Connie Geromichalos called me Friday night with the good news.

St. Cyril's, the little Catholic school that could, will be open for another year and has a hold of a financial lifeline that could keep in open for years after that.

It all started with a letter from Connie's son, Tommy, asking the Make-a-Wish Foundation to keep his financially-troubled school from closing down.

It was a wish the foundation couldn't grant but Tommy's letter inspired a grass-roots movement to save St. Cyril's.

Tommy's original wish was for the school to stay open long enough for him to graduate from the 8th grade. He will do that this June.

But then, younger classmates, Connie told me, started asking her son, "Can you save the school for me too, Tommy."

To which her 14-year-old would reply: "I'm doing the best I can."

Friday, Connie reported Tommy's delight, and her own, that a group of business leaders have stepped up to the plate to once again to save the school, maybe for years to come.

Tommy has cystic fibrosis, for which there is no cure. His efforts, and everyone else's, to save St. Cyril's, are a balm for the cynical and a reproach to quitters everywhere.

It's a kid, a school and a story that keeps on giving. And teaching.