first to attend Holy Trinity Orthodox Christian Academy, opening in August on High Street.
Their mom, Chris, is president of the board of the new parochial school.
The first Eastern Orthodox school in Warren has two classrooms in the St. Demetrios Sunday School building, which used to be a Lutheran church.
One classroom will serve students in grades kindergarten and first; the other will be for those in grades two through five.
Organizers hope the school will grow yearly until it offers all grades, DiGiacobbe said.
It represents a collaboration between the St. Demetrios, St. Nicholas, St. John and Resurrection Orthodox communities in Warren and brings together various ethnic backgrounds, said Marina Payiavlas, superintendent of St. Demetrios Sunday School.
It will be operated through Orthodox Christian Schools of Northeast Ohio, which has schools in Akron, Canton and Cleveland.
"For so many years, people asked, 'Why can't we have an Orthodox school,'" DiGiacobbe said. "So now we're giving them an option ... It's finally like a dream come true."
DiGiacobbe said organizers hope to attract students from the Youngstown area and from various faiths.
What school will offer
Besides reading, writing and arithmetic, the school will offer Latin, logic and foreign languages as early as kindergarten.
The school is attached to St. Demetrios Church and students will celebrate feast days, sacraments and liturgies and will pray twice each day.
Dr. Pete Kondolios, a school board member, said the school gives an Orthodox option for parents who want their children to have a classical education or one based in religion.
"Society seems to be becoming more and more secular," added Kondolios, the school's fund-raising chairman. "We need to have more of an emphasis put on the church and the faith and not avoiding the issue."
The school opens with two certified teachers and volunteers to hold art and music classes. Requirements will include all state proficiency test standards, DiGiacobbe said.
So far, seven pupils have confirmed enrollment and DiGiacobbe said registrations will be taken until school starts Aug. 26.
Tuition is $2,000 per pupil with a 10-percent discount for a second child.
Information meetings are planned. Call (330) 393-3025.