In 2012, St. Cecilia School and Academy (STC) and St. Louis Catholic Academy (SLCA) became part of a newly formed educational model called the Archdiocesan Elementary Schools (AES), owned and operated by the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Both schools primarily serve children of color from low-income families; at SLCA, 100% of students identify as African American, and at STC, 81% of students identify as Hispanic.
Each AES school’s mission is to develop vibrant, faith-filled school communities that strive continuously to provide excellent spiritual, educational, and co-curricular programs in safe and nurturing environments. As Catholic schools with a strong Catholic identity, students attend Mass weekly, start and end of each day with prayer, participate in class retreats and attend a daily religion class.
Partnership #1 (2016)
In order to strengthen educational opportunities for its students, the school decided to implement the Nativity-Miguel model. In this nationally recognized school model designed for lower-income children, students attend a longer school day and the school year is expanded to nearly year-round. Further, schools make a commitment to supporting their graduates through high school and college. The school recognized that this would increase its costs, which required that they expand their revenue sources. While the school has a lot in place – new leadership, a strong history, and a revitalized vision – they lacked a committed donor base. Brown Sisters Foundation provided a challenge grant to help the school launch a focused campaign to stimulate gifts from new donors and help it take another important step toward sustainability.
Partnership #2 (2017)
Low-income and minority individuals are significantly underrepresented in STEM fields. To better prepare their students for future STEM careers, the collaborative desired to open a Makerspace lab at each of the three schools. The lab is a space where students use design thinking, exploration, and various creative tools to develop critical thinking skills together, learn problem-solving, and encourage innovation. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donations to help install and launch the new labs.
Partnership #3 (2019)
In order to better serve students in grades K-5 and prepare them for middle school, the school is transitioning its current extended day aftercare program to an extended day educational program. This will take the established aftercare program and modify it so that it augments the school curriculum, focusing on academic growth and personal development. Time will be focused on reading, math, and homework through the use of certified teachers, community partners, and volunteers. In addition, the school will offer tutoring in reading and math by certified teachers in the summer to help prevent the “summer slide”. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donations to help make this transition.
Partnership #4 (2020)
In order to implement virtual learning successfully during the COVID pandemic, the AES schools hired and trained additional staff and secured outside funding for digital devices and WIFI hotspots for families, many of whom do not have the resources needed to secure these devices on their own. The AES schools are also pursuing professional development for staff to learn how to effectively implement virtual learning not just as a current necessity, but as another teaching tool that can be leveraged after the pandemic has subsided. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donations to support these pandemic-related costs.
Partnership #5 (2021)
After a year of pandemic-related learning disruptions and virtual learning, St. Cecilia’s student literacy data showed that a significant portion of students experienced literacy learning loss, particularly those students who were already struggling before the pandemic. To get students reading on grade-level, STC is investing in the capacity and skills of their teachers to provide individualized, high quality literacy instruction, and to leverage new technology to accelerate student growth. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donations to provide high quality professional development to STC teachers and instructional coaches.