Back to the main Media page Innovative Schools Renew Mission to the Poor By Leigh Ann Roman, Our Sunday Visitor, 09.12.04 Creative new models are working by getting the whole community involved, collaborating Some pioneers in Catholic education are opening schools to serve the poor, refusing to follow the trend of closing schools for financial reasons. Such schools include the San Miguel Schools run by the Christian Brothers in Chicago, and the Jubilee Schools in Memphis, Tenn. Another model; Cristo Rey, focuses on offering Catholic education and acculturation to Spanish-speaking immigrants. When many religious orders left the schools in the late 1960s, Catholic schools had to develop a new economic model. Nationwide, one-third of Catholic schools have waiting lists and 123 Catholic schools were closed or consolidated in the last year, for a net loss of 45 schools, according to a report issued by the National Catholic Education Association in March. The recent push nationwide for parental choice in education and voucher programs in cities including Milwaukee, Cleveland and Washington, D.C., are good news for the future of Catholic education, said NCEA president Michael Guerra. "With the Supreme Court making it clear that the voucher program in Cleveland does not offend the U.S. Constitution, there is no constitutional obstacle against the government giving support to families. That's a landmark decision," Guerra said. Guerra also said that leadership, collaboration and community investment are key. Come to the Jubilee The Jubilee Schools have that combination. Since 1999, the Diocese of Memphis has reopened seven urban schools that had been closed for financial reasons. The renewal has taken place under the leadership of Memphis Bishop J. Terry Steib, S.V.D., and Catholic schools superintendent Mary McDonald. "The involvement of the laity, in collaboration with the bishop and that teamwork of lay people and Religious - that's the model for the future." The first Jubilee school was reopened in 1999, and about 800 students will attend the seven schools this fall. Funding for the project came from the multi-million-dollar gift from anonymous donors. Tuition is based on family income. The average family income of Jubilee students is $14,000; more than half receive scholarships of more than 80 percent of the approximately $4,000 tuition, McDonald said. Changing family trees Bishop Steib says Jubilee schools "are changing family trees." The schools are reclaiming families and neighborhoods, the bishop said. "We needed to bring what we were good at doing back into the city, and do that with the idea of helping to evangelize again," he said. "I did not want us to be opening schools out in suburbia and other areas while looking at closing them in areas where they are needed - not financially feasible but needed." Didier de Carvalho Aur, principal at Holy Names School, said, "If we can help these kids to graduate high school and get into college, we are already changing that child's life forever, because that child's children will follow in his footsteps." Many of the schools offer job training and literacy programs for adults, McDonald said. The schools also offer preschool and before- and after-school care. Many students come in performing well below grade level. But Jubilee students are already outperforming public schools in their neighborhoods by 25 percent, McDonald noted. "In another year, I'd put the children in the inner-city schools against any child in any school." Educators also are seeing major changes in children's behavior. "Many of these students come to us with two dominant emotions - fear and anger," McDonald said. "The intervention of the religious program has made all of the difference in developing the emotional and social skills needed." The involvement of religious orders also is key. The Christian Brothers, the Sisters of the Holy Family, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament - St. Katherine Drexel's order - and the Missionaries of Charity all serve in Jubilee schools. New wineskins For many orders, the schools offer a chance to reclaim the charism of imparting education, Steib said. "We want to make certain that these are Catholic schools with a religious heritage to them." The initial donation was used to establish a foundation that provides tuition assistance and covers any operational deficits. The diocese continues to seek additional funding. The goal is for the schools to become more self-supporting through stewardship and development. Aur, a CBHS alumnus and former admissions director of the high school, is secretary of the Blue Streak Fund, a community effort that was formed less than two years ago. The goal of the group is to raise one scholarship per school. Five scholarships have been raised so far. In addition to serving students in need, the Jubilee schools make a great difference in the lives of teachers and staff, Aur said. "My family now comes to Holy Names for church, and my kids received their first Communion here," he said. "We have grown closer, and I think they have opened their eyes a lot. We have become better people in the process." Christian Brother Ed Siderewicz, observing the burdens carried by both public and Catholic schools in his city of Chicago, said, "there is a recognition here that the old wineskins have blown apart and old systems are struggling." Brother Siderewicz should know. He is the president of San Miguel Schools, a program serving middle school students in the two neediest neighborhoods of the Windy City. San Miguel is funded by donations large and small. Most students pay just $30-$40 per month. Half of the teachers are "volunteers" who live in community and receive a monthly stipend. Established in 1995, San Miguel survives on the generosity of donors and the financial sacrifice of its teachers. About 45 percent of its income is derived from individual donations, 25 percent from foundations and 18 percent from corporations. Both San Miguel campuses have a 9 to 1 student-teacher ratio, a focus on reading that includes about 80 minutes of reading each day, parental involvement, a longer school day, and high school follow-up which includes tutoring, mentoring and tuition assistance. The schools follow the charism of St. John the Baptist De La Salle, founder of the Christian Brothers: "To give a human and Christian education, preferably to the poor," Brother Siderewicz said. Brother Siderewicz credits the laity with the schools' success and hopes their enthusiasm will rekindle interest in religious life. "These schools would not be open now without these young people, this explosion of the laity. These people are on fire with the mission," he said. Going public? The program has been so successful that it has been approached many times to run a public school. For the first time, Brother Siderewicz said, San Miguel is considering taking that on if they could runit as a charter or contract school and keep the Lasallian character. Because San Miguel has a longer school day, its attorneys are looking at whether the spiritual aspect of the program could be offered during the nonpublic hours, Brother Siderewicz said. No decisions have been made. Brother Siderewicz said the key to good education si for all parties to come to the table - public, private and philanthropic. "Can't we all put our gifts on the table and move the mission of education forward in this city?" By Leigh Ann Roman