Report to the Community 2018-2019 Board of Trustees William T. Kosturko, Co-Chair Barbara L. Pearce, Co-Chair Sarah Davis, Secretary Paul K. Sullivan, Jr., Treasurer Allison Rivera, Academy President Jay Bowes, Academy Founder David M. Brown Hart D. Caparulo Leo Connors John J. Crawford Robert F. Curis Robert Davis Timothy Donahue Michael F. Dowley Elizabeth Fisher Julius F. Friese Eugene W. Harris Ronald LaMorte Julia McNamara, Ph.D. Patricia A. Mason Michael McClammy Paul Morris Sandra Nelson David I. Newton Sr. Sheila O‘Neil, ASCJ, Ph.D. Dan Rubino Mary Ellen Ryder Brian Skinner Mary E. Seligman, M.D. Gerald Whittaker Dear Friends, I’d like to thank all those who support Saint Martin de Porres Academy (SMPA). It is obvious that you care about our world and that you desire for your contributions of time, talent and treasure to have an impact on the lives of others. Every dollar you invest in our school goes directly into changing the very trajectory of the lives of the students who we serve. Your support helps us to change bleak, inner-city youth statistics into possibilities and promise. I believe you share our goal to provide urban boys and girls the opportunity to choose a quality Allison Rivera education that will allow them to fulfill their full potential; the strong moral education that many President of us were fortunate to be afforded. We share the belief that the zip code a child is born into should not define or confine their lives. We promote more than academic excellence – we cultivate personal responsibility, social skills and leadership, balanced with a solid spiritual foundation and a recognition of the need to serve others. What a powerful message of hope! Your support unlocks the doors to opportunities for children who need it most; doors that would otherwise be closed and locked tight. Every day is blessed with daily examples of how our students are developing their unique gifts and talents to make their community a place of justice and peace. Within these pages, we are proud to share some of their many accomplishments with you, because you are what makes this possible. We feel immensely grateful and very blessed to have the support of so many in our community! With grateful appreciation, Dear Friends, As long-time trustees of Saint Martin de Porres Academy, we both agree that the school is one of those places where it feels like you get more back than you contribute. Volunteering for a nonprofit can sometimes feel like you are working in the abstract raising money. You hope it is put to good use, but you don’t always see the end result. SMPA is concrete; you actually transform lives and you get to meet the children whose lives you are transforming. William T. Kosturko Trustees actively interact with the students of SMPA, attending concerts, serving as reviewers Co-Chair at their annual scholarship renewals, participating in special readings and presentations of Saint Martin de Porres medals at graduation, even leading Co-Curricular Activities and coaching. Our Board is one of the most hands-on, hardworking, committed group of people with whom we have ever worked. Together, with the incredible support of a network of people and organizations across our city and beyond, we have been able to double the commitments to our Capital Campaign over the past year while continuing to raise the crucial day-to-day funding that keeps the Academy running and fulfills our 12-year commitment to our students in high school and college. Barbara L. Pearce Co-Chair This report celebrates the work of all the hands that make the mission of Saint Martin de Porres Academy possible. We are grateful to the many volunteers and organizations who partner with SMPA to provide opportunities for our students, to the extensive lists of individual, corporate and foundation donors who contribute. On behalf of the staff, students and our fellow trustees, thank you! With gratitude, 1 Honor Code I am a child of God. I will be truthful, honest and respectful. I will work to the best of my ability to develop the talents that God has given me. I will endeavor to share my gifts and talents to make my family, my school and my community a place of justice and peace. “In the future, it will be our students at the forefront of education and social justice because they have been the agents of change in their own lives.” - Dr. Kelly O’Leary, Principal Mission Vision Our Promise Saint Martin de Porres Academy Saint Martin de Porres Academy Our strength is our 12-year is a faith-based, NativityMiguel works to break the cycle of commitment to support each middle school that provides poverty through education and student academically, socially, a tuition-free, extended day opportunity. Our goal is to emotionally and financially education for underserved girls provide urban boys and girls the along with our unwavering belief and