I first came across San Miguel School back in 1996 when I was on an assignment for the Chicago Tribune, which was profiling the school for an upcoming article in the newspaper's Sunday Magazine.  Back then, San Miguel was a young and hopeful school run by Brother Ed, Gordon, and their cadre of educators.

I was a young California suburban kid who spent very little time outside of the West Coast.  I had just taken a staff job at the Tribune and moved myself to Chicago, a strange and fascinating city for me.  So when I was given the assignment, San Miguel and the Back of the Yards neighborhood was about as exotic of a place as I had ever been to.

My original plan was to spend a few days with Brother Ed and his fellow educators, hang out a bit in a few classrooms, and maybe take pictures of the communal dinners inside the St. Michael House where the teachers were living.  But as I got to know and admire the teachers and students, I soon found myself spending a lot more time at San Miguel.  A few hours turned into all day and all night.  And a few days eventually turned into a month.  I remember moments when I became such a fixture in the classrooms that students would ask me for help on their classwork!

Over the years, I would occasionally find myself at San Miguel, either just to say hi, or to donate my time and take more photographs for the school.  And since my first visit, this little hopeful school had moved twice -- first from the dining room inside the St. Michael House, then to borrowed classroom space inside St. Joseph School a few blocks away, then finally to the school's current location at the corner of Damen and West 48th Street.  And it's now exciting to see the San Miguel model extended in the Austin neighborhood with the creation of the Gary Comer Campus.  

But besides the expansion of its physical space, the evolution of its student body and its alumni is what really impresses me.  It's no secret that the Back of the Yards is a tough place for a child to grow up.  I remember in the early days of the school when the teachers' hopes were for their students to make it past San Miguel, avoid trouble, maybe even graduate high school. 

But now, I hear news of former San Miguel students who have gone on to college and have successful careers.  The students today, who were either babies or not yet born when I started shooting pictures of the school, now are scholars with well-worn decisive paths to college.

Check out a  slideshow of John's photos from 1996 to today.