In February 2005 it appeared that St. Sebastian School in West Los Angeles might close. In early March, the possibility became a likelihood, because of declining enrollment, the high costs of needed refurbishment and maintenance, and the possibility of future indebtedness.

To Joan Payden, that was not acceptable.

"My brother and I are members of St. Sebastian Parish," says Payden, president of Payden & Rygel Investment Group, a global investment management firm, and an ardent supporter of Catholic education. "We are very attached to the small community and the simplicity. When I heard that the school might close, I mentioned I might be able to help. This started a chain reaction."

And what a chain reaction it has become, as evidenced by the fact that, within days, St. Sebastian School is beginning the fall 2005 semester still open, with an increased enrollment, a totally refurbished school plant with new textbooks, and a future.

And, a new operating policy that may become a model for other Catholic schools.

Feasibility study

The transformation began when the archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools (DCS) contacted Catherine Carvalho and asked her to be a site administrator while a study was conducted to evaluate whether the school would remain open.

Payden, meanwhile, invited another parishioner to get involved and brought in a co-worker, and met with DCS staff to learn more about education and what it took, in this day and age, to keep schools operating successfully. She joined others in spending many hours working at the school on weekends, taking those who visit for tours, personally cementing tile around a new student drinking fountain, and sweeping floors.

"I thought it was a shame to close it," explains Payden, who made sure that educators participated in refurbishing the school. She monitored the renovations, and mainly provided financial and other support needed to re-imagine the school. Each classroom was renovated with new lighting, plumbing, painting, furniture, and more storage space. Renovation of the school kitchen, acquisition of new computers and textbooks, and re-wiring of the school have made a difference.

The school will open with a new Pre-K program and the entire curriculum of grades K-8 has even had a facelift with the addition of more fully developed art and music programs. Smart board technology was brought into the school and white boards were installed in each classroom. Sound proofing of classrooms means students will have a quieter learning atmosphere, one less affected by street noise.

New benches, bulletin boards, faculty room and improved learning spaces have made the school into near state of the art. New uniforms have been designed by Uniform B, a uniform company that has custom made student uniforms, and each student enrolled in the fall will receive eleven pieces of school uniform at no cost to the parents. Sewn on each uniform item is the school's motto: With God All Is Possible.

New administration

Says Carvalho: "Joan is a very avid learner of what education is all about. She is interested in every child."

As the efforts to save St. Sebastian School gained steam, Carvalho's role changed from site administrator in charge of closing the school to oversight administrator of its refurbishment and makeover. It was, she smiles, meant to be a short-term job (February until August) and it has ended with hope for all those involved in a school that is greatly loved.

A new principal, Cort Peters, has been named for the 2005-2006 school year, as a new St. Sebastian School opens with a new way of operation. Rather than be limited by parish boundaries, it will be a Catholic school within the archdiocese overseen by an eight-member Governing Council, who have played active roles in its makeover. They include former St. Sebastian pastor, Paulist Father Gil Martinez, and Kathleen Damisch, Elementary Supervisor for the Department of Catholic Schools.

Many others have caught the enthusiasm of Carvalho and Payden. "All of a sudden they got in the spirit of things," smiles Payden.

St. Sebastian has become a hands-on school. It began during the eight-day Easter break following the closure study, when Payden came to the school armed with construction workers who put in a new commercial water heater, painted, and began remodeling the school. New lighting followed and a re-imagined governance structure was born.

Boundaries were stretched in looking at ways to re-imagine St. Sebastian School. It will not be the financial responsibility of the parish and will still remain a Catholic school within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Membership on the governing council includes the former pastor, Catholic educators and Department of Catholic Schools personnel, which will ensure the Catholicity of the school and provide the support to ensure the mission of the school.

"A new concept arose to allow this to be the prototype of a charter school, still under the archdiocese, but governed by a lay council and not connected with any parish," says Payden. "I later found out that this concept is beginning to take hold around the country." It has taken the leadership of Catholics who love their parish and church enough to stretch the boundaries to turn a school closing into a school re-opening.