Marva Collins Preparatory School in Silverton (Tony Jones photos) | ZOOM |

        Cleaster Whitehurst-Mims had a vision to create a continuous school environment that challenges children academically, grooms them morally and offers a nurturing, loving staff who will students to succeed.

        But it's hard to solidify that environment in a 7-hour school day, said Ms. Whitehurst-Mims, founder of the Marva Collins Preparatory School.

        She is adding a boarding school this fall to her fourth- to eighth-grade private school campus in Silverton.

        “Really, it was a dream of mine, an outgrowth of seeing so many children whom we had started out with who were returning to families that were not supportive,” said Mrs. Whitehurst-Mims, a former high school teacher, now teaching communications full time at Xavier University.

        Marva Collins Preparatory School caters to mostly low- to middle-income families. Nearly 90 percent of the students are African-American.

Cleaster Whitehurst-Mims in a dorm room with (from left) Asha-Ana Thomas, 12; Emmanuel Huff, 12; and Ayana Carson, 10. The rooms will be open for tours Sunday. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        The curriculum is based on the principles of educator Marva Collins, who more than 25 years ago founded Westside Preparatory School in Chicago. Her philosophy was to take children considered unteachable and turn them into scholars.

        Mrs. Whitehurst-Mims adopted that concept to create a similar school here. However, she and her staff say, that education and support must go beyond the average school day.

        “What we have seen up to this point is we are giving students — from the moment they come in, to the moment they leave — the idea that they can be leaders,” said teacher Clairie Huff-Franklin, who has worked at the school since its opening. "But then sometimes they go home to a contradictory environment.”

        The boarding school will offer after-school enrichment activities, character education, three meals a day, sports, and round-the-clock attention and guidance, Mrs. Whitehurst-Mims said.

        The tree-lined school site, tucked away at the dead-end of Belkenton Avenue, calls to mind Ivy League schools. Its red-brick, three-story building is already outfitted with nearly 50 bedrooms, its beds covered with colorful spreads.

        The school will eventually have room for 75 boarders.

IF YOU GO

• What: Open House for Marva Collins Preparatory Boarding School.     • When: 2 p.m. Sunday.     • Where: Olivet Baptist Church, 6838 Montgomery Road, Silverton. Parade to follow to school site at 6760 Belkenton Ave., Silverton, for ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. School tour at 4 p.m.     • Featuring: Dr. Walter E. Williams, syndicated columnist and professor of economics at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.

        “I feel that by keeping these children here, I can raise their academic ability, their attitude, their moral character,” she said.

        The first Marva Collins Preparatory School opened in a Silverton church basement in 1990 with 43 students. The school relocated to Roselawn in 1993; but by 1996 had expanded to 185 students, necessitating more space.

        That's when, Mrs. Whitehurst-Mims said, destiny brought her to the former St. Theresa Home, a nursing home at 6760 Belkenton Ave.

        The Marva Collins students had taken trips to the nursing home to write biographies about the residents. While there, Mrs. Whitehurst-Mims mentioned fleetingly how the home would make a beautiful boarding school someday.

        When the building came up for sale, she was one of the first contacted.

        The school opened last year, housing fourth- to eighth-grade day students. Next year, Ms. Whitehurst-Mims hopes to add 25 boarding students to the 252 day students already enrolled at the two campuses.

        Kourtnesha Anderson, 12, of Avondale, attended Marva Collins last year and said she wouldn't mind being one of the boarders.

        “This school is blessed,” she said. “God gave Mrs. Mims a talent she didn't know she had until she opened a school. ... If I lived here, this would be a good experience for me.”
       

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