| A Cultural Asset
Holy Cross High School is an independent Catholic school serving grades 7–12 with
an all male enrollment of over 550 students. The ethnic composition of the student body is
96% Hispanic, 3% Anglo and 1% African–American. Consistently since 1957, nearly 90%
of the school’s graduates have enrolled in colleges or major universities throughout
the United States. Holy Cross High School recognizes the hardships facing the children of
the West Side of San Antonio, however, it is not the goal of Holy Cross High School to
allow educational and economic deficiencies stand in the way of a child’s opportunity
for educational prosperity. The Holy Cross alumni, over 3000 strong, are proof of what the
Congregation of Holy Cross is capable of achieving.
Community Impact
Since its first graduating class in 1961, the school’s alumni have gone on to
impact the local communityin many positive ways.Whether it be serving as a federal judge,
surgeon, lawyer, business exec, teacher, or CEO of a major company; Holy Cross High School
students forever remain committed to that community he’s involved with.
Preparation to enter a modern, diverse society has always been and remains the mission
of the Congregation of Holy Cross. The effort to produce academic excellence as well as
social, physical and spiritual achievement still remains at the forefront because the Holy
Cross community understands completely the need for an educational institution that
prepares the kind of graduates that freely give back to their community.
Holy Cross High School has a passion for giving back to the community what the
communjity failed to give them. Holy Cross High School graduates continue to impact the
community as well as the world beyond. In Christ–like dedication, Holy Cross
alumni continue to lead the way in providing outreach programs to local youths, scholastic
endowments to the under–privileged, health and welfare education courses for the
local community and a continued financial dedication to the only college preparatory
school on the West Side of San Antonio, Texas.
Addressing The Need
Because of the school’s ethnic population is comprised of 96% Hispanics and its
immediate community is approximately the same, Holy Cross High School is prepared to
address this educational and economical deficiency.
Poor academic performance, lack of achievement and poor quality schools lead to a
student’s discouragement, failure and sadly, on many occasions, his or her eventual
dropping out of school. The argument for a student’s dropping out of school are far
and wide. Tragically, this real concern goes little further than a political agenda. The
Congregation of Holy Cross believes that the time has come to address this tragedy with
the development of a new Holy Cross campus; one that is co–institutional, providing a
value-based education for all the children of the West Side of San Antonio.
Whatever the cause for dropping out of school, the consequences of not completing
one’s education usually result in economic failure for the student and socioeconomic
problems for his or her community. As a result of continued poor educational opportunities
and disastrous choices, the cycle of perpetual poverty is generated and perpetuated. The
student fails to grasp the long-range benefits of education, therefore limiting him or her
to certain economic and social failure.
Solution
The cycle of educational poverty must be altered. This can be accomplished with the
real opportunity for every child from the West Side of San Antonio receiving a
value–centered, quality education. It is imperative that their social, physical and
spiritual needs be met as soon as possible. Since its founding in 1957, Holy Cross High
School has graduated over 3000 male students. The time remains still to continue this
successful mission. However, the demand for the introduction of a female population to the
school must and will be addressed, for the population of girls on the West Side continues
to grow at an ever increasing rate.
To meet this need, plans are already underway to develop a $20 million
Co–Institutional, state–of–the–art campus on the present Holy Cross
High School campus. The Co–Institutional campus will provide a base of education for
approximately 1300 boys and girls rather than a current enrollment of approximately 540
boys. This 20 acre, community/education based corridor of education, set to open its doors
by 2005, will provide that acclaimed Holy Cross education for more than twice what it has
been able to in the past.
Equipped with state-of-the art science labs, a theater, a multimedia facility and the
latest in educational technology, this Holy Cross Corridor of Education will forever serve
as a beacon of hope and educational prosperity for the children of the West Side, thus
positively altering the cycle of perpetual educational suppression. |
Back to Holy Cross Home