Success in college depends on success in high school; St. Andrew Nativity in Portland, Oregon, is one of the Jesuit middle schools preparing students, including Musu Ofusu (opposite) for the rigors of a college prep education.
Success in college depends on success in high school; St. Andrew Nativity in Portland, Oregon, is one of the Jesuit middle schools preparing students, including Musu Ofusu (opposite) for the rigors of a college prep education.
"What are the Five Jesuit Characteristics?" If you ask any student at St. Andrew Nativity School in Portland, Oregon, that question, the answer will come back rapid fire: "open to growth-intellectually competent-loving-religious-committed to justice!"
These aren't mere slogans that the student will parrot; they are principles that embody a unique approach to education at St. Andrew and that are to be lived by students there throughout their lives.
"The characteristics of the individual who attends a Jesuit school are literally the first words prospective students hear at orientation," says Fr. Jeff McDougall, SJ, principal of this Jesuit middle school of 57 students. "From the day students walk through the doors as sixth graders, the characteristics become a part of their common language. You'll hear students say 'Let's be more open to growth, people,' or 'You're not being very loving.' These virtues really have become a part of our school culture."
And McDougall makes it nearly impossible to forget the Jesuit characteristics. "They're posted in every room, even above the drinking fountain. At the morning assembly we try to have a skit or presentation that reinforces at least one of the characteristics," he says. "Students earn weekly 'Virtue Awards' based on them. Every teacher uses the Jesuit characteristics as a lens for planning lessons."
story by Madeleine Brink and Tom Lankenau, SJ, photos by Tom Lankenau, SJ
On the wall across from the drinking fountain is another reminder. Five certificates mounted on brightly colored construction paper honor the Students of the Month. Each award cites the specific ways the student has displayed the characteristics.
St. Andrew is a young school, founded in 2001 by the Jesuits of the Oregon Province. As one of over 50 Nativity-style schools across the country, it offers students of diverse faiths and cultures a tuition-free education in a rigorous and loving environment.
"St. Andrew also offers hope," says school president Loretta Wiltgen. "Eighty percent of our student population wouldn't graduate from high school if left in the public system. They need the discipline, structure, and individual attention that we provide," she says. "We can't reach every child, and that is the saddest part of my job. But to every student who walks through these doors I make a promise: 'We will not abandon you. We will do what is in our power to help you succeed.' "
This is a powerful promise, and, like the Jesuit characteristics, it is empty unless lived. Yet, from the time students arrive at 7 A.M. for breakfast until 5 P.M. when they complete afternoon study hall, from the summer academy to the eighth-grade Washington D.C. trip, the promise is backed by committed teachers, benefactors, and a myriad of volunteers. The promise does not end when the eighth graders walk out the doors three years later. St. Andrew employs a counselor whose job it is to assist grads with high school placement and to monitor their progress throughout high school. "A college prep high school is hard enough academically," says Wiltgen. "Now add the one- to two-hour commutes, poverty, and unstable home environments that our graduates experience daily, and high school can quickly feel more like a burden than a blessing.
"The support is manifested in many ways-help with a job application, arranging a tutor, even buying clothes for a dance or interview. But the message is the same: someone cares for you, someone believes in you."
Elaine Ford, a guidance counselor at Jesuit High in Portland, is among those believers. Four years ago, when the first St. Andrew graduates arrived at Jesuit High, she was there to help them make the transition. "It's not easy to come from a school that has 20 students per grade level to 300. But the students from St. Andrew have been taught to ask for help and spend the extra time that they need to get the work done," she says.
Madeleine Brink serves St. Andrew Nativity as administrative assistant and graduate support assistant.
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Tom Lankenau, SJ, the socius of the Oregon Province, taught for two years at St. Andrew Nativity.
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Just as the newly arrived ninth graders had to adjust to their environment, Ford also entered into the world of the St. Andrew grad, like the time she accompanied a student to the doctor. "As we drove, he talked about how the buildings and houses looked so different from where he lived and how he had never been that far outside Portland ...
