About the School:
The Sacred Heart Nativity School and Our Lady of Grace Nativity School are urban Catholic middle schools in San Jose, California that seek to provide students from low-income families with equal access to education. On average, the children who attend the school come from families earning $29,000 or less. Moreover, roughly 90% of the elementary students qualify for free or discounted lunch programs (shnativity.org). As a non-profit organization, many of these students at the Nativity school will be the first in their families to receive formal education in high school and college. This exemplifies the unfortunate reality of unequal access to education within our own community. The Sacred Heart Nativity School is making an admirable difference in the lives of many. Since the establishment of this school, school administration has observed an 86% graduation rate for their students matriculating from high schools, while the national average for Latinos is 53% (shnativity.org). While the school receives aid from the Society of Jesus, the Diocese of San Jose, and the Parish of Sacred Heart, the Nativity school relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations to cover the school’s operating costs. Please consider making a small donation to the Nativity school by clicking on this link: http://www.razoo.com/story/Sacred-Heart-Nativity-School
Your donation is greatly appreciated. Facts and Statistics:
• The U.S. education system is one of the most unequal in the industrialized world, with students routinely receiving dramatically different learning opportunities based on their social status (Stanford).
• The wealthiest 10 percent of U.S. school districts spend nearly 10 times more than the poorest 10 percent (Stanford).
• Schools with the highest percentages of minority, limited-English proficient and low-income students are more likely to employ beginning teachers than those with the lowest percentage of minority, limited-English proficient and low-income students.
• Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school all together because they are more likely to work or care for family members (dosomething.org).
• National Assessment of Educational Progress data show that, on average, African American and Hispanic students trail White students academically by four grade levels by the time they finish high school.
• Students ages 16 through 24 from low-income households have a sevenfold greater drop-out rate than those of the same age group from higher income households. How Can You Help?
• Like our page, tell your friends
• Raise awareness of unequal access to education in America
• Volunteer your time as a tutor or assistant at the Nativity schools
• Donate to the cause: http://www.razoo.com/story/Sacred-Heart-Nativity-School
• Donate school supplies to: 310 Edwards Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110
Interested in Learning More?
• Visit the Sacred Heart Nativity School website: http://www.shnativity.org/
• Watch the documentary, Poor Kids, by Frontline PBS, which explores what poverty means to children and to the country’s future: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poor-kids/
• Read the publication, Inequality in Teaching and Schooling, from Stanford University:http://www.stanford.edu/~ldh/publications/LDH-Post-Inequality.pdf