boys from low-income opportunity to choose a quality in their unique gifts, talents and families in the New Haven area. education that will allow them to potential. Our promise is that We are an independent Catholic live up to their full potential. At our students will emerge as young school committed to a belief in the Academy, we promote more men and women of competence the dignity and worth of every than academic excellence - we and compassion, with a person. We strive to provide each cultivate personal responsibility, commitment to engage with child with a promising start in social skills and leadership, the world and exert a positive life and to equip them to fulfill balanced with a strong spiritual influence. their academic potential while foundation and a recognition of achieving spiritual and social the need to serve others. maturity. We welcome children of all faiths, races and cultures. 3 Joyful and Rigorous Classroom Learning SMPA middle school students are in school 50% more time than their public school peers, because that’s what it takes to prepare economically disadvantaged students for successful lives. We combine the experience of long-time educators with the energy of young AmeriCorps Teaching Fellows, placing two adults in each class of approximately 16. Lessons incorporate hands-on learning activities, and each child is expected to participate actively in class discussions. This model provides the challenge, support and encouragement students need. They begin to see themselves as students who can tackle academic challenges and ask for help when needed. Our trauma-informed curriculum is student-centered and rich in fostering a foundation in the 21st century skills of communication, collaboration and critical thinking. Formal instruction to prepare our students to attend rigorous college preparatory high schools begins in grades 7 and 8 when students are introduced to the culture, expectations and language of higher education in their graduate support class. Regular meetings of teachers with the Principal and the Social/Emotional Support Team help grow our staff ’s proficiency in providing a trauma-informed education and allows for time to develop targeted strategies to meet students’ individual needs. Our focus on each individual child has powerful results. 97% Daily attendance 98% Year-to-year retention 99% High school graduation 100% College acceptance • Play one or more musical instruments • Attend numerous cultural offerings including museums, historical sites, symphony, choral and theater productions • Shadow students at area college-prep high schools 100% • Spend a week living, working and learning on a dairy farm in Vermont of SMPA Students • Write and deliver a speech to the school community annually • Participate in arts and service clubs twice weekly, including Drama, Girls Tech, Peace and Justice, Boy Scouts, Art, Gardening and Interact 5 New Opportunities, Growing Confidence Jalanni, Class of 2023, is attending Canisius College on a full-ride scholarship for basketball. He is a Division 1 B C Forward and was part of the College 2019 MAAC All-Championship Team. Jason, Class of 2022, a Business Major and Oprah Scholar at Morehouse College, was thrilled to meet Winfrey, who believes, “Education is the key to unlocking the world.” Jenasia, Class of 2021, D a Chemistry Major at UConn-Storrs, was awarded the Ulrich Müller- Westerhoff Scholarship for her commitment to Chemistry and participation in research. 1. A class trip to Niagara Falls is an opportunity to explore scientific concepts in a hands-on environment. Students who are actively engaged know themselves better and make friends more easily. 2. Learning to garden teaches students where their food comes from as well as helping them to become good stewards of the Earth. 3. Spending a week on a Dairy Farm in Vermont builds community while developing a knowledge of how to make cheese, apple cider and maple syrup. 4. Combining geography and art to gain a deeper perspective of people and places. 5. Acting as historians by observing and participating in Colonial-Era role playing activities at Sturbridge Village fosters critical thinking and brings to life the study of our country’s early history. 6. Exposure to non-traditional urban sports such as golf, lacrosse, baseball and field hockey prepare our students to join teams at college preparatory C high schools. 7. Working on DNA sequencing in the lab at the Quinnipiac University Frank H. Netter School of Medicine ignites a passion for careers in STEM. E F G H 7 8. Learning to read and play music helps students develop unique talents and interests, builds confidence and improves learning, while cultivating creativity. 9. The “SMPA Welcome” fosters a warm atomosphere for students and guests while teaching respect and the importance of being an ambassador wherever you go in life.