History of Nativity School of Worcester

Nativity School of Worcester is modeled upon effective practices that provide students from underresourced communities the opportunity for academic excellence. The Nativity model of education began with the creation of the Nativity Mission Center in New York City in 1971. The model consists of small class sizes, a mandatory summer program, an extended school day where students attend organized activities and an evening study, and a graduate support program. Today, there are 64 Nativity Miguel Schools serving over 5,000 middle-school-aged boys and girls in 27 states.

In the late 1990s, the senior administration of the College of the Holy Cross developed the idea of establishing a Nativity School in Worcester, a city that had been wracked by a devastating graduation rate for boys experiencing economic insecurity. These senior administrators – particularly President Michael McFarland, S.J., and Charles Weiss, Ph.D. – championed the school in the Worcester community. Following a successful feasibility study in 2002, the doors of the school were opened in the fall of 2003 to fifth- and sixth-grade classes at All Saints Church. Over the course of the next two years, a seventh- and eighth-grade were added. Joanne McClatchy was the founding Executive Director and played an instrumental role in the school’s success and growth.

Now in its 20th year of operation, the school has witnessed seventeen successful classes of graduates matriculate in the area’s high schools: Algonquin High School, Assabet Valley Technical High School, Bancroft School, Burncoat High School, Cheshire Academy (CT), Claremont Academy, Cornerstone Charter Academy (FL), Davies High School (ND), Deerfield Academy, Doherty Memorial High School, Gardner High School, Glastonbury High School (CT) (ABC Program), Gould Academy (ME) (ABC Program), Haverhill High School, Holy Name Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School, Leicester High School, Masconomet Regional High School (MA) (ABC Program), Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science, New Canaan High School (CT) (ABC Program), Nobles & Greenough, North High School, Oxford High School, Portsmouth Abbey School (RI) (ABC Program), Saint Mary’s Junior/Senior High School, Saint Peter-Marian Junior-Senior High School, Saint John’s High School, Shrewsbury High School, South High School, South High School– Diesel Technology Program, South High School – Goddard Scholars Program, South Salem High School (OR), University Park Campus School, West Boylston High School, Worcester Academy, Worcester Technical High School, and Xavier High School (IA).