Agency Details:

Zion Preparatory Academy

Zion's mission is to ensure academic excellence in a supportive Afro-centric, Christian-based environment.
The mission of Zion Preparatory Academy is to ensure academic excellence in a loving, supportive environment where every child receives individual attention and instruction.

The founders' vision was to provide an open-door policy, welcoming children who, for lack of financial resources and/or a nurturing support system, could not attend a traditional private school. Zion Prep does not require that a child pass admittance tests to be accepted like other private schools. On the contrary, Zion accepts every child who wants to attend.

At Zion Prep Academy, it is our goal to help students realize their fullest potential, achieve personal integrity and become responsible, contributing members of society.

Description:
Zion Prep espouses a simple philosophy: every child is somebody to be loved, to be taught, and to be valued as a unique individual.

Zion Preparatory Academy bases its educational philosophy on the belief that each child can only reach his or her full potential as a knowledgeable, rational and moral member of society through an education that addresses the “whole self.”

Zion Prep is unique. It is a private school but unlike other private schools, we don't pre-test and 2/3 of our funding comes from community support.

Over the past 20 years, Zion Preparatory Academy has consistently developed a nurturing, educational environment to serve the children of Rainier Valley and the Greater Seattle area. We offer a unique opportunity for the area’s African-American youth to grow and learn to their potential in a family, Christian-based environment.

History:
Seattle Pastor Eugene Drayton noticed a need among the youngest children in his community - they could barely read their lessons during Sunday school.

Dissatisfied with the children's underutilized potential, he approached local school administrators. Their explanations lacked solutions.

Pastor Drayton decided to listen to his instincts, which told him that many Seattle children are not able to flourish in a standardized public school nor able to afford a traditional private school education.

He had the dream and the will to change the future for these children.

With $13, six students, and one teacher, Zion Preparatory Academy was founded in 1982.

Contact people:

Susan Brown, Program Manager, (phone), (email) Alana King, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (206) 760-9490

Address:

4730 32nd Avenue South Seattle, WA 98118 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.zionprep.org

Directions:

Nearest Bus Stop: 42

Last updated on February 14, 2009