Escuela de Guadalupe gets newly renovated playground on 10th anniversary

By Erika Palma

From a child’s perspective, the best gift is something to play with. To celebrate their school’s 10th anniversary, the children of Escuela de Guadalupe weren’t disappointed—they got a newly renovated playground.

The private Catholic dual-language school located in northwest Denver celebrated its first decade on Sept. 11. The afternoon ceremony included a blessing of the new playground by Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Founders of the school—including Jesuit Father Tom Prag who was among the first to propose the innovative school—and benefactors joined graduates, students and their families, faculty and staff for the joyous occasion.

Escuela offers kindergarten through fifth grades and boasts an enrollment of 112 students—
its largest to date and a 20 percent increase over last year’s. Half of its students are native English speakers when they begin, and half are native Spanish speakers. Committed to excellence, the school strives to have all students emerge with full literacy in all subjects in both languages.
“It is an education that recognizes the dignity of the children and their families,” David Card, president of the school, told the crowd. “One that allows the children to grow in their faith and self-identity.”

The unique school was nearly forced to close its doors for good last June. Thanks to timely support from some new benefactors, however, the school has emerged stronger than ever.
The faculty strives to transmit Christian values as they form the future leaders of tomorrow, said Card. He thanked the archbishop for his vision and for his support of the school’s mission.
“Schools are places where we teach children, but children also teach us,” noted Archbishop Chaput. “We can’t enter the kingdom of God unless we become like the young people seated in front of us here.”

Fifth-grader Connor Jones gave a speech about the importance of the playground. Following his remarks, Archbishop Chaput drew chuckles when he gently joked, “Was his accent English or Spanish?

The archbishop drew more laughter when he declared that had he attended a dual-language school like Escuela, he would likely be able to speak both English and Spanish today and would be better equipped to serve the growing Hispanic community, which makes up 52 percent of the population in the Archdiocese of Denver.

Card told the Denver Catholic Register that the $150,000 playground project has been a long time in coming. The school raised all the funds for the project two years ago but other financial considerations put the project on hold until this summer.

“One hundred percent of our families and students contributed to the campaign for this project,” Card said, “so I am thrilled that their patience is finally paying off.”

The party really started when the traditional Spanish-language birthday song, “Las Mañanitas” was sung, followed by children shrieking and laughing as they hurried to try out the playground equipment.