When I brought up high school football, I couldn't get him to stop talking. He knew every statistic on every school in the Portland area. That was the start of conversations that have lasted for four years."
While the horizon for St. Andrew Nativity's graduates is bright with possibility, what illuminates their paths are not promises of wealth or fame but the witness of their own lives.
Upon leaving St. Andrew every graduate receives a candle. Hand painted by seventh graders, they are inscribed with a line from the Gospel of Matthew: "Let your light shine." The candle is a reminder that though one's world may be darkened by poverty and brokenness, our light-the divine spark of goodness dwelling within every person-is not extinguished. Every person has the potential to brighten the world. Powered by knowledge, love, service, growth, and faith, our light can make a difference. 
The commitment, the monitoring, and the hard work has paid off. This spring, 16 of the first 22 St. Andrew Nativity students, the class of '04, graduated from high school.
The diplomas these scholars held high with pride are more than recognition of their academic achievement. They testify to a past promise kept and a horizon bursting with possibility. The journey that these four St. Andrew Nativity grads began seven years ago continues.
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Raphael Lambert heads to Boise State on a football scholarship. |
Raphael Lambert will be seeing first-hand the blue "Smurf Turf" of Boise State's football stadium. The scholarship he received to play ball there was the fulfillment of a dream.
But evading lurching linebackers proved easier than passing math in his high school, Jesuit High in Portland. "At first I really struggled," he reflects with his trademark mile-wide smile. "But when I realized how much everyone at Jesuit wanted me to succeed, I knew I could do better."
Raphael knows that playing under a top university program could be a ticket to the NFL; he also knows that life is not just about football. "Sure I'm a great athlete," he says, with no hint of boastfulness. "But I want to be known as a scholar first." He can see himself as an accountant and maybe a volunteer coach.
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Tanika Russell-Gums sees a nursing degree in her future. |
The journey also continues for Tanika Russell-Gums. After St. Andrew, she attended De La Salle North Catholic High and interned one day a week to help defer tuition. Her experience at a humanitarian foundation taught her the relationship between education, attitude, and success in the workplace, and she also saw how the foundation practiced the principle of "committed to justice."
"The organization was a lot like St. Andrew. It acted like a bridge that helps people cross from need and desire to achievement. I learned that I could be a bridge builder. Just as people helped me, I want to help others," says Tanika, who plans to major in nursing at Concordia University in Portland and eventually to operate a neighborhood health clinic.
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Ramazan Muhammed envisions opening a health clinic in Rwanda. |
For Ramazan Muhammed, his journey continues at the University of Oregon, where he also hopes to play basketball for the Ducks. Ramazan is not deterred by the challenge of making the team-he has confronted larger obstacles than that.
When he was four, the world as he knew it was torn apart by genocide in Rwanda, his home country. Forced to flee, he and his family settled in Portland. The "open to growth" characteristic was one Ramazan quickly discovered. "I'd never attended school or eaten at a McDonald's or did the things that American kids take for granted. St. Andrew helped me to take risks. I learned that if you don't try new things, you're going to miss a lot in life."
Ramazan's desires are as tall as he is. After college he wants to return to Rwanda and open a health clinic. He speaks of helping children whose own lives have been shattered by war and violence. "I hope I can teach the kids to have aspirations so that they can take care of those they love and care about."
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Laura Beltran-Aispuro is the first in her family to graduate from high school. |
The journey also continues for Laura Beltran-Aispuro, the first high school grad in her family and the first Hispanic-American girl elected to the student council at her school.
"My goal in life is to be a youth advisor," says this bright-eyed eighteen-year old. "St. Andrew Nativity definitely taught me that it all starts with the youth." Laura's Catholic faith has helped her to realize that though "things don't always go as planned," she is not discouraged by twists and turns in the road. "God has a bigger plan than any 'big' plan I might have," she says, as she prepares to go to George Fox University in Portland.