By Kate Quinones

AIIC Staff, November 10, 2024 / 7:00 a.m.

A group of nuns opened the only mainstream Catholic elementary school in Harlem, New York, designed to meet the needs of the city’s low-income families.

Academy of Saint John Paul the Great serves its students through its scholarship program while providing a high-quality classical Catholic education. The school is run by an order of nuns focused on evangelization: the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, known as “Servidoras”.

While New York state’s public schools rank among the top 10 in the nation, fewer than half of students in grades three through eight are proficient in reading, while only about 53 percent are proficient in math, according to a 2024 study. report.

Just over 70% of New York City public school district students are economically disadvantaged, according to data district starting in the 2023-2024 school year, meaning private education is less accessible to families.

“We are trying to pick up the torch of how Catholic education has been for centuries,” Sister Mary, Mother of Truth Westermeyer, Servidora and principal of St. John Paul Academy, told CNA. the Great. “And that includes training the whole person.”

A community effort

The only Catholic liberal arts elementary school in New York’s five boroughs, Saint John Paul the Great Academy was largely a “community effort,” with families participating to help prepare learning spaces. The academy started this year with just 11 students in kindergarten, first and second grade, but Sister Truth said the school plans to add grades as students grow, eventually reaching the Kindergarten through 8th grade.

The sisters teamed up with families to help get the school back into shape for its first school year.

“We experienced a truly festive environment of joy – a family spirit,” Sister Truth said, emphasizing the importance of involving family in education.

The academy plans a monthly “family evening” intended to “give a training point for parents to help support them in their vocation to educate their children as primary educators,” she explained.

During the first Family Home Evening, students participated in a procession around campus, which Sister Truth called a “joyful time with the kids.”

“They had a little procession with John Paul II (and) Notre Dame around campus and prayed the rosary together,” she recalled.

Teacher Jennifer Rodriguez also highlighted the academy’s community. She told CNA she values ​​”the wonderful community we’ve created together over these few months.”

Rodriquez added that school was “not just a place of learning; it is a welcoming environment filled with the love of Christ and a commitment to nourishing our families.

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“When you walk through our doors, you can feel the warmth and encouragement that surrounds us all,” Rodriguez continued. “It makes me happy to see our students and their families excited to be here. We are touched by the many small but profound ways God influences our lives and the lives of our families.

When asked why a Catholic liberal arts education was important to her, one parent, Sylvia Ramirez, responded, “It’s important because I realize that not all schools care about well-being of children academically, spiritually and morally. »

“The community is very welcoming, respectful and compassionate,” Ramirez added. “What inspired me in choosing the academy is the education it gives to children, which develops in children values ​​and concern for others.”

Jesus, day by day

Sister Truth says that each weekday, a staff member shares a reflection on a theme related to the Catholic faith, ranging from Mary and the saints to virtue and the Mass.

“Jesus is our companion throughout the day,” Sister Truth said. “But I hope you understand what I mean. It doesn’t have to be weird; it must be natural because our coexistence with him as a friend and guide must be imbued from an early age.

The sisters are inspired by St. John Bosco, who worked with orphaned boys. They model some of their practices on his style and approach.

Bosco organized a “good night” spiritual practice for the boys staying at the orphanage.

“He would emphasize a virtue or habit that needed to be trained in boys or something that he noticed during the day that needed to be corrected,” Sister Truth explained. “So each of the staff members – because there are five of us – we each have a day of the week where we say ‘hello’ to them to help them focus on something.”

It is important, Sister Truth added, to “share your expectations” with students and parents.

“We use the preventive system of Saint John Bosco,” Sister Truth said. “We make our goals known, and then we keep reminding the kids that we want to be good Christians and good citizens. »

Another teacher, Molly Jensen, told CNA that the children at the academy “are so eager to learn” and “know the Lord.”

“We learn the different disciplines, but in each one the students and I learn more about Jesus,” Jensen said. “With the traditional curriculum, this allows us to train the whole person and not just their intellect. »

“There is great freedom when education is rooted in Christ and the sacraments, which allows children to truly love learning and want to come to school every day,” she continued.

When asked what inspired him to teach at the academy, Jensen explained that it all revolved around Christ.

“What inspires me to work at the Academy of Saint John Paul the Great is the perfect love of Christ, my love of Christ and the deep desire to bring all souls closer to Him,” he said. she declared. “Every day I bring these children closer to Jesus and, in turn, they bring their families closer to him. »

“Children, with their great joy and wonder, show me every day what it means to have childlike faith and love Jesus without reservation! she added.

Scholarship development

Sisters along with school families pool resources during the first year, helping with construction, cleaning, and other necessities. Sister Truth said this required staff to “think outside the box with a lot of faith.” The school is currently working with the Children’s Scholarship Fund but is seeking additional partners to sponsor students.

“Until now, the sisters have been looking for benefactors who would like to sponsor a child’s education here in Harlem, and that’s how we were able to assure our employees that they will receive their salary and that they will have their benefits,” Sister Truth said. “But we have to think outside the box with a lot of faith to make something like this work.”

Sister Truth said families help as much as they can, whether it’s trade workers who can help with construction projects or volunteers for the weekly program to help with cleanup. She pointed out that it would be easy for families to simply send their children to New York public schools, “but these families are really fighting” for their children to attend the academy.

“Our hope is that we never lose the buy-in of the family,” she said.

“We are all very convinced of the hand of God in this project,” Sister Truth noted. “There have already been students who have come to visit us, and (we) have only been in session for six weeks for next year.”

Sister Truth plans to move forward with “a lot of courage and a lot of prayer.”

“We know that God is calling, and we want to answer it, and people are no longer surprised when they see him appear because we know him and we see his goodness palpable every day,” she said.

Kate Quiñones is a staff writer for the Catholic News Agency and a member of the College Fix. She has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Denver Catholic Register and CatholicVote, and is a graduate of Hillsdale College. She lives in Colorado with her husband.