Founded in 2003, St. Louis Catholic Academy serves 100+ children annually in grades K – 8. The school’s mission is to provide a culture of excellence for students and their families so that each member might grow in learning, by faith, and with character. Collaboration between students, parents, and faculty is the key ingredient of the school.
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 (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.