The Campaign for East 37th Street
Our current location 560 Sterling Place, Brooklyn, NY 11209
“Honoring the promise inherent in each
child with a Jesuit education in Brooklyn.”
The Campaign for East 37th Street
Pre-Campaign Study Statement of Needs
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep’s History
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep (BJP) is a Catholic Jesuit middle school (grades 5-8) serving low-income families of diverse races, ethnicities, and faiths in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. BJP was founded in the fall of 2003 by the Society of Jesus under former president Rev. Vincent DeCola, SJ. The school was modeled after Nativity Mission Center, a middle school that served low-income families on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for over 40 years. Fr. Mario M. Powell, S.J., recently assumed the role as the sixth president of BJP, effective July 1, 2019.
Mission
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep seeks to provide an excellent Jesuit education to low-income children who without our presence would not be able to afford the benefits of Catholic education. We only accept families whose income is in line with the Federal poverty guidelines (e.g. a household of four with an annual income of $24,600). Parents pay nominal tuition of $75 a month; over 90% of our operating budget is raised from generous donors.
Our mission is to develop young leaders who are intellectually competent, open to growth, loving, religious and committed to doing justice. We achieve this goal through a rigorous academic program during an extended school day, a residential summer leadership camp, and a graduate support program offering academic and tuition support through high school. In this way, we break the cycle of poverty through education and further the Jesuit tradition of molding men and women for others.
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep Programs
BJP offers a strong academic program but also strives every day to provide educational values through assembly programs, discussions, daily prayer, and advisory groups. We offer an extended school day with students arriving as early as 7:15 am. School is in session until 4:30 pm four days a week and some students remain at school until 5:15 pm for an optional study hall. The lengthy school day provides time for a robust sports and activities program twice a week as well as a mandatory daily study hall and silent reading period. Students may also participate in weekend field trips, tutoring, and other enrichment activities. BJP also offers its students two additional programs - Graduate Support Program and the Summer Leadership Academy.
child with a Jesuit education in Brooklyn.”
The Campaign for East 37th Street
Pre-Campaign Study Statement of Needs
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep’s History
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep (BJP) is a Catholic Jesuit middle school (grades 5-8) serving low-income families of diverse races, ethnicities, and faiths in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. BJP was founded in the fall of 2003 by the Society of Jesus under former president Rev. Vincent DeCola, SJ. The school was modeled after Nativity Mission Center, a middle school that served low-income families on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for over 40 years. Fr. Mario M. Powell, S.J., recently assumed the role as the sixth president of BJP, effective July 1, 2019.
Mission
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep seeks to provide an excellent Jesuit education to low-income children who without our presence would not be able to afford the benefits of Catholic education. We only accept families whose income is in line with the Federal poverty guidelines (e.g. a household of four with an annual income of $24,600). Parents pay nominal tuition of $75 a month; over 90% of our operating budget is raised from generous donors.
Our mission is to develop young leaders who are intellectually competent, open to growth, loving, religious and committed to doing justice. We achieve this goal through a rigorous academic program during an extended school day, a residential summer leadership camp, and a graduate support program offering academic and tuition support through high school. In this way, we break the cycle of poverty through education and further the Jesuit tradition of molding men and women for others.
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep Programs
BJP offers a strong academic program but also strives every day to provide educational values through assembly programs, discussions, daily prayer, and advisory groups. We offer an extended school day with students arriving as early as 7:15 am. School is in session until 4:30 pm four days a week and some students remain at school until 5:15 pm for an optional study hall. The lengthy school day provides time for a robust sports and activities program twice a week as well as a mandatory daily study hall and silent reading period. Students may also participate in weekend field trips, tutoring, and other enrichment activities. BJP also offers its students two additional programs - Graduate Support Program and the Summer Leadership Academy.
Our new location St. Vincent Ferrer
925 E 37th St, Brooklyn, NY 11210
Strategic Vision
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep is planning a comprehensive fundraising campaign to address upgrades and enhancements that will greatly benefit the school. This campaign is intended to support the educational and extracurricular experience of our students as well as continue to position BJP for success, growth, and excellence in the future.
Facilities
Need: $1.5 million
We will be entering into a lease for the St. Vincent Ferrer grammar school on 925 E. 37th St., East Flatbush, New York. We plan to renovate two floors
of the building (17,000 sq/ft) which will net us 8 (719 sq/ft) classrooms. In addition, the following needs of the facility will be addressed -
Endowment
Need: $750,000
This is the first installment to establish an endowment to support BJP well into the future. An endowment is fundamental to BJP and is essentially an investment that is set aside for the long-term support of the institution. An endowment represents the promise of a reliable income stream to cover operating expenses, fill occasional shortfalls, or even seed new work. BJP aims to grow its endowment for three reasons -
Our goals of this program include honoring English Language Arts, mathematics, and science skills to prevent the “summer slide”; establishing a strong sense of community among students and faculty, particularly welcoming the incoming 6th grade class; creating a vibrant atmosphere of interactive learning where students may both pursue their interests and be “open to growth” to try new things.
