Nativity Prep Academy of San Diego

For the hardworking students at Nativity Prep, our purpose is to provide a genuine and proven alternative, a best-case scenario, to inspire in them a clear and hopeful vision for their future—from middle school, through high school, to college and beyond. Our mission is to provide them with an excellent education beginning in grades six, seven, and eight, one focused on the full development of each student—academically, socially, physically, spiritually and emotionally. By tracking the success of our graduates in four-year colleges, and by working to convert those in two-year community colleges to four-year college graduates, we have learned that our students' success after eighth grade depends in large part on talented and caring staff who can continue to provide critical support for them throughout high school and into college.

Nativity Prep makes an 11-year commitment to the students we accept into the sixth grade. This commitment includes three years of middle school, four years of high school, and at least four years of college. Our high expectations and the deep relationships we develop on this 11-year journey has led to better outcomes.

We describe our strategies in terms of three challenges:

1) To graduate each and every student to high school, ready to excel.
As we grow and invest in our Middle School Program, we work to maintain small class sizes, professional teachers as well as robust counseling, mentoring and guidance programs.
2) To effectively support every student on their journey to college.
The Nativity Prep commitment far exceeds the three years of our Middle School Program, transitioning into our Graduate Support Program. We begin this support as soon as the students arrive in the sixth grade. We place our students in different high schools throughout San Diego, providing scholarship support as well as weekly support workshops where the high school students return for SAT prep, college selection, career counseling and more.
3) To graduate students from low-income situations at rates that meet or exceed the rate of privileged students.
For our students and their families, college acceptance is an amazing accomplishment, introducing a whole new world. We are investing additional staff resources to engage and support students during their college years, dramatically increasing the college graduation rate of our students.

Nativity Prep Academy is part of a 47-member schools coalition of schools dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty through education. We share best practices and results-oriented solutions to help our students achieve their dream of a college degree. Member schools are located are located in 16 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian Provinces. Our schools educate nearly 3,500 students and support over 6,000 graduates.


Northeast (16 schools in MA/NY/CT)
Mid-Atlantic (14 schools in PA/MD/DE/DC/NC)
Midwest (7 schools in IL/WI/KY/MO)
West (8 schools in TX/CA/CO/OR/WA)
Canada (2 schools in Saskatchewan and Manitoba)Northeast (16 schools in MA/NY/CT)

Following are some recent successes and stats from the past three academic years:

Graduates from last year's eighth-grade class (Class of 2019) earned admissions to and are currently attending, among others, the following high schools: Cathedral Catholic High School, Francis Parker School, High Tech High, Mater Dei Catholic, and the Academy of Our Lady of Peace.

Better than 99% of our graduates have earned their high school diplomas to date.

The past few high school classes were accepted to a number of two- and four-year colleges, including Notre Dame, University of San Diego, University of Southern California, University of Arizona, Xavier University, Seattle University, Hofstra University, San Diego State, UC Merced, UC Riverside, Cal State San Marcos, and others.

Better than 83% of our graduates matriculate to two- and four-year colleges and universities after graduating high school.

Better than 97% daily student-attendance rate for the past few academic years.

For the past few academic years, 100% parent attendance for quarterly parent-teacher conferences.

9:1 student/teacher ratio – roughly three times better than area public schools.

With an extended year and extended-school day, 35% additional school hours compared to area schools.