Judging from comments by readers, the importance of the Rapoport Academy can’t be underestimated in this community, both as an incredibly successful public charter school and an anchor for revitalization of the Paul Quinn Campus in East Waco.

If nationally known urban planners such as John Fregonese are excited at East Waco’s potential in the coming decades, one factor has to be the vitality that the Rapoport Academy injects into the area, a part of our city that has suffered through years of neglect and poverty. In that sense, all ought to join Rapoport Academy’s “renovation rally” marking the formal beginning of renovation of Grant Hall, a 54-year-old, 16,500-square-foot men’s dormitory on the Quinn campus. When finished, the once-derelict structure will house a dining hall and creative arts facility for Rapoport Academy middle school and high school students.

Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy, who has helped lead local efforts to bolster both Rapoport Academy and East Waco, and U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, who sought funding for work at Quinn Campus back when many leaders were content to ignore it, will lead the rally, which begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at the campus, 1020 Elm Ave.

The rally comes as school officials, including board president Trey Schneider, seek to raise funds to complete renovation costs for the $1.1 million project. About $750,000 has been raised through private grants, federal funding and other sources, including $250,000 in federal block grant money approved by the City Council. However, school founder Nancy Grayson says friends of the campus seek to close the gap from private sources.

“We don’t want to go into reserves, which we keep for possible situations such as the air conditioning going out, or take out a loan, which isn’t really good for a nonprofit,” Grayson told us. “We try to be very fiscally responsible, especially since we get no facility funding (from the state).”

Fortunately, she said, folks in the community have been mightily impressed by previous campus renovation efforts.

Beyond that, Rapoport Academy maintains rare excellence in its educational mission. We suspect some of that stems from Grayson’s absolute insistence on parents spending an hour each night either reading to their children or having their children read to them. Parents are also required to spend an hour on campus each semester, helping as a teacher aide, toiling in the garden or doing campus fix-up.

Dr. Sid Jones, a longtime supporter, tells us Grayson was particularly overjoyed once upon learning the parent of one student had just gotten out of jail because, she said, “she still owes us an hour of duty on campus this semester!”