The Nativity Mission Center:A Successful Approach to the Education of Latino Boys

Abstract

Latino boys have one of the highest school dropout rates of any group in the nation. The Nativity Mission Center is a nonsectarian, Jesuit-conducted middle school for Latino boys on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It provides an extended-day, extended-year education and a strong graduate support program for students who have completed the eighth grade and gone on to high school. Eighty-one percent of the graduates go on to complete high school, 75% enter college, and 37% graduate with a bachelor's degree. These rates are substantially higher than the rates for Latino youth in the nation.