Detroit — Here’s an idea for meeting the financial challenge of keeping a Catholic school open: What if some newly minted Catholic teachers would be willing to teach at an urban school for a year (or two or three) at low pay as a service project before they try to get a better-paying and more permanent position?
That was part of the vision of Terry George and John O’Brien for the Christ the King Service Corps. Besides helping keep the school open at their parish — Christ the King in northwest Detroit — they figured it could also be a vehicle for providing energetic and committed young workers for organizations working to improve the community.
George did some research on the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and some programs that send young teachers into urban schools. Funding commitments were secured to provide service corps members with room and board plus a small stipend, a house was found where they all could live, and notices were sent to Catholic college chaplaincies around the country.
Lots of applications were received, interviews were conducted, and five applicants were chosen for the program’s first year, which began in August — four to teach at Christ the King Elementary and a fifth to work with MOSES (Metropolitan Organizing Strategy for Empowering Strength), an interfaith community organization.
In just its first year of operation, George already sees the program as a success.
“We’ve brought these energetic people to work at MOSES and Christ the King, and we’ve saved the school thousands of dollars,” he says.
At an annual cost of $12,500 per service corps member, the school gets four teachers for a little more than the cost for one.
Christ the King’s principal, Roseanne Jodway, says the program has been “wonderful” for the school, and that the four new teachers have worked very well with the rest of the faculty.
The new teachers bring familiarity with the very latest technology, while the school’s experienced teachers are able to mentor them and share their insights into the art of teaching.
Plus the young teachers are willing to spend extra time with the students, including coaching the athletic teams.
“They’ve just brought a good spirit to the school,” Jodway adds.
For the service corps members, all in their early to mid-20s, the experience has been an interesting launch to their teaching careers.
“It’s been great — there are a lot of challenges, but a lot of rewards,” says Emmi Santos, a California native and graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles.
She and the other service corps members live together in the house provided by the program, sharing meals and chores, and gathering for prayer at least twice a week, as well as attending Sunday Mass together at Christ the King Church.
“It’s great to be living in an environment where we all have the same values,” Santos says.
Gina Lubonovic, a graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, says she was attracted by the program’s community aspect and being able to work in an urban situation.
“It’s been a very positive experience. It’s really great to have the support of other teachers, and be able to talk about issues and what’s happening in the classroom,” she says.
Lubonovic says she likes being able to teach in a Catholic school, and — having grown up in Youngstown, Ohio — “my heart kind of belongs in a more urban environment.”
And becoming a part of Christ the King Parish has also been a positive aspect for her.
“It’s a very vibrant parish, and I have really enjoyed being a part of it and going to Mass here,” Lubonovic adds.
The parish has embraced its four new teachers, too, with various parishioners having invited them to their homes for dinner or dropping off some extra goodies at the house to supplement their usual fare.
And they have made sure the young teachers experience some of the great things Detroit has to offer. So, they have been to the Detroit Institute of Arts, to a Detroit Tigers game, to the Riverwalk and Mexican Town and other places.
Natalia Ceniseroz, a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, says the Christ the King Service Corp had enabled her to “put myself fully into what I was doing.”
“I don’t know if I could have handled this first year as well without such a support system as has been provided by the community and the school,” she says.
While she acknowledges that a Detroit winter is unlike any she had ever experienced in southern California, she says she and Santos have also had the new experiences of making snow angels and engaging in a snowball fight.
For Andrew Brennan, a Chicago native and graduate of Xavier University of Cincinnati, the opportunity to begin his teaching career at Christ the King met his desire to teach in a close-knit urban environment where he could make more of a difference.
But it has also been great to live in community and be able to share the experience with other young teachers.
“We’re all going through the same things, and we share ideas, not only for class, but for how to deal with stress,” he says.
Brennan also praises the support he and the other service corps members have received from the school staff and parish community.
And he says he hopes other young Catholics will consider a similar service commitment as they transition from college to their careers, because “the need is so great.”
“I really feel that I’m living my faith,” he says. “My parents always taught me that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’ and that you shouldn’t hard good fortune — and I’ve been very fortunate.”
For more information about Christ the King Elementary School, call (313) 532-1213.
