Providence St. Mel School In Chicago Sends Every Student To College (VIDEO)

At a time when high school graduation rates are falling and dropout rates are climbing, one school on the west side of Chicago is defying state and national numbers.

NBC's Mike Leonard revisited a school that he first reported on nearly 30 years ago: Providence St. Mel School, which prides itself on academic achievement and sends all of its graduates to college. The school continues to teach and tout its mission statement: "We believe."

Honor roll students are cheered like star athletes at a school pep rally, and the school's academic performance three decades after it was reformed still excels -- even as Illinois high school graduation rates have fallen under a new formula.

WATCH the report from NBC's TODAY Show below:

Comments

[MaryfromIL]

02:12 AM on 11/05/2011

For whatever reasons, it's an excellent school.

I looked, but couldn't find class sizes for this school. I assume they don't take those with substantial disabilities or any behavior problems. And the article sounds like the parents are very involved.

I was also interested in the technology they have, as well as the condition of the class room and if they have adequate school supplies.

They also don't have to do all the horrible time consuming testing of NCLB that public schools do.

Problems a public school has and this private school probably doesn't:
1) class sizes as high as 33 kids
2) parent(s) working 2 jobs or just not involved
3) NCLB testing
4) Behavior problem kids
5) special needs kids
6)kids without the money for school supplies
7) hungry kids
8) schools in poor physical condition (would you drink brown water?)
9) inadequate textbooks, much less technology

equalize those, and we can stop comparing apples and oranges.

[VA Jill]

01:36 PM on 11/04/2011

I remember 1978 when the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago tried to close Providence-St. Mel. There was a huge outcry, not only from their student body and parents, but from people all over the country. The administrators of the school and community members were determined to operate the school on its own, without the support of the Archdiocese. Property was transferred and it reopened as a private K-12 independent school. It hasn't been easy. They do get grants from private foundations and I believe this supports scholarships for some students, as well as paying staff. So it's a private school.....so what? It works. And a lot of what works COULD be transferred to public schools (and has been, in some cities, in some individual schools).

[Myrna Minkoff]

10:12 AM on 11/04/2011

Every student graduating is amazing enough let alone going to college. Why be negative about something so great? Not enough rapes and murders in the news today?

[authorized-user]

09:09 AM on 11/04/2011

Who pays their tuition?

[Hlynn]

01:02 AM on 11/04/2011

It's a private school. They can choose and reject applicants and get rid of the students who don't measure up. Any school can have great results if they have total control of the participants.

What is the attrition rate at this school? How many students do they have with special needs? Maybe if the article wrote anything about that--and the attrition rate was low and they actually did serve students with special needs--I would be impressed. But I suspect this one is like most private schools that segregate themselves from most of the public and have complete autonomy without the interference of government rules and regulations to prevent progress.

[sixty-one]

12:18 AM on 11/04/2011

This is a great story....and proof that it's the parents more than poverty that determines a child's success. Engaged parents who teach their children to value education are the key to a child's success.

You can see that these kids wear uniforms. That is a real indication of parental support. In failing schools, parents and students often claim that what they wear has no bearing on success. However, the very attitude that supports the idea "I am special and don't have to follow your rules" is the attitude that often leads to failure in both school and in life. How we present ourselves does send a message.

[Jenn May]

07:54 AM on 11/04/2011

That is a ridiculous statement. Most Detroit Public Schools require uniforms... Oh wait, I forgot they are hugely successful.

[teresathegreat12]

10:45 PM on 11/03/2011

It's great to see a positive story about a prominently african-american inner city school!
This is the message I keep trying to get through to everyone I know: we don't need all the extra stuff, we need to focus on academic achievement, rewarding that success more than we reward a football player who scored a touchdown.
If you expect and demand excellence and hard work of your children, you'll get it.
Congratulations Providence St. Mel on a job well done, lives made better than they might have been, and a vision realized.

[S321]

09:26 PM on 11/03/2011

Thats great IF they get jobs after graduation that make the world a better place. too many graduates expect high paying jobs really not doing much. too many go to law school..to further glut and alrady overcrowded field, instead of math, education, technology or science.

[MaryfromIL]

01:56 AM on 11/05/2011

problem is more kids right out of college are having trouble finding any jobs, in many fields. There is a glut of unemployed in many fields you mention.

[bnbncb]

09:00 PM on 11/03/2011

AOL... what is up? I start reading an artical and the darn thing jumps around as you add your ads... really a pain... really show with ads from the start of forget the ads that I NEVER read altogether!

[destin023]

08:10 PM on 11/03/2011

If this is a predominantly black school & they're having that type of graduation success rate leading into chosen college curriculums, I applaud them. This is what I want to see minorities highlighted in the news instead of the alternatives. They'll all grow up to be good productive conservatives & the DNC will cease to exist. We'll all finally get to a level playing field & live in a normal society...

[DanInLA]

07:57 PM on 11/03/2011

I wonder how many of them will be burried in debt when they graduate from college. I sure hope they can all find jobs.

[Linelle Campbell]

02:55 PM on 11/03/2011

Yes they are going to college but how many of them are staying in college?

[GOODDOC1]

06:57 PM on 11/03/2011

Most probably all of them. They have gone through very competitive exams and evaluations to get where they are today. These kids aren't about to give up now! We should be encouraging them.

[Nathaniel Calloway]

02:27 PM on 11/03/2011

Socialists!

[GOODDOC1]

07:02 PM on 11/03/2011

Yeah, right.

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

08:26 PM on 11/03/2011

hmmm, is that congratulatory or derogatory?

[Youcantstandthetruth]

01:59 PM on 11/03/2011

One outstanding story we can all learn from. A key component to a good education is committed parents who play an active role in their childrens education. Right at the end you have Al Roker agreeing a quality education pays over and over again. Al should know as he is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier in NYC. One of the finest High Schools in the Country.

[mabinog]

01:56 PM on 11/03/2011

Something to that, when I was in HS being on honor roll brought derision.

[Rose Morris]

08:06 PM on 11/03/2011

Which explains why we're now #26 in education in the world

I'm trying to figure out why so many people (like those you describe) glorify ignorance.

[MaryfromIL]

02:02 AM on 11/05/2011

In my mid 20's kids high school, athletics and then community service were valued over academics. Amazing, because it's an upper middle class town, whose parents made it by doing well academically!

Surprisingly, the kids from this excellent public suburban school shot low for college. There were maybe 4 of us parents that shot high out of hundreds of kids.

Getting scholarships was a slam dunk, some grants no one even tried for. There was a lethargy about finding ways to pay for college and decide on the schools, in both the kids and the adults.

I'll be life was different in a good way after you graduated.