Independent Day School Cares for Its Community

For immediate release:
December 8, 20OO
Tampa, FL

All schools teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, but at Independent Day School (IDS) some of life's most valuable lessons -- those that can't be found in any textbook such as generosity, responsibility for those less fortunate, and making your community a better place -- are as integral to the school's philosophy and curriculum as phonics and chemistry.
So on the morning of December 137 when the family vans and SUVs line up in front of the north Tampa school, dozens of parents will be loading more than an overwhelming amount of holiday gifts and toys into the trunks. They'll be piling in armloads of loves caring, and hope for mothers and children in need, and they'll deliver it all caravan-style to one of the largest and busiest domestic violence shelters in Florida -- The Spring.

For the eighth consecutive year, IDS families, teachers and staff are participating in The Spring's Adopt-a-Family program for the holidays by adopting 27 families including 55 children. Adopting an average of 25 families each year, the school's generosity and commitment has made it the single largest contributor to this program in the Tampa Bay area.

Since most of the families sponsored through this program have left the shelter and are starting out on their own again with nothing, their needs are so basic and "heartfelt," says Mabel Bexley, executive director of The Spring. These families really do count on IDS for its support -- and they receive it with abundance, she says.

Diana Metz, an IDS parent volunteer helping to coordinate the effort, agrees. Each year, requests for sheets, pots and pans, pillows, and towels, which don't seem like very festive holiday gifts, are common. "Last year, one family that was starting over asked for Christmas decorations, so we bought them a tree with lights and garland, and then each family in that class brought in a special ornament -- some with the children's names on them.

Regardless of the requests, says Metz, "Our families are overwhelmingly supportive of this project They look forward to it each year, and the children become personally involved helping to select gifts for the children in need."

"Our students understand that they have a responsibility to make a difference in the world -that people who can should do things that can change others' lives," says Fran Ehrlich, a second-grade teacher at IDS who, with former teacher Patti Dean, brought the program to IDS. 'this is a giving tradition that sets us apart from other schools in the community," says Dean.

"IDS students really get it," says Bexley. They really understand the spirit of giving They're infused with that love and it literally radiates from their faces."

"It's nice to help others," says eighth grader Alex Craddock "Helping those who need it makes me feel really g0~7~, says As classmate Adam Beeble.

"I feel proud because I'm sure she'll be happy with the gift we got'" says Richard Livernois, a second grader. His classmate Caitlin Hollander agrees. "I feel spectacular to give to other children who don't have something!"

Founded in 1968, Independent Day School is a fully-accredited, private, non-sectarian school located in the heart of the Carrollwood section of north Tampa. It serves 400 plus students in grades Pre-K through 8. At IDS, all children experience learning in a nurturing, caring, child-centered, and highly academic environment focused on excellence and developing a positive self-concept and high self-esteem.

Contact: Dr. Joyce Burick Swarzman, Head of Independent Day School
Telephone: (813) 961-3087