Nationwide, several private schools have opened their community to economically disadvantaged youth through comprehensive, multifaceted programs that prepare and empower students for successful private school experiences. One such program began in 1989 when the leadership of two Chicago private schools banded together to establish the High Jump Program as a means to advance multiculturalism among private schools in the local area and beyond. The program, which was founded by The Latin School of Chicago and The Francis W. Parker School, prepares academically-talented and motivated middle school children with limited family income for future studies at private secondary schools.

High Jump students are enrolled in intensive academic classes for the three summers after the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. They also attend two years of twice-monthly Saturday classes during the seventh and eight grade years. Their classes include English composition, science, computer applications, art, drama, athletics as well as private high school entrance exam preparation.

The students, along with their parents, are offered assistance in identifying, selecting and applying to selective college-preparatory high schools. They are also aided in completing financial aid materials as part of the effort to remove economic barriers.

Committed to providing educational and advancement opportunities to students who might not realize their potential due to economic constraints, the High Jump program has paved the way for more than 450 graduates to attend selective private high schools in the Chicago area as well as boarding schools in other parts of the country.

Another example of expanding the range of school multicultural diversity occurs at St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo, Ohio. This all-boy Catholic school enrolls academically-talented, economic and culturally disadvantaged middle school students into the 2020 Jesuit Scholars Program to prepare them for an academically-challenging college preparatory environment. Before attending classes at St. John’s Jesuit, the program participants, known as Jesuit Scholars, attend academic and social enrichment programs to prepare them for high school. Parents of the Jesuit Scholars are included in the student enrichment process through programs and activities to help them understand the challenges that their sons face and how to support them through their educational experience.

Starting in their freshman year at St. John’s Jesuit and throughout their years of high school study, the Jesuit Scholars are assigned faculty mentors and they receive continuous tutoring as well as the financial assistance for their education. The scholars regularly interact with the school’s alumni who serve as academic and community role models for the students. With seventy-five percent of the Jesuit Scholars earning honor-level grades, almost all of the program participants earn a college degree.

These are just two examples of the efforts that are being undertaken to level the playing field for students who have been underrepresented on the campuses of this country’s private schools. Awareness that such programs are available should be encouraging to many families who seek private school education opportunities for their students.

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