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FSPA leave legacy of learning in David, Kentucky

There's only one exit from a "holler" in the foothills of the Appalachians. Unlike a valley, a holler is surrounded by hills, leaving only one escape route. But, because of the dedicated ministry of two sisters, the youth living in the hollers of David, Ky., have found another way out. It starts with an education.

Sister Emma Kriz served at The David School for a total of 23 years as a teacher, principal and mentor.

Sisters Emma Kriz and Mary Myron Stork recently retired from The David School, which offers an alternative education for students who have fallen behind in traditional public schools. Set at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, an economically depressed region, the school gives high school children a chance to finally learn how to read and write, how to complete math problems, and perhaps most importantly, how to secure a prosperous future for themselves and their families.

Between them, Sisters Emma and Mary Myron have devoted 43 years to The David School, working in various roles. At the end of the last school year, they both retired from their work, but their legacy lives on in the children they've helped.

In her first years at the school, Sister Emma says she was passionate about helping the students, and the adults at home, learn to read. She says at one point, 18 of the 25 students at the school were reading at less than a fifth grade level. "The majority were from extremely poor families," says Sister Emma. "It wasn't a shock after the first few times, to go to a home and find dirt floors. It wasn't a shock anymore to go to a very dilapidated place."

All told, Sister Emma worked at the school for 23 years, serving as principal for a decade, as well as teaching, fundraising and mentoring. During her tenure as principal, The David School received national honors, including "A Point of Light" designation by former President George H. Bush. But the biggest achievements of her tenure may have gone unnoticed, as they were in a series of small, daily battles the school faced in an effort to grant the children of Appalachia a promising future. She secured government funding for the school, developed a high school curriculum, obtained textbooks for the students, and established a class on women's issues. She also started the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) at the school, a project that gave students hands-on experience to develop skills they could apply to a job after graduation. And, to ensure seniors would know how to put together a resume and apply for jobs correctly, or attend post-secondary school or enter the military, she spearheaded the "Keys Program."

"If they didn't want to go to school, they had to go to three job interviews," Sister Emma explains. "We followed up on them to see if the place had an opening whether the business would hire them."

Sister Mary Myron Stork worked with students at The David School for more than 20 years.

The legacy she leaves is obvious at the school, and remains a powerful influence on the lives of the students she embraced. "I was exceptionally pleased when I found out these two children from one family I worked with ended up getting really good grades," she says. "They moved from that area to Louisville and went to the school there, their mother let me know they were the top students in their classes . . . so I knew it was worthwhile to do all this work."

Sister Mary Myron Stork worked at The David School for 20 years, a career which started at the urging of Sister Emma. "When I got there, things were pretty primitive," Sister Mary Myron remembers. "Most of these kids were from hollers and they lived with their grandparents and they were very clannish. After I was there 20 years, I could see a difference in that they came out of their hollers and after going to college they would try to get a job."

Sister Mary Myron started as a literacy tutor at the school, and eventually also taught art classes. She says in the beginning, many of the students at the school didn't have college aspirations, and didn't look for work. "They just did like their fathers and grandfathers did. They have rocking chairs on their porches, and they sit and watch the world go by." Sister Mary Myron explains that the town of David was a remnant of the coal mining era. When the market for coal declined and workers contracted black lung disease, families resorted to living on the welfare system. For the children of the area, it was a way of life; the only way they'd ever known to "make a living." The David School's charge was to change the welfare culture, a lofty goal that started with education.

"One thing they got was help," explains Sister Mary Myron. "They said teachers wouldn't help them if they didn't understand something. (The students) say that . . . . they would never have made it in the public school if they didn't get the help they got here."

Sketch of The David School

That help sparked student interest in mechanics, woodworking and carpentry, welding, education and even office work. "We teach the kids life skills," explains Sister Mary Myron. Those life skills include more than marketable job qualifications, they also encompass the domestic sciences: cooking, nutrition, and menu development, and even cleanup.

Sister Mary Myron says she's seen a number of changes at the school in the time she worked there. One of the biggest improvements is the addition of an educational tool many of us take for granted: computers. The school now has a computer room, and there is a computer in every classroom. In addition, there is a telephone/intercom system.

Last year, 22 seniors graduated from The David School, and discovered a new way of escape from a life of welfare and substandard housing in the economically depressed hollers of Kentucky. For Sisters Emma and Mary Myron, watching their students become successful is the only validation they need.

"For me, it was the most rewarding thing that I ever did in my life," says Sister Mary Myron. "They always say, 'if it weren't for you, I would have never graduated. You taught me how to read.'"

"I hope I helped them realize that education is very important, that in order to succeed in life, you need an education," says Sister Emma.

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