Pillars of Success, continued...

"You fall in love with these kids," says Helene Horan '06, who coordinates the program at Holy Cross. "They have so much life, so much promise. I say to people, ‘just give me an hour and a half. Come once.' I can't think of anyone who hasn't gone back after that. You get hooked."

The fellows program has decided academic benefits, according to Nativity School math teacher, Alice Murdi—with the Holy Cross students "going to great lengths to help the teachers."
"The boys often open up to the tutors, telling them things they're not telling us or their parents," Taylor adds. "The tutors are our eyes and ears. They can give us a heads-up if a boy says that something is going on. The boys love the tutors."

None of the Nativity students knew that Holy Cross existed before their first visit to campus—since that time, the College has become an extension of their own world. They use the athletic fields in the fall and spring, walk the hiking trails and play baseball on the women's softball field. The boys, who sang with the Holy Cross choir the first year, joined the All College Choir last year for a concert at Mechanics Hall. They often attend Holy Cross basketball games. Indeed, this winter the Nativity basketball team played an intermission game during halftime that brought everyone in the stands to their feet. 

This familiarity serves to reinforce the Nativity School's larger goal: "to encourage the boys to think of college," according to Fr. McFarland. The first step in meeting that goal is high school. To date, of the graduating eighth graders, several have been accepted to local high schools, including Holy Name, St. Peter Marian and St. John's; five have applied to Worcester Academy. In addition, one is going through the admissions process at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass., and, another, at the Northfield Mount Herman School in Northfield, Mass. 

Eighth grader Gunlee Segrain describes the prospect of high school as: "a journey off into a new place—it's exciting!" Gunlee, who came to Nativity as a seventh grader from the Elm Park Community School, says that the school has made him "more mature and more aware."  

"I was starting to hang around with a bad crowd," he says quietly. "Here I'm not going to be afraid that someone's going to pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. Everyone believes in the common good."

As its first graduates prepare to enter into a "new place," the Nativity School has the challenge of making it happen. Efforts are now focused on finding resources for high school tuition costs and putting the tools in place for continued support and mentorship for graduates. To that end, additional tutoring hours will be added next year for ninth graders.

 The College "will take a continuing interest in the boys as they go through high school and college," says Fr. McFarland. Wherever the Worcester boys end up, he predicts, they will "give hope to those who come behind them." Ultimately, the expectation is that the school will produce new leaders "who will go back to the community to give back and effect change." 

Gunlee, who wants to become a doctor, has no trouble seeing the larger implications of his middle school education.  "Nativity School kids," he says, "are really smart kids who want to do something with their lives."

To learn more about the NativitySchool of Worcester, visit the Web site at www.nativityworcester.org.

Laura Porter is a freelance writer from Worcester.

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