Jackie Echavarria, mother of two graduates from The SEED School of Washington, D.C. (SEED DC), joined the SEED community 25 years ago. As a parent from SEED’s first graduating class, she discusses her journey with SEED and why—a quarter century later—she chooses to stay involved and feels, “…SEED has a solid foundation and is something great to support.”
I learned about SEED from my daughter, Sophia, in 1997. After a SEED representative visited her elementary school, she was dying to enroll at SEED. But because SEED was a new idea in our community, I needed to learn more about it. So together we went to the Children’s Museum on a Sunday afternoon, and we met Raj, Eric, and Lesley. After their presentation, we agreed to give SEED a chance and applied for the lottery. I can remember Sophia saying, “See mom! I told you this was great.” She was really hammering it in.
I have always wanted my children to get what they desired, and because I knew how much enrolling at SEED meant to Sophia, I prayed that this door would be opened for her. I had a sticky note in my minivan that said, Pray for Sophia, and every day, I would look at it. When Sophia’s lottery number was called, it was such a relief! And two years later, our son Julian was enrolled at SEED, too.
As SEED began to serve students in our community the road was a bit bumpy—there were kinks that needed to be worked out. But we hung in there, and they figured it out. I felt comfort in knowing that they were doing everything that they could in service of our children. I always had a million questions, and they always had answers to put my mind at ease. And to support the process, I volunteered as much as I could. I wanted to be a partner. Lesley has told me that “I never lost faith.”
Twenty-five years later, I am still grateful for our SEED experience. My kids enjoyed it, so I enjoyed it. They received a stellar education, graduated college, traveled, and met people from all over the world. Today they are both thriving.
I invite the community to look at SEED’s track record; it speaks for itself. They have planted seeds in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Florida, and now California, and these seeds have grown and are taking root. SEED’s students and graduates are excelling—their positive impact is undeniable.