Mother
Teresa middle school to be established in Regina
By Frank Flegel
REGINA — The directive of Mother Teresa of Calcutta to a group of business people to give back to their communities will result in the establishment of a middle school for disadvantaged children in Regina.
“This really came from Paul (Paul Hill, president of the Hill
Group of Companies),” said Mo Bundon, senior
vice-president and COO. “A
group of business people met with Mother Teresa and asked what they
could do to help and expected a request for money but instead she told
them to go back to their communities and to give back.”
The Hill family has a long
association with educational institutions, specifically Notre Dame College
in Wilcox, Sask., the University of Regina and the Jesuit-run Campion
College at the U of R. The family, through its group of companies, has
also established educational programs and a foundation that provides
support for disadvantaged children and the idea for a middle school
came from that history.
A team was established that included Gwen Keith, retired director of education for the Regina Roman Catholic School Division, and research began. A model was found in the NativityMiguel Network of Schools in the United States; the Mother Teresa Middle School will follow that model.
There are about 65 NativityMiguel
Schools in the US, operated mostly by Jesuits but including several
other Christian denominations and a few lay groups.
Bundon said it’s expected
the Mother Teresa Middle School will be registered with the provincial
government as an independent school and thus will be eligible for educational
grants similar to other independent schools. It will also be affiliated
with the Regina Roman Catholic School Division.
“It will be faith based,”
said Bundon, “will operate on an expanded day and extended year
and will require support and commitment from parents.”
The school will be quite
small, at least initially, starting with Grade 6 and ultimately will
hold about 20 students in the three middle school grades. The method
of recruitment and selection has yet to be finalized.
Keith said they are in the
process of hiring a principal and want that person in place for about
a year before the school actually opens some time in late 2011. Negotiations
are taking place with Regina Catholic Schools for space.
Nativity Schools in the US
have radically changed the drop-out rate of disadvantaged children,
with 90 per cent now completing high school and going on to higher education,
said Bundon and Keith.
The Mother Teresa School will follow the Saskatchewan curriculum and will operate longer daily hours and a longer year than the regular school systems. It will be the first such school in Canada. Paul Hill, in an interview on the school’s website, suggested similar schools may be established in other parts of Canada, with Winnipeg perhaps being the next city.
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