May 22, 2008 Nativity Prep turns inner city boys into men Play video

(Alison King, NECN: Jamaica Plain, Mass.) - Like many of New England’s finest prep schools, this private Boston middle school for boys puts an emphasis on small class size, rigorous academics and a well-rounded sports program.

Students adhere to a strict dress code, teachers are dedicated and programs such as art and music are essential parts of the curriculum. But despite the similarities, this school is very different from most prep schools -- and so are its students...

13-year old Alexander Adames starts his day at his apartment in Jamaica Plain's Bromley Heath housing project. He lives there with his mother, Francesca Feliciano who came to the United States 18 years ago from the Dominican Republic.

Like so many public housing developments, Bromley-Heath can be a tough place with its share of guns, drugs, gangs and violence -- as Alex described in an essay.

Alex: My neighborhood is not bad during the day when the sun is out, but bad things start when the moon comes up. At nighttime, gangs and drug addicts patrol the streets with cops, known as "The Heat," close on their tales.

It's a world that many inner city boys get sucked into. Particularly, when they come from broken families struggling with poverty, drug addiction and unemployment. It's a world that the Nativity Prepatory School is determined to change -- at least for some.

Alex is greeted at the school door at 7:30 by the school's Executive Director, Father John Wronsky.

There is a hot breakfast each morning -- cooked by a member of the staff. And there is enough time before school begins to get in a quick game of basketball.

By 8-am, the entire school community is gathered together for morning assembly, lead by principal, Bisi Oyedele.

Father Wronsky: That's really one of my favorite parts of the day, the morning assembly, when the whole community is there.

Then, it's on to class. Nativity Prep is a Catholic, Jesuit middle school founded in 1990. To its students -- 52 boys of all faiths from low-income families in Boston’s inner city -- it is tuition-free. It has served as a model to other urban middle schools around the country.

Javier Piggee is a 24-year-old recent graduate of Boston College -- now teaching seventh grade at Nativity. Like many of the teachers, he wears several hats, including cook, counselor and coach. Nativity Prep is his first teaching job.

Piggee: The first day teaching I was up there and I was speechless for about 30 seconds and then I realized I had to start saying something or things weren't going to get very far.

Piggee caught on quickly and is now a trusted and respected mentor to the boys - who don't always have a strong, male figure in their lives.

Piggee: It lends itself to a lot of interesting discussion, and it allows them to be a lot more open in terms of making mistakes because that's what lot of the educational process is; being courageous enough to put an idea out and see how it's received and see what others think about it.

Nativity prides itself on the fact that several of its graduates come back years later to teach at the school.

After graduating from Nativity, Gadisa Gosa went on to Groton Academy and then Stone Hill College. Now, he is in charge of secondary school placement -- a big part of the Nativity experience. Graduates go on to private schools such as Nobles and Greenough, Milton Academy and Deerfield.

Gosa: There are so many students in Boston who need a school, you know...a place like this. A lot of students who don't have family and just come from all types of situations. And it's kind of unfortunate that we can't help every kid.

Ramón Gomez, the Director of Graduate Support, then helps guide the students through high school and college. Gomez started at Nativity Prep at age 10, having just arrived in the United States from Trinidad. He is a graduate of Boston College high school and Boston College.

Gomez: Every young man or woman needs a nurturing environment. Without that, there tends to be this need to sort of find love somewhere else. So, if we don't promote a safe environment for these kids, they may go seek this somewhere else.

Nativity is a safe fortress for Alex Adames and his classmates, but the violence of the streets is never far from view. Just last month, a 20-year-old was fatally shot in a Jamaica Plain park -- just across the street from Nativity Prep. Last year, the older brother of a Nativity fifth grader was shot and killed -- a victim of gang violence.

Alex’s mother can see and hear the violence outside her 6th floor window. She knows Nativity helps protect her son, but she appreciates the school even more for other reasons.

Classroom lessons are followed by drumming class, lunch, then afternoon subjects. At three in the afternoon, when school is over, the sports program begins. Back at school - there is just enough time for students to clean up and catch their breath before the evening program begins...

Dinner is served five nights a week by volunteers --- they are trustees, parents and friends of the school. Following the meal -- there is quiet study -- students do their homework -- tutoring is available to anyone who wants or needs it.

Father Wronsky: I find God everywhere here and that invitation is constantly being offered to me through these kids. And it just brings me a lot of hope and a lot of life to be able to have served in this way as a Jesuit. I think one of our real strong beliefs is making these kids into men for others, I like to think of this place where boys from Boston become men for others.

Like his classmates, Alex Adames is already taking those first steps into manhood. He wants to study science and engineering -- and he plans to fulfill his family’s dream for him.

Alex: They always wanted me to get an education and go to university cause I’d be the first from my generation to graduate in the United States. It feels pretty good - I just don't want to ruin that.