New York Nativity Centers

New York Nativity Centers (NY Nativity) are a group of three "Nativity Model" Jesuit middle schools which cater to students from families of extreme poverty in various neighborhoods of New York City.

The model for the schools is the Nativity Mission Center (NMC) on Manhattan's Lower East Side which was founded in 1971. The school has demonstrated success in bringing students from a public school environment where they were performing below grade level to a point where they are at or above grade level in Math, Reading, and Language Arts. The alumni of these centers have gone on to graduate Brown, Cornell, Fordham, Villanova, Columbia, Bucknell, Amherst, Holy Cross, and Boston College, among others - almost all of whom are first-generation college students.^[1]

The "Nativity Model" consists of a three separate but interrelated programs: a middle school program with extended after-school hours and an extended school year, a mandatory Summer Leadership Program focusing on character building and continued education, and a Graduate Support Program providing academic support and tuition assistance to alumni in high school.

This model has now been replicated in 60 communities around the country, now joined under the national Nativity-Miguel Network. Two of these schools include St. Ignatius School (SIS) in Hunts Point in the Bronx and Brooklyn Jesuit Prep (BJP)in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

In 2007, SIS, BJP, and Manhattan's NMC combined under the name New York Nativity Centers.

The Nativity Model

The concepts and ideals of what makes a Nativity school are simple:

• Essentially a middle school
• Quality education: academic, physical, social, moral and spiritual development
• Student body made up of young people from low-income urban families who would not otherwise have access to such an education
• Extremely low tuition so that our families can contribute
• Faith-based curriculum
• Small class sizes
• Single-sexed classrooms
• Extended school day
• Extended school year
• High amount of parental involvement
• Mandatory Summer Leadership Program with integrated curriculum
• Academic and overall support during the high school years

Values

The values that have inspired the Nativity model include a respect for the dignity and potential of each person, a responsibility to assist the poor and those in need, a strong sense of community, and the obligation to promote a society bolstered by social justice. Nativity accepts all students without regard to race, color, religion or ethnicity.

References

1. ^ An Evaluation of Students Attending Nativity Mission Center: 2008 School Year. Philliber Research Associates, Sept. 2008. Accord, NY.