If you are looking for a true-to-life, inspirational children's book, you will find it in “The Little School of Hope,” written by Sister Mary Dooley, SSND. This story recalls the memories of a young migrant girl named Esperanza and the school that brought her HOPE. Through her storytelling, Esperanza opens the eyes of the reader to the plight of thousands of children who have followed the migrant stream. The story and the illustrations are meant to bear a striking resemblance to the actual events and people who brought this little school to life in Indiantown, Florida.
Sister Mary Dooley's ministry has been the life-long focus of promoting education, especially among immigrants and the disadvantaged. This pursuit has brought her to the high bush country in Liberia, West Africa; the inner city of Boston, Massachusetts; and the rural town of Indiantown, Florida. Educating children from remote villages, gang and drug infested cities, and rural areas to take their rightful place in society has been her passion and has earned her the title of Hometown Hero and an Honorary Degree in Humane Science from Simmons College in Boston.
Sister Mary Dooley served for many years as the director of Hope Rural School, nestled among acres of citrus groves, cane fields, vegetable farms, ranches and nurseries in Indiantown. Migrants and immigrant farm workers have called it home for decades and continue to claim it as a refuge from the economic hardships and civil wars in their own countries. Indiantown welcomes a diverse population of people from Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the United States.
Founded and incorporated in May of 1980 as a 501 (c) 3 entity, Hope Rural School has as its mission to educate primarily, but not exclusively, children of migrant/immigrant farm worker parents. The doors opened in August of 1980, and 30 children in kindergarten through the second grade filled the one-room school, housed in the then recently constructed Holy Cross Parish Hall.
Hope Rural School has been enriched over the years by the dedication and commitment of many communities of women religious. The School Sisters of Notre Dame, the Religious Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters of Charity from Cincinnati, and the Sinsinawa Dominicans have infused the mission with their own charism and ministry, allowing children to flourish in a nurturing environment.
The school has grown into a fully accredited institution offering classes to 122 students in Pre K through Grade 5 and a student population representing a diversity of cultures from several countries, including Guatemala, Mexico, Haiti and the United States. The sisters and staff have enabled hundreds of young people in Indiantown to reach the fullness of their potential as individuals created in God’s image and have assisted them to direct their gifts toward building a more just and humane society.
Hope Rural School continues to support, guide, and encourage the entire family through the education of children, parenting classes and English classes for adults, and enables graduates to seek a future full of hope through advanced education.