The Nativity School movement began with one school over 30 years ago and continues to spread throughout the country in response to the need for such schools in urban communities. The first Nativity School was opened in 1971 by the Society of Jesus in the lower east side of Manhattan with the mission of providing high quality education to at-risk, middle school age boys who had the potential to succeed academically, but who had no alternative to their troubled local public school. To make up for an average grade level deficit of two years exhibited by the boys, the school day was lengthened and the year extended. In addition, a graduate support system was established to follow graduates of the program through high school to ensure that the boys kept up with the study habits and work ethic instilled while at Nativity
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The effectiveness of the model was seen in the number of alumni graduating from high school and going on to college. Word spread among educators committed to providing children growing up in impoverished inner city neighborhoods with a high quality education, an education that helps break the cycle of poverty. Over time, new schools opened across the country using the same educational model and seeing the same positive results in terms of graduation rates.
Four years ago, the Nativity Network, as it was then known, combined resources with a similar group of schools, the San Miguel Schools, sponsored by the De LaSalle Christian Brothers. This combined NativityMiguel Network (www.nativitymiguelschools.org) currently has 64 schools around the country, educating 4,200 at risk students in 27 states. Several new schools are opened each year, coordinating with the Network to ensure programmatic and academic accountability.
Approximately 90% of the students attending NativityMiguel Schools qualify for the Federal Government's Free and Reduced Cost Lunch program, an indication that a family is living at or near poverty. Currently, 53% of the students are African American while another 37% are Latino. The average daily attendance level at member schools is 97%.
Noting that many inner-city schools have dropout rates of 50% or more, NativityMiguel model schools have succeeded where so many others have failed. Over 90% of the students who enter the NativityMiguel program end up graduating. Of these, ninety-two percent (92%) go on to graduate from high school, as compared to the national rate for African-American and Latino students of 55%. Of those who graduated from high school, ninety-six percent (96%) enrolled in a two or four-year college this fall. And they are successful there as well.
In total, over 60% of the 8th grade graduates of the Class of 1998 progressed through high school and graduated from college in a conventional eight years, compared to the national average of 21% ever graduating for low income students.
