By Kate E. Salute
Growing up in Queens, Obiol always wanted to live in a place where it would be safe for her children to walk to and from school with friends. "I never had that," she said. When she moved to Malverne seven years ago, Obiol thought it would be the ideal place to meet those needs for her children.
As she got acquainted with the close-knit community, Obiol began to notice that Malverne parents were sending their children to private schools instead of the public schools, and she began to wonder why. A year ago she recruited fellow Malverne resident Josephine Bottitta to find out if there was a reason for the trend.
Bottitta's oldest son, Justin, 5 1/2, attends Maurice W. Downing School kindergarten, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Bottitta speaks of Frankie's teachers and the education he is receiving as if Downing is in the Ivy League of elementary schools, and her excitement is infectious. When she talks about the assembly Justin was part of and the special calls from teachers to let parents know how their sons and daughters are doing, to let them know the progress the teachers are seeing, Obiol, a teacher herself, lights up.
Obiol¹s sons, Jack, 3, and Justin, 1 1/2, are not yet in the school system, but after researching her options and hearing such great testimony to the quality of education, she looks forward to enrolling her children in Downing. "I can't wait," she says.
The two women decided that a survey would be a good way to find out the reasons why Malverne residents weren't sending their children to Malverne schools. Bottitta came up with the name Project Enroll Now, and Obiol's husband, a lawyer, helped set up the legal framework for the not-for-profit.
Obiol and Bottitta made up a survey, and recruited another Malverne mother, Gina Gentilella, to help. Obiol sparked Gentilella¹s interest at a Mothers of Malverne meeting. Gentilella has two sons, Frankie, 4 1/2, and Luke, 8 months. She is gearing up for Frankie's first day of school in the fall, when he will also attend Downing. "I just kind of latched onto them after the Mothers of Malverne meeting," Gentilella said with a big smile.
It took three months for the threesome to produce the survey, mail it out and read the responses. They were able to get addresses of fellow Malverne residents with the help of Patricia Murphy of Village Realty.
Their suspicions were confirmed in the responses they received. More residents have been utilizing the area private schools than the public school, Bottitta said, many saying that it was due to a lack of Malverne residents in the public school system. Obiol, Bottitta and Gentilella then realized their mission: "To promote the social welfare of the Malverne community through the support of charitable, educational, scientific, literary and cultural opportunities within the community and, more specifically, to promote public education in the Malverne community by creating a parental networking organization in support of the Malverne school district."
"We want to bring [residents¹ schoolchildren] back to Malverne," Obiol said.
After brainstorming, the three decided that their efforts would be most fruitful if they targeted parents with young children, like themselves, who haven't yet made up their minds about where to send their children. In addition to alerting residents about upcoming registration dates at the monthly village board meetings and at Mothers of Malverne meetings, they have organized play groups for children who will attend Downing in the fall.
Timing is important, and the three women have the play groups planned for the next couple of years, based on the conveniently staggered ages of their own children. Last year's play groups were run by Bottitta, since her son was already attending Downing. This year's groups are run by Gentilella, whose son will be a Downing student in the fall (see sidebar), and next year's will be run by Obiol.
Now, at the beginning of their second year of play groups, Project Enroll Now has already begun to see the effects of their work. "They had to add another kindergarten class at Downing," said Bottitta.
"It's like this great secret," says Gentilella. "Everyone knows it's there, but they just don't know how good it is."
Echoed by Obiol and Gentilella, Bottitta offered the message, "Don't abandon the schools."
Comments about this story? KSalute@liherald.com or (516)569-4000 ext. 205.
