Empowering Schools

Our Sharing School: Academy of St. Benedict the African (ASBA)

Academy of St. Benedict the African (formerly St. Raphael) has been serving the community since 1901, growing and changing to meet the neighborhood students and families. Currently, the school serves over 200 students. St. Benedict the African, was a former slave who devoted himself to a Franciscan order and became known for his holiness, wisdom, patience, generosity, and humility – virtues that ASBA instills in their students today. As the only Catholic school in West Englewood, they remain firmly committed to this mission.

Read about previous ASBA activity (click below):

Lent 2025: ASBA Collections

This Lent, we are excited to launch our new "Sharing School" partnership with the Academy of St. Benedict the African (ASBA) in West Englewood. You may recall our previous "Sharing Parish" partnership with St. Agatha/St. Simon the Cyrene in North Lawndale. After discussions with the parish staff and Hands of Mercy teams, we decided to shift our focus to ASBA due to the significant need in that community, as well as the greater opportunities for involvement. We also see potential for a meaningful connection between the students of St. Josaphat and those at ASBA.

Throughout Lent, we will share information about the school and ways you can contribute. Parishioner Kim Nugent is leading this initiative. ASBA will be the focus of our almsgiving this Lent, and the funds from our second collections will support several important needs, including:

Stocking and maintaining a care closet with basic hygiene items like toothpaste, deodorant, underwear, etc. for students.
Creating a welcoming lounge space where teachers and students can connect, including design work, furniture, painting, shelving, baskets, etc.
Providing rosaries for the 200 students to use during May, the month dedicated to the Blessed Mother. (If you have rosaries to donate, please place them in an envelope and drop them in the collection basket or bring them to the parish office.)
Supporting ASBA’s Teacher Appreciation Week in early May.
Supporting ASBA's summer education program by securing learning materials.

Please consider making a Lenten donation to help fund these initiatives. Thank you!

Fall 2024: ASBA Back-To-School Drive

It's Back-to-School time, and this year, it also means that we're back to the active support of Empowering Schools under our Hands of Mercy ministries umbrella. We have partnered with Big Shoulders school Academy of St. Benedict the African in Englewood, a thriving school of over 250 Black students. Our long term goal is to develop longstanding relationships with ASBA students, faculty and families, starting small and building upon our learnings and successes. Here's how you can get involved and/or help out:

1) Join Susan McDermott, Laura Burstein, Cheryl LeeVan and Christine Frech on the steering committee. Help us work with Principal Jessica Taylor and other ASBA staff and volunteers to determine how best to develop our relationship. Email [email protected]

2) Stock the 'Positive Behavior Incentive Store" with items from this Amazon Wish List. Students earn points throughout the week that they can use for small (and big) items at the "Store". Please ship to Principal Jessica Taylor, Academy of St. Benedict the African, 6020 South Laflin St. Chicago, IL 60636

3) Would you be willing to "host" a faculty member or family at 10:00 am Mass and/or JosaFEST on Sunday, September 15? Contact Susan McDermott [email protected] for more information.

4) Do you have a U-shaped or kidney-shaped table for class group work? How about a couch, coffee/side table or area rug in good condition for the teachers' lounge or game room? Please send a picture to Principal Taylor [email protected] to coordinate.

The students, faculty and families of the Academy of St. Benedict the African thank you!

Books First! Chicago

Since 2016, we have been working with Books First! Chicago to create libraries in the 70% of Chicago Public Schools in low-income neighborhoods that have none. Can you imagine growing up without books to read at home or at school? If you are reading this, you know how important a solid foundation in reading (and writing) is. For everything.

Prior Collaborations:

Peck Elementary School (click here for more info)

Peck Elementary School

Peck Elementary, located at 3826 W 58th Street in Chicago, services approximately 800 students, most of whom speak Spanish at home. Approximately 500 students have been identified as English Language Learners and participate in our bilingual instructional program.

Peck Elementary School strives to educate the whole child within a diverse community. They continue to develop a successful and comprehensive educational program that provides cultural diversity, individuality, and intellectual achievements. They are a STEAM school that utilizes 3 MakerSpace labs and 2 Garden Spaces to integrate multiple content areas for meaningful learning experiences.

Wentworth School (click here for more info)

Wentworth School

D. S. Wentworth School, 1340 West 71st Street, Chicago, IL 60636

Level 2 in CPS rating system, ~400 students, 93.6% Black; 5.6% Hispanic.
Per the 2019 & 2018 testing reports, 2nd Grade in the 1st percentile for reading.

Our Collaboration with Wentworth School ended in 2021, but we accomplished a lot during our time with them.

Through a connection made through Books First! in 2020, St. Josaphat Parish collaborated with D. S. Wentworth School in Englewood. We began by supporting Primary Literacy Coach Jessica Christopher Taylor in her quest to instill a love of reading in the primary grade kids at Wentworth, and to boost their reading level from the 1st percentile. Key to her plan was to care for the teachers. Since the summer of 2020, we have supported Mrs. Taylor and Wentworth in various ways, through a book drive, book labeling and organization, donations to a virtual happy hour for teachers and support of Donors Choose projects. In addition:

Parishioner (and visionary) Jen Velarde and her team created a space that is both calming and exciting for kids to DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). The concept was to capture how reading takes you on adventures!
Parishioner Vera Wiltrout and the 4th Grade Junior Girl Scout Troop coordinated the Wentworth Remote workspace project. 50 St. Josaphat School and Religious Education students decorated divider boards for primary grade students who are learning from home, sharing space with family members.
In thanksgiving for their efforts to overcome the difficulties of teaching remotely, our parish sent the primary grade teachers and aids at Wentworth $15 gift cards from Target donated by parishioners Cheryl Lee Van and the Pomerenke family. Members of our Wentworth Collaboration Team - Judy Lovero, Jean Bystedt and Laura Burstein, coordinated this undertaking.
50 Wentworth primary students received books and blankets for reading over the Christmas holidays through our Giving Tree.
We had over 20 Book Read Alouds in our video library for the Wentworth Scholars.
We managed a weekly buddy system for a primary grade students (watch this overview video).
Watch the 2020 Christmas video from Wentworth School

For more information about our ASBA ministry, please contact Kim Nugent or Christine Frech.