"What started in 2017 as a single classroom with two teachers has now blossomed into a vibrant school and community"

2024年5月, when SI's latest class walks the stage at USF's War Memorial Gymnasium to receive their diplomas, there will be one particular group of SI seniors marking a special milestone in our school's history: Those who were in the first class to attend the Fr. 萨奥尔学院, 如果是校园, full-scholarship middle school founded to provide students from under-resourced communities the opportunity to receive a Jesuit education.

These pioneers are blazing a trail that dozens of SI students in subsequent classes are now following — the seniors who spoke to GENESIS each expressed fundamental awareness that they are first on this path and credited FSA with preparing them for SI — but in most other ways, 他们是典型的SI高年级学生, applying to colleges and pushing themselves to excel in the classroom, 在运动场上, 以及其他各种各样的追求.

“FSA帮助我培养了毅力. I learned I am capable of accomplishing hard things," 说 Brenda Valladares ’24. "Every day, we repeated out loud, 'persist, seek, serve,' and those definitely stuck with me. 我也很幸运，因为我姐姐, 谁去了SI, 鼓励我对新体验保持开放的心态. I think it all came together when I realized I wanted to keep volunteering at the Martin de Porres soup kitchen because serving there had become so important to me."

Andrea Phillips ’24 talked about figuring out how to balance the college application process, 学者, 以及所有她喜欢的课外活动, 源自国旗橄榄球, 篮球, 成为黑人学生会的领导. 但在她繁忙的日程之外, 她说, it is important for her to stay connected with FSA in order to help the students coming after her, 考虑到她从与高年级学生的互动中学到了很多, 自己. 她说, "I remember being able to make connections while we were on our way to a lab or a practice in the gym at the high school. 一次, 我们去了麦琪办公室, and Erika Morris ’21 took real time to share her experiences at SI as a Black student, 为了更好地了解我, 把我介绍给她的朋友. 所以，当我开始在SI工作时，我已经有了一些认识的人."

一些学生的旅程比其他学生更加艰难。, especially when dealing with pressures and concerns that might never occur to many of their peers. But what shines through in conversation with these seniors is that they are all persistent and committed to making the most of the opportunities presented to them.

24岁的Jazmine Hernandez回忆起她刚开始在FSA工作时的感受, 说, “作为头等舱, 成为第一个做某事的人是令人兴奋的, and I think we all saw pretty quickly that FSA was completely different from the schools we had attended before.她接着说, “自从来到SI, I have felt a lot of responsibility to take advantage of opportunities at school. I think about both my mom and my younger sister, and how 我在这里 for both myself and for them."

"I am still learning about resources available to students," 说 Angel Lozano ’24. 来自学术和目标支持中心, 咨询中心, 去录音棚, 我们在SI有这么多. 我们的学术很严谨，可能很耗时, 但同时, that means I always have something to look forward to on my agenda. I like being busy, and at SI I have so many opportunities lined up that I would not have, otherwise."

FSA校长Reese Bayze说, 现在在她的第四年领导中学, 说, “时不时地, 我退后一步，提醒自己我们在FSA所做的一切. What started in 2017 as a single classroom with two teachers has now blossomed into a vibrant school and community, with active parents and guardians who are invested in our belief that students are successful when educators and families are a team.她接着说, “我们与家庭的伙伴关系已经超越了课堂, and we foster a learning community where families take an active role in educating young Ignatians to become people with and for others. Students’ success is 他们的家庭’ success, and families’ success is the school’s success."

有四个中学毕业的班级, the data gathered so far suggest FSA is providing an exceptional education, 学生们觉得他们的经历很有价值. 在学校最近的年终学生调查中, 95%的学生表示会向其他学生推荐FSA. 根据测试结果, 在FSA的前四届毕业班, 75% of students met or exceeded the national growth average in math, and 78% met or exceeded the national growth average in language — generally, FSA students are advancing and growing academically faster than their peers.

Although it has become a fixture on the SI campus and interest from elementary school students and 他们的家庭 continues to grow, FSA仍然需要财政支持. 进步副主任斯塔西·弗莱明解释说:“Fr. 绍尔学院是由捐助者的慷慨资助的, and those funding streams are kept completely separate from SI; we do not pull from SI tuition payments or donations to SI in order to fund operations at FSA. 目前，FSA的捐款约为4美元.五百万，也就是说我们需要持续筹集资金. 一旦金融服务管理局的捐款达到2500万美元, we will be able to fund the school almost entirely off the draw from the endowment. 这就是我们的目标. 在那之前, we are reliant on annual support from our generous donors who give in amounts large and small because they believe in what FSA does for our students, 他们的家庭, 我们更大的社区."

呼应了这一点, 24岁的米娅·圣地亚哥说, "I hope FSA is able to stay stable and continue because it was such a blessing to me. 我从没想过我会在这里, 我所拥有的机会, 但是因为这个项目, 我在这里, 我非常感激."