Pleading For School Money Through Dreams And Song -- Central Area Zion Preparatory Academy Appeals To Corporations For Contributions

Corporate Seattle heard one child say he wanted to become a lawyer, another a policewoman and a third "the first black president" of the United States.

The children, dressed in maroon school uniforms, were members of the Zion Preparatory Academy's 60-voice choir. Yesterday morning they sang and related their dreams to nearly 1,000 people at a breakfast in the ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel.

The breakfast included a video about the Central Area private school and ended with a well-orchestrated plea for help: Teachers, though dedicated to helping students realize their dreams, have to live, too.

That's where corporate Seattle was told it could help - by contributing to teacher salaries, employee health and medical benefits, and the school's other operating costs.

It may seem strange that so many high-powered types turned out on behalf of a relatively small school, but not when you consider Zion's reputation for improving the self-esteem and academic achievement of African-American children.

"Zion works," observed Seattle businessman Bob Dorse, a longtime critic of the Seattle School District's desegregation efforts.

"It's a great place," said insurance broker John Meisenbach, who has visited the school and been impressed by its positive atmosphere.

Doug Wheeler, Zion's principal, told the audience the school's success lies in its family-oriented approach to teaching basics, with an emphasis on "values, respect, love, caring and giving."

Many of its children are youngsters others had given up on, Wheeler said. Two-thirds are from single-parent families; 20 are in foster care. But "when they hit Zion," he said, "all labels are removed."

"We've done well, but now we need help, and that's why you're here today," the principal said.

The plea for donations also came from some of the city's heavy business hitters, including Jack Creighton, president of the Weyerhaeuser Co., and Meisenbach, who is chairman of the 2-year-old Zion Preparatory Academy Foundation.

Until last year the $175-a-month tuition for each student allowed a teacher a salary of $1,650 a month without benefits, Creighton said. The foundation raised $500,000 (nearly $1,000 for each of the 550 preschool-through-eighth-grade students) to provide a $2,000-a-month salary with benefits.

Now the goal is to continue that $1,000-a-child subsidy through a Zion Scholars Program. Creighton asked fellow business leaders to agree to contribute $1,000 a year per child "for a year or longer" and to consider a $20,000 one-time gift to establish an Endowed Zion Scholars Program.

Until the foundation was formed two years ago, Zion parents, teachers and students sold candy and soda to help defray costs, Wheeler said.

Founded in 1982 by the Rev. Eugene Drayton, pastor of the Zion United House of Prayer, Zion Academy has grown from 13 students to more than 500. It has leased the former St. Mary's Catholic School at 620 20th Ave. S.

With the help of the foundation, the school last year obtained 7.2 acres for $1.6 million at 4730 32nd Ave. S., including a one-story, 55,000-square-foot building, where it hopes to move next fall.

Drayton, still the school's chief administrator, said the move would allow Zion to grow to 700 students and eventually expand to include high-school grades.

Anyone wishing to donate to the school should make checks payable to Zion Preparatory Academy, 620 20th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98144, or call 322-2926. For more information about the foundation, call Terry Axelrod, foundation director, at 467-6635.

Yesterday's breakfast was sponsored by Weyerhaeuser and 19 other companies and individuals.