St. Florian students Beckah Dejanovich (left) and Jamie Nazimek bring Jesse Terrazas tacos for lunch. Terrazas has been dressed as Santa on the roof of St. Florian since Dec. 7 in an effort to raise money to keep the Catholic elementary school in Chicago’s Hegewisch neighborhood open.

St. Florian sixth-graders Jamie Nazimek and Beckah Dejanovich dream of being able to graduate from their grade school.

In an effort to make their hopes a reality, Jesse Terrazas sits, sleeps, and dreams on the roof of the only Catholic school in Chicago’s Hegewisch neighborhood. Dressed as Santa and living on the school’s roof continuously since Dec. 7, Terrazas, the parent of a St. Florian sixth-grader, dreams of a “Christmas miracle,” where another $25,000 in donations comes in, which would allow the school to hit its fund-raising goal and remain open.

“We need to keep this school open,” Terrazas said. “It has been a part of the community for 107

years. We had financial struggles and challenges last year. After Thanksgiving, we started to think about ways we could help this year.”

Terrazas said he and his wife came up with the idea of him camping out on the roof last year, but didn’t present it to other parents. An hour into this fall’s meeting regarding fund-raising, the Terrazases sprung the idea on their peers.

“I’ve got everything,” Terrazas says of his daily routine which has teachers bring him coffee, his wife bring him lunch and parish families bring him dinner and treats. “Pretty soon, I’ll be able to fit in the Santa suit without the layers of clothes underneath!”
The school raised $55,000 in multi-year pledges last year and already has $30,000 in hand-in donations this year. That leaves just $25,000 more for the school to get to the required $110,000 to stay open.
St. Florian principal Krista Wilkinson said the school is important not just for the 98 students enrolled, but for the area as well.
“It is extremely important that the school not close, not just for our kids but our gym is used by 40 different teams,” Wilkinson said.
She noted that teams from South Chicago and northwest Indiana use the gym and would have no place to go if the school closed.
Wilkinson said being near the Indiana border, a state that offers school choice, is a detriment for St. Florian. She said the school used to get a lot of northwestern Indiana students before parents could use vouchers to pay for their children’s education in private schools in Indiana.
She said having Illinois go to a voucher system would be a boost for high-performing schools like St. Florian.
“People have to pay tuition and then turn around and pay the tax bill for public schools,” Wilkinson noted.
Beckah Dejanovich of Hegewisch is the youngest of five girls who have all gone through St. Florian.
“All four of my sisters graduated from here. It would mean a lot for me to be able to graduate from here,” Dejanovich said.
Her classmate Jamie Nazimek, also of Hegewisch, has an older brother who went through St. Florian and is now studying to be a surgeon.
“They are looking to raise the money now to stay open two more years,” Nazimek said. “We are in sixth grade now. So we would be in eighth grade and graduating. That is my dream: to graduate from here.”
People looking to help the school stay open can send checks to: St. Florian School, 13110 S. Baltimore Ave., Chicago, IL 60633 or donate online at www.gofundme.com/savestflorianschool.