Photogragh by Jacqueline Ramseyer
A New Beginning: Yolanda Uribe (center), with her two sons, Nico, 12 (left), and David, 8; sits in her WG home. Yolanda also has a 13-year-old daughter named Naomi. Nico started attending the new Sacred Heart Nativity School Aug. 22.
New Catholic school for boys with academic needs opens near WG
Middle school was the vision of parish pastor Father Mateo Sheedy
By Kate Carter
Nico Uribe was excited about his first day of sixth grade at the new Sacred Heart Nativity School Aug. 22. But he wasn't as excited about his school uniform.
"I don't know about that," Nico, 12, said, mulling over the new navy blue pants and gray polo shirt he has to wear.
Uniform aside, he said he's happy to be starting a new academic career at a school specifically designed to set young men like him, who are at risk of not graduating from high school, on a path to college.
Nico is one of 20 sixth-grade boys who showed up last week at the renovated private Catholic school, 310 Edwards Ave., at Sacred Heart Parish. None of them have attended a Catholic school before, said school president, Rev. Peter Pabst, S.J., and the first day was a lesson for him as well as them.
"I just taught my first religion class," he said. "Only two [of the students] have had some religious instruction. I've got to make sure I get it right. And they can't read my handwriting!"
Pabst is a Jesuit priest who helped realize former parish pastor Rev. Mateo Sheedy's dream for the school, after his death last fall. The Society of Jesus, or Jesuit order, is known for its more than 400 years of emphasis on education, especially in high schools and universities, and Pabst has taught high school theology.
Nativity schools, though, are the order's recent effort to help middle school students in urban areas who don't have many social or economic opportunities. The Sacred Heart Nativity School is the 10th of its kind and is among 40 schools that have adopted the model across the nation.
The first Nativity School was founded by the order in 1971 on the lower east side of Manhattan, N.Y. It provides day-long supervision and instruction to 20 at-risk male students in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, for very low tuition. Since its inception, 79 percent of its graduates have attended high school, and 80 percent of those have gone to college.
Sheedy came to Sacred Heart Parish in 1988 and noticed a need in the community for a better educational foundation. He surveyed residents in the Washington and Gardner neighborhoods that his parish served and found that only one person in 100 living there had graduated from college, Pabst said.
"The national average is not much better for Latinos," Pabst said. "[Sheedy] really thought the education of kids was vitally important. Without education, these kids would never make it."
Then the Loma Prieta Earthquake hit Oct. 17, 1989, and destroyed part of the church that was built about 100 years ago. Sheedy led a fundraising effort that brought in $1.5 million to renovate the church, Pabst said.
Sheedy continued to consider ways to help his community succeed in school. He approached parishioners two years ago with the idea of starting a Nativity School to operate out of the parish's old school building that was rented out to adult and early childhood education programs since the Catholic school closed in 1970. Nico's mother, Yolanda Uribe, was one of those Sheedy asked for input.
"It was a really great idea, especially if they were willing to help kids who need help in regular school," Yolanda said. "They want to help children who need the help."
The boys who attend the Sacred Heart Nativity School arrive at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast, provided by Martha's Kitchen next door. The school day runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes lunch. After a half-hour break, volunteers from the Jesuit Santa Clara University and local Catholic high schools lead the boys in sports and other activities from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Volunteers also assist them during a study period from 5 to 6 p.m. Then the boys go home to have dinner with their families.
They also spend two Saturdays a month at school, receiving extra instruction in math and reading and going on field trips. The students will attend five weeks of summer school at the Jesuit high school, Bellarmine College Preparatory, as well as two weeks in the summer at a rural camp near Auburn, Calif. Most schools are required to offer 180 days of school a year; Sacred Heart Nativity will offer 235 school days. Tuition costs $480 a year, and the school relies on grants and private donations.
"It's a very intensive intervention program," Pabst said. He also said it's designed for children whose standardized test scores are below the 50th percentile of the national average.
Photogragh by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Getting Ready: Yolanda Uribe puts the finishing touches on son Nico's school uniform by putting on a capular of the Virgin of Guadalupe that was purchased by his father.
To recruit students, Pabst and school Principal David McDonough approached nearby public elementary schools, Gardner Academy, Washington Elementary and the Washington Youth Center, and asked for recommendations of youth considered to be the greatest risk of not graduating from high school. They also made announcements at the parish during Mass.
Yolanda said she heard about the realization of Sheedy's idea for the school at a Mass in March. The following Monday she picked up an application, and by Wednesday she had submitted Nico's name, academic record and teacher recommendation for admission to the forming school, she said.
Nico was a student at River Glen School in Willow Glen and would have been returning to the K-8 bilingual school for sixth grade this year. But he was struggling in reading and math, having trouble focusing and getting into trouble at school, Yolanda said. Nico also has heart problems--he had open-heart surgery as an infant and must have another surgery to repair holes in his heart in the next few years. She wanted him to raise his grades so he won't fall too far behind academically when he has the surgery.
Nico was the first student chosen to attend the school, a fact that Pabst announced at Mass and that made Nico and his family proud. Most of the other 19 students are also members of the parish from the Gardner and Washington neighborhoods.
The school is located on the second floor of the old school building on the church site that has been updated to house, eventually, 60 middle school boys. Pabst said the school will add a new sixth grade class for the next two years until it has complete classes in all three grades.
"We're creating this culture here, which is really exciting," he said. He added that the Catholic Diocese of San Jose is looking for a sponsor to start a similar girls' school in the near future.
The school is staffed by only five people, three of whom teach classes. Pabst teaches religion, McDonough teaches social studies and science, and Susana Azevedo teaches English, Spanish and math. Karry Porcaro is a Jesuit volunteer who has committed to helping as a teacher's aide and coordinating the afternoon activities for a year in exchange for room, board and a small stipend. Rose Jimenez is the school's receptionist.
Yolanda said she, is a little worried about the long hours her son will spend in school. But she can already see a change in Nico after the school's recent preparatory summer school.
"Just from the two weeks in summer camp, he's talking about going to college," Yolanda says. "He says he wants to be a lawyer."
Nico moved from Willow Glen to downtown San Jose last year, with Yolanda, his father, Prudencio, his sister, Naomi, 13, and brother David, 8. Yolanda said she plans to volunteer for the school, serving meals at lunchtime or in any other way that can help. She is a stay-at-home mom; Prudencio works as a laborer for a plumbing company.
Yolanda said she would like Nico to attend Bellarmine College Preparatory, if he works hard and Bellarmine establishes scholarships for the Nativity school boys. She hopes that her younger son, David, could also attend the Nativity School. David is doing well in school and entering second grade at River Glen this fall.
The school is hosting a liturgy and blessing by Catholic Bishop Patrick McGrath, who oversees the Catholic Diocese of San Jose, as well as tours of the school, on Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. For information, call 408.993.1293.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