Graduate Student Support
Need: $250,000
The Graduate Support Program offers academic, financial, career and communal support to alumni of all ages, helping graduates to be persist and succeed throughout their educational journey and beyond. Currently staffed by one full-time educational persistence professional, our Graduate Support Program offers targeted resources and programming to ensure that the academic growth, character formation, and call to service of our graduating students are supported and encouraged through high school, college, and beyond. We don’t send our graduates out into the world alone;
we continue to walk with them throughout their educational journey. Our GSP coordinates high school placement, as well as regularly connecting and supporting alumni during their high school journey, which has played a major role in our 100% high school graduation rate. With your help our GSP
will be able to:
It is our intention to launch a comprehensive capital campaign to address the needs outlined above, totaling $2.5 million. It is hoped that all those who share the values of BJP, and its lifelong impact on young men and women, will join in support of this initiative.
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep is planning a comprehensive fundraising campaign to address upgrades and enhancements that will greatly benefit the school. This campaign is intended to support the educational and extracurricular experience of our students as well as continue to position BJP for success, growth, and excellence in the future.
Facilities
Need: $1.5 million
We will be entering into a lease for the St. Vincent Ferrer grammar school on 925 E. 37th St., East Flatbush, New York. We plan to renovate two floors
of the building (17,000 sq/ft) which will net us 8 (719 sq/ft) classrooms. In addition, the following needs of the facility will be addressed -
- BJP will have access to the church sanctuary for school events as well as an 800-person auditorium where a new kitchen and audiovisual equipment will be added
- Each space throughout the building will be rewired with technology to support our teachers and students in the classroom for 21st century learning
- Improvements to windows and updated HVAC system
Endowment
Need: $750,000
This is the first installment to establish an endowment to support BJP well into the future. An endowment is fundamental to BJP and is essentially an investment that is set aside for the long-term support of the institution. An endowment represents the promise of a reliable income stream to cover operating expenses, fill occasional shortfalls, or even seed new work. BJP aims to grow its endowment for three reasons -
- Attract large gifts. BJP wants to encourage Individuals to make major gifts (including bequests) to support features or efforts that will remain in place long after they are gone. BJP’s plans extend well into the future and we want to indicate to our donors that a major gift is a legacy gift.
- Signal strength. The existence of an endowment will draw further support from those who wish to invest in our school because donors will feel certain that BJP has longevity.
- Support operations and innovation. Because an endowment is generated as unrestricted dollars, the income can be used as needed in any given year—for example, to smooth out financial shortfalls in lean times, and can also be used to cover ongoing overhead costs, or even fund projects that are more experimental in nature and may put an institution on the cutting edge of its field. BJP doesn’t want to merely survive, it wants to innovate, and place itself in a 21st century learning field that is uniquely Jesuit.
- Summer Leadership Academy. All rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade BJP students participate in a summer leadership camp during the month of July
- at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. The students receive academic enrichment in the mornings with leadership and spiritual development in the afternoons and evenings. Students are given the opportunity to get away from the streets of Brooklyn and grow to be independent learners and leaders. This program is unique for low-income students who do not have access to summer experiences in Brooklyn.
Our goals of this program include honoring English Language Arts, mathematics, and science skills to prevent the “summer slide”; establishing a strong sense of community among students and faculty, particularly welcoming the incoming 6th grade class; creating a vibrant atmosphere of interactive learning where students may both pursue their interests and be “open to growth” to try new things.
Graduate Student Support
Need: $250,000
The Graduate Support Program offers academic, financial, career and communal support to alumni of all ages, helping graduates to be persist and succeed throughout their educational journey and beyond. Currently staffed by one full-time educational persistence professional, our Graduate Support Program offers targeted resources and programming to ensure that the academic growth, character formation, and call to service of our graduating students are supported and encouraged through high school, college, and beyond. We don’t send our graduates out into the world alone;
we continue to walk with them throughout their educational journey. Our GSP coordinates high school placement, as well as regularly connecting and supporting alumni during their high school journey, which has played a major role in our 100% high school graduation rate. With your help our GSP
will be able to:
- Strengthen the alumni network with career networking, internship placement, and job skills training
- Host a multi-city, multi-campus college visit trip for alumni
- Better coordinate finance aid in high school and college
- Connect graduates to professionals for informational interviews, job shadows, etc.
- Invest in a student information system to better track our alumni
It is our intention to launch a comprehensive capital campaign to address the needs outlined above, totaling $2.5 million. It is hoped that all those who share the values of BJP, and its lifelong impact on young men and women, will join in support of this initiative.