From left, Gurtej Dhall, 11, who is in 6th grade,...

From left, Gurtej Dhall, 11, who is in 6th grade, talks with twins Yianni and Adelmo Petrakis, 11 and in the 5th grade, at Holy Child Academy in Old Westbury. (Feb. 1, 2012) Credit: Newsday/Karen Wiles Stabile

For the 9-year-old Sikh boy in a turban, the teasing by his public school classmates on Long Island was cruel and constant. Then his parents found a place where Gurtej Dhall wouldn't be taunted because of his religion: a private Catholic school.

The youngster says he's been embraced at Holy Child Academy in Old Westbury. On his first day there as a fourth-grader, at the suggestion of the school's head, he explained before the entire student body why Sikhs wear turbans and what their religion means.

"Before when I went to public school there were a lot of mean kids," said Gurtej, now 11 and in sixth grade. Holy Child Academy, he says, "is nice. You can express your religion."

His sister, Angelica, 13, is also happy there after being bullied at a public school.

Gurtej is among Muslims, Jews, Russian Orthodox and children of other faiths who make up about 20 percent of the school's enrollment.

Although urban Catholic schools often have large numbers of non-Catholic students, the situation is less frequent in affluent suburban areas where public school systems are well-regarded, said Brian Gary, a spokesman for the National Catholic Educational Association in Arlington, Va. Just 6 percent of students in diocese-run schools on Long Island are non-Catholic.

Embracing diverse faiths

Holy Academy, which was founded by lay people and nuns in 1959, is unabashedly Catholic, said the head of school, Michael O'Donoghue. But it also embraces a diversity of faiths and doesn't pressure the children to convert.

"Even now, we feel a little surprised when a Muslim child or a Sikh child or a Jewish child applies, because it's clearly a school in the Catholic tradition," O'Donoghue said. But "we are a Catholic school that is all-embracing, universal."

O'Donoghue said families also are attracted to Holy Child because of its academic excellence, small class size and values. One of four independent Catholic grammar schools on Long Island, Holy Child has 230 children from nursery to grade 8. Tuition is $17,500 a year and the school offers financial aid.

"When I walked into the Holy Child Academy I had a great feeling," said Zeina Safa, a professor of Arabic at Hofstra University with three children at the school -- Sophia, 6, Nora, 11, and Ryan, 12.

Upon meeting O'Donoghue, Safa said, "I mentioned we are Muslim and Lebanese. He said, 'Even better, because what we want to teach our children is tolerance and acceptance of people from other faiths and other religions and other cultures.' "

The school holds Masses and prepares Roman Catholic students for the sacraments of First Holy Communion, Reconciliation and Confirmation. While all students attend Mass, non-Catholics do not receive Holy Communion. They have the option of approaching the altar with classmates and receiving a "blessing" instead.

Many of the non-Catholics praise the school and feel accepted, though sometimes they have mixed feelings about religious practices they don't participate in.

Gurtej said he enjoys learning about Catholicism and thinks someday he might try to practice both Sikhism and Catholicism.

Sometimes feels awkward

But Alex Komolova, 14, an eighth-grader who is Russian Orthodox, said that while she generally loves the school, she sometimes feels awkward during Mass and religion classes.

"Everyone goes up for the bread [communion wafer] and I just feel uncomfortable with that because I don't do this ever," she said.

Safa's son Ryan said he finds religion class interesting because he learns about a faith other than his own. "Sometimes I get to talk about my own faith," he said, which makes the class even more stimulating.

O'Donoghue said he cautions non-Catholic parents that enrolling their children can present challenges. The younger ones may start to "mimic" Catholicism and stray from their own faith. But he said their presence enriches the school.

Recalling his own Catholic grammar school in Queens, where every student was Catholic, he said: "That led to a certain narrowness in thinking that any true educator would not want today."

Over the past year, Newsday has followed a pair of migrant families as they navigate new surroundings and an immigration system that has been overwhelmed. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports. Credit: Newsday Staff

'I haven't stopped crying' Over the past year, Newsday has followed a pair of migrant families as they navigate new surroundings and an immigration system that has been overwhelmed. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.

Over the past year, Newsday has followed a pair of migrant families as they navigate new surroundings and an immigration system that has been overwhelmed. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports. Credit: Newsday Staff

'I haven't stopped crying' Over the past year, Newsday has followed a pair of migrant families as they navigate new surroundings and an immigration system that has been overwhelmed. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.

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