BOSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL HELPS STUDENTS START AND FINISH DEGREES

June 6, 2016 (Boston, Mass.)— Nativity Prep, a middle school serving boys from low-income families in Boston, is tackling more than reading, writing and arithmetic for fourth- through eighth-graders these days. After 26 years serving middle-schoolers, the school is tackling college opportunity and completion for low-income boys, trying to ensure that more of its alumni, mostly young men of color, earn their college degrees.

The school was recently awarded $100,000 through the Cummings Foundation’s “$100K for 100” program to help support these efforts, and is thrilled to have been chosen from a total of 479 applicants during a competitive review process for this generous grant.

The only tuition-free school for boys in Boston, Nativity Prep is a Jesuit middle school serving boys from low-income families in the city. A Nativity education prepares urban boys for high school and college success and inspires them to become "men for others" who go on to serve their communities with a spirit of gratitude and generosity.

Says Nativity President Rev. John C. Wronski, SJ, “The Cummings Foundation has been a tremendous partner to Nativity Prep and will now play a key role in ensuring more of our graduates get both to and through college. Their tremendous gift will pay dividends for the Boston community for years to come.”

Through its Start-to-Finish Graduate Support Initiative, now funded in part by the Cummings Foundation, Nativity Prep has begun offering last-dollar aid to college-bound alumni whose families or financial aid packages can’t quite cover the full cost of college each semester. This past fall the school began granting up to $5,000 in individual aid awards to graduates accepted to college.

Why should a middle school get into the business of financing college educations?

“While robust academic programs, family support, college counseling, and financial aid all enable students to enroll,” explained school president, Fr. John C. Wronski, SJ, “they don’t always ensure that they graduate.”

“Sometimes what stands between a young man and his college degree comes down to a few hundred dollars a semester. We want to take tuition gaps out of the equation,” says Fr. Wronski. “When there is an unmet need with a college-ready student of ours, and all other options have been exhausted, we are prepared, to the extent that our resources and our supporters allow, to step in and help. The Cummings Foundation is helping make this possible.”

Nativity Prep’s graduation track record is better than most schools serving students from low-income families: 99% of its alumni graduate high school, and 80% enroll in college. 70% of those graduate. This compares to just 10% of low-income students and fewer than 27% of Black and Latino males nationally. Lack of academic preparedness, difficulty navigating complex college systems, and financial constraints can all derail a student’s dream of earning a degree.

But the road has gotten tougher with the ever-higher costs of attending college. “This is about trying to do more to close the gaps and eliminate the barriers that low-income students face,” says Fr. Wronski.

The Cummings Foundation’s $100,000 grant, made through its “$100K for 100” program that benefits 41 different cities and towns within the Commonwealth, will play a key role in funding not just financial assistance for Nativity college students, but also the advising and support services the school offers to all alumni to help them earn a degree. Explains Graduate Support Director Nora Frias. “Nativity supports students applying to some of the most prestigious high schools in New England, connects them to job and internship opportunities, and counsels them through the college process.”

“We have graduates who were able to go to Dartmouth and UMass and Boston College this year with the help of small amount of last-dollar aid," says Fr. Wronski. "That’s a powerful gift to them. One that we expect will be returned in full measure in the years ahead.”

Says Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director, “We admire and very much appreciate the important work that nonprofit organizations like Nativity Prep are doing in the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work. We are delighted to support their efforts.”

About Nativity Preparatory School

Nativity Preparatory School is an accredited, tuition-free, Jesuit middle school serving boys of all faiths from low-income families residing in Boston. For 26 years, Nativity Prep has been setting boys from Boston on the path to high school and college, offering a holistic and demanding program of study featuring an extended 12.5-hour day, small class sizes, individualized instruction, a summer program, high school placement, and graduate support for boys who are often the first in their families to graduate high school or college.

About Cummings Foundation

Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester. With assets exceeding $1 billion, it is one of the largest foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including two New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single commitment to date was $50 million to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.

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