Saint Ignatius Schoool

Changing and growing to meet the needs of Hunts Point

• Much like the original Nativity Mission Center, Saint Ignatius School grew out of the grassroots efforts of Jesuits and their lay supporters to provide social services and act as advocates for immigrant youth.  In an area long known for failing public schools, the rare opportunities that a Nativity-model middle school could provide were clear, and Saint Ignatius School formally opened in 1995.

• Boys in grades six through eight were the first to attend Saint Ignatius School.  However, conversations with the students’ parents and a focused feasibility study revealed that Hunts Point desperately needed quality educational opportunities for both boys and girls.  As a result, in July 2004, a class of 14 fifth-grade girls prepared for the routine and rigor of Saint Ignatius during a two-week Summer Leadership Program, and then began classes at the middle school in September.  Saint Ignatius School will continue to add to the girls program from the bottom up, with the goal being to offer fifth through eighth grades for the girls.

• Again responding to requests from community parents, Saint Ignatius School added a fifth grade for boys in September 2006.  This will provide greater continuity of learning for the youth of Hunts Point, as local public elementary schools currently end after the fourth grade.

Finding a home for the school

• Saint Ignatius School originally was housed in a series of storefronts on Hunts Point Avenue.  However, in November 2004, the school made the strength of its commitment to the neighborhood clear, opening a permanent school building on Manida Street.  Not only does the new building provide ample classroom space, but it has a cafeteria and chapel where the entire school can gather together, plus a science lab where students can apply their lessons and a library. 

• The permanent school building currently houses all of the boy students, though the building was shelled to provide the possibility of expansion as the student population grows.  The girls program is housed in the Bright Temple Church building, around the corner from the main school, though the girls visit the main building for science and writing classes. 

A neighborhood in need

• Hunts Point, which sits at the southwestern tip of the Bronx, constitutes the poorest congressional district in the United States.  According to studies, this area also tops the list of American neighborhoods where children are most at-risk.

• Temptations of violence, drugs and sex are very real on the streets of Hunts Point, and contribute to high drop-out rates at the neighborhood public schools.  Saint Ignatius School provides an intense after-school experience that not only keeps its students off the streets, but also exposes students to the practical applications of classroom knowledge and engages them with positive activities.