When the Dinuba Church decided to help the Rodriguez family send their daughter to the local church school, the church members knew it would have a positive impact. But they did not know how central God’s timing was to their decision. Mrs. Rodriguez had recently been baptized, and the church offered a scholarship to send her daughter to the K-8 Dinuba Junior Academy. The scholarship was specifically for parents who had recently become members of the church.
The Dinuba Church pastor told Mrs. Rodriguez about the opportunity, and she agreed to send her daughter to the school. What the church didn’t know was that at the time Mrs. Rodriguez’s daughter was having difficulties in her schooling. She was struggling to keep up with the other students in the public school classroom.
“She decided to give our school a chance because they had just told her they were going to move her daughter from the regular classroom to a different classroom—she just wasn't moving at the same rate as everyone else,” explained Shirley Toews, member of the Dinuba Church.A learning environment
Mrs. Rodriguez’s daughter began attending the Adventist school in sixth grade, and her learning disability was quickly addressed in a way the other school hadn’t been capable. Mr. Hendricks (Evan Hendrix is a former teacher/principal of Dinuba and now is a principal/teacher of Peninsula Adventist School for over two years), took an interest in her and was able to see her potential. The program the principal used tested each student to see what grade level they were at, then he would make a plan to make sure they moved to the right grade level.
“He would tell her, ‘If you do these assignments, you can be caught up.’ And she did them,” explained Toews. “Not only that, he also got us to have a music program at the school. We had a band and she taught herself the flute. She was very talented with that too. She ended up being in an environment that helped her develop.”
After she graduated from the eighth grade, the school continued working with her. They helped by securing a scholarship for her and helping her during high school. She went on to graduate valedictorian from her class at the military academy because of the continued support from the Adventist community. She is now a freshman at Pacific Union College pursuing a pre-medical degree.
The value of a good education
She is not the only one in her family being impacted positively by the Dinuba Junior Academy. Her two younger siblings are also now attending the school and are in fifth and seventh grades. The family was even baptized into the Adventist Church, each making a decision to follow God. “The principal said, we’re going to save this family,” explained Toews. “The girls were baptized, then the father was baptized during the time they were students at our school.”
Mrs. Rodriguez pointed out that one of the outstanding pieces of the Adventist education at Dinuba Junior Academy is how clear it is to her that the teachers actually care about the students. The fact that they have gone out of their way to help her children succeed has shown that the Adventist education is valuable.
“They never felt like the teachers at the public school were able to give their children a good education,” explained Toews. “And they were not exposed to a good environment and good teachers.” This has made them grateful for the valuable education being provided at Dinuba Junior Academy.
Mr. Rodriguez was originally not in favor of sending his kids to the Adventist school, but his childrens’ experiences changed his mind. He now serves on the school board, is a member of the church, is active in the Adventist food pantry, and has even enrolled the children in the Pathfinders club.
Toews added that the value of Adventist education cannot be overlooked. The impact of the Adventist grade schools throughout the conference is significant and powerful. “I just know that if parents give it a chance, they'll be glad they did.” she added. “Because it is a smaller classroom, they get to lead out and do more and develop their skills. And they have the positive influence of the teachers. They're able to accomplish more because of that. The standards we have at our church schools are higher.”
