Providence-St. Mel

Providence-St. Mel is a private, coeducational K-12 school in Chicago, Illinois. The school currently has 594 students and 50 teachers.

History

The school was created in 1969 with the merger of two schools, Providence High School and St. Mel High School. In 1978 the Archdiocese of Chicago tried to close down the school by withdrawing its support. The administrators of the school and community members were determined to operate the school on its own, without the support of the Archdiocese. In the fall of 1978, Providence-St. Mel reopened as a private independent school. A middle school was added in 1983 and in 1987 and 1993 elementary school grades were added.

When the Archdiocese of Chicago moved to close the last Catholic high school on the West Side in 1978, the principal, parents and students of Providence-St. Mel didn’t wither away and die.

During the spring of 1978, they fought back. Principal Paul J. Adams III embarked on a fight that would cement his place in history as one of America’s modern-day freedom fighters.

“The School That Wouldn’t Die” was born and the nation would soon know about Providence-St. Mel, its trials and its remarkable success rate. Numerous articles would be written and stories told about a school, a man and his students. The popular 1970s hit movie "Cooley High" was filmed here.

Today, Providence-St. Mel is home to more than 600 students from all walks of life. Since 1978, 100 percent of its seniors have been accepted to college.

In 1982 and 1983, President Ronald Reagan visited Providence-St. Mel School to acknowledge its noteworthy achievements. In 1993, Oprah Winfrey donated $1,000,000 to Providence-St. Mel. [http://www.psm.k12.il.us/history.html]

A charter school was added in Englewood,IL during Fall 2006 known as Providence Englewood. It houses grades 1-5 and plans to add higher levels soon.

A model of urban education.

In the October 2006 issue of Chicago magazine, Providence-St. Mel is recognized as one of the most outstanding elementary schools in the metropolitan Area. Providence-St. Mel earned a place on the Chicago magazine "A+ Team," the list of select 115 public and 25 private elementary and middle schools deserving high marks for teaching young minds well. Of the private schools aiming for excellence," PSM is unique in that ours is the only private school that service predominantly inner-city African-American students. We truly do have a model for urban education.

The Providence-St. Mel Mission Statement

:"At Providence-St. Mel, we believe. We believe in the creation of inspired lives produced by the miracle of hard work. We are not frightened by the challenges of reality, but believe that we can change our conception of this world and our place within it. So we work, plan, build and dream - in that order. We believe that one must earn the right to dream. Our talent, discipline and integrity will be our contribution to a new world, because we believe that we can take this place, this time and this people and make a better place, a better time and a better people. With God's help we will either find a way or make one!" [" [http://www.psm.k12.il.us/ Providence-St. Mel Home Page] "]

TIMELINE
* 1969 - Providence High School (run by the Sisters of Providence) and St. Mel High School (run by the Christian Brothers) merge to form Providence-St. Mel.
* 1971 - Paul Adams joins Providence-St. Mel as Director of Guidance.
* 1972 - Paul Adams named principal of Providence-St. Mel.
* 1974 - Archdiocese threatens to close the school. With increased community support, imminent closure is averted.
* 1978 - Archdiocese withdraws its support of Providence-St. Mel. On July 1, 1978 the day after the Archdiocese lease of the building expires, Principal Paul Adams announces that Providence-St. Mel will reopen in the fall as a private independent school.
* 1982 - President Reagan visits Providence-St. Mel (and again in 1983) and serves as Honorary Chairman of the board of trustees.
* 1983 - Recognizing the need to reach students earlier, Providence-St. Mel adds a middle school.
* 1984 - Coleman Foundation donates its first $1,000,000 to Providence-St. Mel.
* 1987 - Fifth and sixth grades added.
* 1990 - Summer Opportunity of a Lifetime (SOAL) launched. Tom Dittmer Founder.
* 1993 - First through fourth grades added. Oprah Winfrey donates $1,000,000 to Providence-St. Mel.
* 1994 - Third Semester (summer) program initiated, preparing students for the academic rigors that await them in the Fall.
* 1996 - School becomes fully networked for computers and opens three computer labs.
* 1998 - Providence-St. Mel evaluates and aligns curriculum to national and state standards. Test scores increase school-wide eight percentage points.
* 1999 - Test scores increase school-wide an additional six percentage points.
* 2000 - Coleman Foundation cornerstone dedicated in recognition of its early support and new $2,000,000 challenge grant. Kindergarten added.

References

External links

* [http://www.psm.k12.il.us/ The Providence-St. Mel website]
* [http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/9133z/ Profile on Private School Review]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=119+South+Central+Park+Avenue+-+Chicago,+Illinois+60624&ie=UTF8&om=1 Google map of the school]