Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School, an independent middle school serving low-income students and families in Richmond’s East End, will open its doors to eighty-four students in grades five through eight this fall.
The aim of AJC teachers, staff, and volunteers is to help change the trajectory of their students’ lives so that the opportunity for a better life becomes possible. “The mission is ambitious,” says Mike Maruca, who has served as head of school since its inception. “Many, if not most students come from challenging circumstances that are not easily overcome.”
Maruca says all students receive a full-tuition scholarship, although parents or guardians are required to “have some skin in the game.” This means parents or guardians must pay an enrollment fee, attend mandatory parent-teacher-student conferences twice a year, purchase their child’s uniform, and commit to supporting their child and the school to the best of their ability. For its part, Maruca point to elements of the school’s mission: to treat all families with respect from the moment they walk through the door; to provide the best education it can; and to not only help with high school placement, but continue to support students in the years beyond middle school.
Success stories from AJC are possible because of individuals and foundations that believe in the mission of the school and who are able and willing to help pay the cost of tuition for children who are not their own.
Please Support AJC’s School Supply Drive
AJC is in need of the basics: pencils, pens, marble composition books, backpacks, pocket folders for the eighty-four students enrolled for the 2014-2015 school year.
Donations accepted this month, nine to five, Monday through Friday at the following locations:
Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School (2124 N. 29th St.)
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (Grove and Three Chopt)
First Baptist of Richmond (Monument and Boulevard)
