lions pride
New Study Shows Catholic Schools Provide Strong
Education for Underserved Students in Southern California
Catholic Education Foundation Tuition Assistance Makes a Difference
New research shows that poor and marginalized students attending Catholic schools have remarkably higher retention and graduation rates than their peers in public schools.
The pilot study, released in May 2008 and conducted by Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education, focused on a particular set of Catholic school students who received tuition funding from the Catholic Education Foundation between 2001 and 2005. Surveys were conducted with the students, their families and the principals to understand what it is that makes a difference in a Catholic school for those most “at risk.”
The study followed 603 students from eighth to ninth grade and 205 students from ninth grade to high school graduation at nearly 30 different schools throughout Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Of the 603 eighth grade students, 100 percent continued to ninth grade. Of the 205 students who continued with CEF tuition support into high school, 98 percent graduated. Based on these results, CEF’s Catholic school graduation rate is almost 35 percentage points higher than graduation rates for public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“This research indicates how essential Catholic schools are to the future of Los Angeles,” said Shane P. Martin, dean of the School of Education and co-author of the study. “The CEF and Catholic schools provide a model for effectively educating marginalized students and improving graduation rates, two critical issues for our school-age children.
The CEF supports families living in or at the threshold of poverty. The 205 high school students selected for the study primarily represent the most underserved students in the Catholic school system in the Southern California region and closely resemble the economic, ethnic and personal backgrounds of their peers in the public schools they would have attended.
“This study tells us Catholic high schools are very successful in educating the poor and underserved in our L.A. area communities,” said Nancy Coonis, superintendent for Secondary Schools at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “Through the process of participating in this study, our high schools are now capturing more student achievement data, which helps in recruiting students and in raising tuition funding to help those most in need.”
“The results show that L.A. Archdiocesan Catholic schools give children born into poverty a 98 percent chance of graduating from high school and a 98 percent chance of going on to college,” said Kathy Anderson, CEF executive director. “After seeing these results firsthand, you begin to understand what sort of investment we’re actually making.”
Senior’s Short Film on Vietnam
Nominated for International Award
A short film by senior film production major Nikole Lim titled “Ca Mau, Vietnam: The 600 Lepers” was selected as one of 35 semifinalists in the 2008 Film Your Issue (FYI) competition. More than 500 films, each two minutes long and focused on a social issue, were submitted by young people around the world, ages 14 to 24.
Lim gathered footage by working with fellow student Allyna Nguyen, who received a Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Award to make her own documentary called “Rain Season,” which was screened on the LMU campus this past April.
“I am excited to have been recognized for the film,” Lim said. “I hope it will be beneficial for my future work.”
Lim has two documentaries lined up as upcoming projects. The first will focus on a community of mothers living with AIDS and the second will investigate homeless youth in Los Angeles.
As a semifinalist, “Ca Mau, Vietnam: The 600 Lepers” was eligible for the FYI-MySpace Audience Award, which was decided by public voting online at MySpace.com this past spring. The film can be viewed at http://think.mtv.com/groups/FilmYourIssue, and on YouTube.
New Chief of Public Safety Hired
Hampton N. Cantrell, formerly with the Inglewood Police Department, was named chief of the Department of Public Safety at Loyola Marymount University this past June.
“I am extremely honored that LMU selected me to be its chief of Public Safety,” Cantrell said at his appointment. “I plan to be a visible and responsive member of the LMU community.”
Cantrell came to LMU after serving as captain in the Inglewood Police Department since 1999. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine, and a law degree from Southwestern University School of Law. He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1998. Cantrell also is deeply involved in community organizations, including the Inglewood YMCA and the Rotary Club International.
Lynne Scarboro, senior vice president for administration, oversaw the hiring of Cantrell. His expertise in emergency preparedness, investigations and dealing with community issues are important assets, she said. “Capt. Cantrell’s personal qualities — a strong, authoritative presence, a thoughtful and calm demeanor, a creative problem-solving approach, and a great sense of humor — convinced me that he was the right fit for LMU,” Scarboro added.
LMU Alumni Earn Most
Fulbright Scholarships in One Year
Five former LMU students won Fulbright Scholarships this year, the most ever in one year. “The Fulbright program doesn’t want just scholars — it wants people who are solid, all-around students. And that’s the kind of people that LMU produces,” said Kathleen Harris, director of LMU’s National and International Scholarship Office.
Jose Cabrera M.A.’03 will collaborate with therapists in Querétaro, Mexico, to learn how they engage clients and provide therapy for families in Mexico. He plans to create a training curriculum for therapists in the United States that will help them provide more effective mental health services for Mexican families by integrating American therapies with Mexican theories and techniques.
Samara Katz ’05 will teach English to secondary students in Lecce, Italy, where she will also conduct cultural and linguistic research and serve as a conversational language partner to local community members. After her work in Italy, she hopes to become involved in promoting cultural exchange programs and early foreign language instruction in U.S. schools.
Ellen Krause ’08 plans to teach English in a high school or junior high school in southern Germany. After she completes the Fulbright program, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree and teach history at the high school level in the United States.
David Montes ’08 will teach conversational English and American culture to secondary school students in Seitenstetten and Amstetten, Austria. He will study the influence of Roman Catholicism on Austria’s national identity. He plans to pursue a career as a university professor of theological studies with an emphasis on social justice.
Paddy Sandino ’05 will study the development of Balinese gamelan music in Bali, focusing on recent changes in perception and discourse regarding indigenous music theory. Sandino intends to pursue a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology and use his research as the foundation for a dissertation on Balinese music.