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| San Miguel Students showing their joy |
“The work of teaching is one
of the most important in the Church.”
~St. John Baptist De La Salle
The Miguel school system was established in 1993 with the sole
purpose of educating under-served children, focusing on students in middle
school. The system was named after St. Miguel Cordero, a Christian
Brother who dedicated his life to the education of poor Ecuadorians.
Here in Washington D.C., a Miguel school was established in 2002 as
an extension of St. John’s College High School with 8 students – San Miguel
School of Washington. It rapidly grew, and this past year the school
graduated its largest class of 23 students and currently has a total of
sixty-three Latino boys in grades six to eight.
All San Miguel students come into sixth-grade from DC public schools
and, on average, have reading and math skills of a fourth-grader. By the
end of their time at San Miguel as eighth graders, they are 100% proficient in
these subjects. This success results from their own hard work and that of
experienced teachers and tutors. Additionally, San Miguel, like
most Miguel-style schools, operates on an extended day and year-round school
program (200 school days vs. a traditional 160 days).
This hard work pays off - 98% of San Miguel graduates have either
completed their high school diploma or are in the process of doing so. The
graduation rate for Latino males in DC public schools is 46%. Clearly,
San Miguel and its unique style of education is paying off.
I love how there are programs like this in the DC area. I remember when I came in the U.S.A, I was put into a class called English as your Second Language (ESL). You had to keep taking it as adjunct to your other classes and it was meant to help improve ones English as well as other subject areas. And every year, students in the class take a test to test out. Until you pass the test, then you are able to test out of the class. The class really helps and is in every school even in universities. So I love how the Miguel school has the same agenda, because sometimes not being able to understand your classmates in conversations can get very depressing and can make especially immigrants with limited English feel as subordinates.
ReplyDeleteThanks patrick. Was this a repost of your work at San Miguel?
ReplyDeleteYes, this was a reworking for blog post about San Miguel that was featured on the blog of the Catholic Apostolate Center that was promoted by the school.
ReplyDelete