‘PURE JOY, HOPE’
Opening of new school shows that persistence pays off
A ministry leader went into action when the closing of their neighborhood school left families crushed and charting unfamiliar territory in the predominantly Hispanic Shidler area of south Oklahoma City.
“It was just coming out of COVID, and our kids were so fragile and our parents, too, so this was just the most devastating thing that had ever, ever happened,” Sally Goin said of the Oklahoma City school district’s closing of Shidler Elementary in June 2023.
That devastation turned to joy with the recent opening of the Santa Fe South Shidler Elementary School campus. FaithWorks of the Inner City, headed by Goin, donated the land at 747 SE 15 for the school, while Santa Fe South charter schools, led by Superintendent Chris Brewster, built the four buildings that make up one of the newest schools in the Santa Fe South network.
Goin’s ministry has offered a free afterschool program for Shidler neighborhood students since 2003, and a variety of other programs for local families have been added over the years. At the dedication of Santa Fe South Shidler on Tuesday, the retired educator said it took much effort to get the school buildings completed, but FaithWorks, its close knit coalition of Shidler families, along with Santa Fe South leaders, refused to be deterred.
“Here’s what I’ve learned and what I love about this community: We never ever give up,” Goin said.
‘We are resilient’
As founder of FaithWorks, Goin and the Shidler neighborhood started their journey to open a new neighborhood school almost immediately after the Oklahoma City school district officially closed Shidler Elementary in June 2023, citing structural concerns with the building.
Goin said she and the school’s principal at the time, Armando Ayala, wondered how to proceed once Shidler parents said they liked the idea of a new school.
She quickly turned to Brewster and Santa Fe South for a solution.
Brewster said he knew about the Shidler neighborhood school’s fate, and he didn’t hesitate to help Goin outline a plan.
“We have had an affinity for this neighborhood for a long time and seen it through the FaithWorks integration where they’ve been faithfully serving here but didn’t ever know if we would have a school presence here, because they had a school,” he said.
The charter school founder said it essentially was a timing issue for Santa Fe South.
Goin agreed to allow Santa Fe South to build a new school campus on land where the FaithWorks thrift store was located.
Goin said she relocated the thrift store to another part of the city for the time being, and FaithWorks raised $180,000 to purchase additional land adjacent to the new school site.
Goin said she feels joyous as she sees students as they walk through the new school buildings.
“Last week, I drove back and forth two or three times, I’d see teachers leading kids from the classrooms, and I’ve never felt such joy, such pure joy and hope – great hope,” she said.