Collaborative Education

Sarah Grossman:

At a time when many U.S. schools are failing students of color, one school stands out as an unusual success.

St. Benedict’s Prep, an all-boys preparatory school in Newark, has a graduation rate of 98 percent, compared to a national rate of 82 percent.

But when you realize that the majority of St. Benedict’s students are low-income male students of color, the numbers become groundbreaking. Nationwide around one in four black, Latino and low-income students does not graduate high school, according to the Department of Education.

So how did a school in Newark, run by Benedictine monks, manage to break the mold and graduate almost 100 percent of its low-income students of color?…

“Counselors in most schools are just making sure kids have the right classes,” Father Edwin said. “We have a counseling center with two psychologists, and interns who are PhD or Master’s candidates in school counseling, and four to five different group sessions a week.”

The group sessions are catered to students in specific adverse situations, Fr. Edwin said. The “Blues Boys” is for students who suffer from depression; “Unknown Sons” is for those who don’t have a relationship with their father; “Anger Management” is for those dealing with emotional control issues.

“It works, I can tell you that,” Fr. Edwin said. “It’s about not giving up on yourself. You may fall on your back several times, but you can figure out a way.”