Introduction
St. Martin de Porres High School is a private owned high school. It was established in the year 2003 as part of Cristo Rey Network schools. The Cristo Rey Network is a collection of schools that offers quality, Catholic, high school education to young people who stay in urban communities with limited education opportunities. The school’s mission is dedicated to transform urban Cleveland one student at a time. The school’s commitment values are work, study, serve, lead and pray.
The school is located in St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, Ohio. It serves a population of 388 students in grades 9-12. St. The average students per full-time teacher is 16. St. Martin de Porres High School is a mixed school (It has both male and female students). It’s core values are anchored from the Roman Catholic as it is owned by the National Catholic Educational Association. Despite St. Martin de Porres High School being a catholic school, it welcomes and associates with students from different religions, traditions and backgrounds. Students are encouraged to participate in the planning and leadership of a range of faith experiences which includes attending school masses, prayer services and worship functions.
Founded in the year 2003, St. Martin de Porres High School was established with the sole purpose of supporting students in communities that can’t afford private education. In addition, the school plays a major role in providing students of modest backgrounds with high school education aimed at helping them develop the habits of mind and spirit that will make them successful in school affairs, careers and life as a whole. The school was developed by National Catholic Educational Association.
St. Martin de Porres High School is one of the members of Cristo Rey Network, an association that comprises of 25 Catholic high schools serving up to 7,000 students across 21 states. The school is managed and run by National Catholic Educational Association. In the school structure, it is structured as a preparatory school with the core mission of preparing average students to graduate college.
The school management believes that in order to effect transformational changes in the life of its students, graduating with high school diplomas is not adequate. During the four years a student takes to complete high school education, the school management helps students to develop the habits of mind and spirit necessary in school, relationships and life as a whole. Other functions performed by the school management include managing and running all the affairs of the school. Among the challenges that the school management undergoes include financial problems and staff crisis. Among the strategies the management has formulated to solve these problems include sourcing for external donors and advertising posts for professional and qualified staff to who can take the school to higher levels.
St. Martin de Porres High School aims to offer quality education to average students whose net income is $26,000. Despite it being a Catholic school, 70% of the students are non-catholic. The school partners with a range of companies as long as they value work, study, serve, lead and pray. The school follows a model whereby students pay for the education which makes them gain professional experience.
In each of the school’s graduating classes, 100% of the students have secured chances in colleges or universities. Of these graduating seniors, 80% enroll in college. This clearly shows that St. Martin de Porres High School is a learning point of excellence.
Sources
Cristoreystmartin.org (2013). Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep. Retrieved from: http://cristoreystmartin.org.
Cristoreynetwork.org (2013). Cristo Rey Network: Careers. Retrieved from: http://www.cristoreynetwork.org/page.cfm?p=351&jid=241.
Hunt, T. C. (2010). Encyclopedia of educational reform and dissent. Sage Publications, : Sage.
