Cold winter temperatures and the threat of rain did not discourage Adelante Charter School students from giving it their all at the school’s annual jog-a-thon fundraiser held Wednesday.
With rosy cheeks and the promise of orange wedges and Popsicles awaiting them, more than 200 children and parents ran in hopes of raising much-needed funds for their beloved school.
“I love this school!” beamed first-grade parent Elena Angeles. “Adelante feels like a private school to me, because of the high expectations held for the students and the teachers are amazing.”
Angeles spends a lot of time helping in her daughter Ava’s classroom, and is impressed with her progress.
“She’s reading chapter books in Spanish and she’s reading at her level in English,” she said. “And I really think these teachers are here because they want to be here, and they give it 110 percent. At first it was really hard, but then I saw how the kids were learning and learning and I thought, this is exactly what I want for my child.
“Ava is already thinking, ‘Mom, I want to teach there, and maybe I can become the principal!’”
Adrienne Koroshec, the mother of a second-grader, busily marked out laps on the children’s number tags. This is the family’s first year at the school. After two years at Roosevelt, Koroshec transferred her son to Adelante because she wanted him to have the opportunity to become bilingual.
She said this first year has been challenging, since she doesn’t speak Spanish, so she can’t help him much with his Spanish homework. However, she’s happy with how much he is learning and her younger child will be entering kindergarten at Adelante in the fall.
“Listos!” the next group of children shouted to announce they were ready to burst out of the gates.
Adelante hopes to raise $10,000 this year, to help support its science and technology programs.
— Sheila Cullen is a board member of Adelante Charter School.
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