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EDITION 66 Página 15
LATINO EDUCATION - SOLVING THE HIGH DROP OUT RATE A School That The Cleveland Public School System Would Rather Have You Not Hear About
Our History, Our Promise & Our Results Since our inception, Saint Martin de Porres High School has delivered on its promise to provide students of modest means with a collegepreparatory education aimed at helping young men and women develop the habits of mind and spirit that will enable them to be successful in college and in life. Since the school’s founding:
6111 Laushe Avenue Cleveland (216) 881-1689
A nurturing community has been established which enables students to reach their full potential. A results-oriented 21st century curriculum has been created and implemented with great effect by a skilled and dedicated faculty.
100% of Saint Martin’s 128 graduates have been accepted at over 80 colleges and universities across the country and have received roughly $3M in grants and scholarships. Saint Martin de Porres High School welcomed its first students in the fall of 2004, and graduated its first class in June 2008. All 128 graduates were accepted to at least one college or university and this year’s graduating class will also have 100% college acceptance. We are a member of the Cristo Rey Network, which began as a single Jesuit school in Chicago in 1996 and now consists of 24 schools in urban areas across the country. Each Cristo Rey school features a unique Corporate Work Study Program, which provides students with an opportunity to work in professional settings five days per month. Students acquire marketable skills and develop relationships with professional mentors through this program. Through this program, students also contribute over $2 million per year to operate the school. Saint Martin is endorsed by the Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. We are located at East 61st and St. Clair in the former St. Vitus school
Hope for Cleveland’s Future
Heritage Spanish Class at Saint Martin de Porres High School Heritage Spanish Class at Saint Martin de Porres: How the idea of creating the Heritage Spanish Class occurred? Saint Martin de Porres High School has a small number of Latino students who were either born in a Spanish speaking country or in America to parents of Latin descent. While working with these students in their basic Spanish classes and the Spanish Club, we began to realize they were not being challenged, nor were their talents being fully utilized. We also noticed our Hispanic students felt a significant amount of pressure to be perfect in their basic Spanish classes, which often resulted in feelings of frustration and resentments towards the Spanish language. We wanted to show the students how to use their anger, pain and frustration as motivation. The Spanish language could lead to great things, including a career – possibly as a Spanish teacher! There were also more immediate results they could see, such as earning college credit for taking the AP Spanish test.
Contact Monica at 216.881.1689 ext. 310 or by email at mlawson@stmdphs.org to schedule a visit to Saint Martin.
Mrs. Claudia Botoulas Teacher on staff at the High School that can answer many of your questions about enrolling your children into the High School. She is the teacher responsible for starting up and supervising the activities and program of the Heritage Spanish Class. 98%-100% of the High School graduating class go on to college! Consider sending your children to this High School . Call for Details
The class started out as an after-school club simply called AP Spanish, which met once a week during the school year. The primary goal of the group was to prepare the students to take the AP Spanish test. During our meetings, we also talked about the dropout rate for Latino high school students in America, and how the problem could be solved. As a group, we saw a definite need to cultivate love for our own Latin cultures and the Spanish language. By the end of the school year, we were meeting three times a week. On May 5, 2009 our students took the AP Spanish test. In doing so, our students were making history as the first students in the school to take any AP course test. The students’ hard work paid off, as 100% of the students received passing scores on the test. After completing the test, the group decided to organize a variety of cultural events to celebrate our Hispanic backgrounds. Thanks to the hard work of the AP Spanish students, Mrs. Botoulas and the school administration, the decision was made to create the advanced Spanish class these talented students needed. This school year, the first class of students participated in the Heritage Spanish class.
Class Objectives: To motivate Hispanic students to preserve and expand their Spanish language.