Back to the main Media page Driscoll Drive Boosts Futures for City Kids By John Barrett, Addison Press, 09.30.04 Most investors would probably take 350 percent growth in their portfolio over seven years. That is the kind of increase organizers of the school supply drive at Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison say they are seeing in their inventories. And in this case where helping others, not profits, is the goal, the greatest returns will not be found on any financial statement. "One of our religion classes at Driscoll came up with the idea and I thought it was a pretty neat thing," said Assistant Principal Mike Neis. "It just keeps growing, pretty much by word of mouth." The program began in 1997 to help students at the San Miguel School at Damen Avenue and West 48th Street, in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood. Like Driscoll, San Miguel is a private coeducational school run by the Lasallian Christian Brothers religious order. Unlike Driscoll, San Miguel students live in neighborhoods filled with abandoned buildings, high crime rates and income levels so low, not one student fails to qualify for the federal subsidized lunch program, according to Neis. The first year of the program, Driscoll collected supplies such as colored pencils, looseleaf paper, scissors, and rulers for about 40 students in third through fifth grades. With the addition two years ago of a second San Miguel School in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on the city's west side, the number of students needing help grew. There are 17 San Miguel Schools operating across the country. Couple that with growing student interest and several sizeable donations from parents, Neis estimates supply packets will benefit about 180 San Miguel students in Chicago, Montana, and Tucson, Ariz. Driscoll students also benefit from the program, however. They receive service hours for their participation and all students at DCHS must complete at least 12 service hours per year, Neis said. Then there is the bond that develops between the older and younger students. Junior Meera Advani is one of those students having participated in the school supply drive since her freshman year. She also takes part in weekly visits Neis coordinates with staff at San Miguel. At those visits, DCHS students will do things like play Scrabble games, give help with math, shoot baskets or just talk to the younger students. Advani said she has always had an interest in Medicine, with a possible emphasis on cardiovascular study. She added that since she became involved in visits to San Miguel, she may change her focus to pediatrics. "I like working with kids - they really enjoy our visits" Advani said. "They don't live or go to school in the greatest neighborhood, but they are really doing a great job at the school." Kathy Donohue is another person who knows the value of such a program. A teacher of religion and English at Driscoll from 1997 to 2003, Donohue now teaches fifth-grade reading, social studies, and math at the Austin school. That school is known as the Gary Comer Campus, named in honor of the Lands' End founder who donated $3 million to get the school going. "We try to cover everything we can at San Miguel so our families pay only about $300 per year per student in tuition," Donohue said. "What Driscoll's efforts do is allow us to free up funds for other areas. Last year was tremendous. Shelves at both schools were filled to the rafters with items Driscoll gave us." One of the areas San Miguel can place funds is in their libraries. That area of a school has perhaps a bit more significance for San Miguel students, who have an 8 1/2 hour school day year-around, compared to Driscoll's 7 hours and 55 minutes. Included in a San Miguel student's day is 80 minutes of concentrated reading. There is also two hours of mandatory after-school mentoring and tutoring. San Miguel also has a relatively low (9-to-1) student to teacher ratio. Many San Miguel students have been dismissed by public schools because of behavioral or academic issues, Neis said. Despite that, the results from this formula are positive. Donohue said that in areas of the city where the high school dropout rate reaches 70 percent, 82 percent of San Miguel students move on to high school, mostly private ones like St. Joseph's in Westchester and St. Patrick's, De La Salle, and St. Ignatius in Chicago. The first graduates from the Back of the Yards San Miguel school are now juniors at colleges like Lewis University in Romeoville. Neis added that discussions have recently begun about creating scholarships for San Miguel students to attend Driscoll. Aside from word of mouth, perhaps the most effective method of generating interest at Driscoll has been at the first liturgy of its school year, when Donohue and a few of her fellow staff members spoke. A few San Miguel students also came along, spending part of their day shadowing Driscoll students. "These visits give our students the idea that somebody else out there is concerned about us, gets them interested in high school and beyond," Donohue said.