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518spotlightnj2_2024-05-18-09-27-07

We are putting the spotlight on Saint Vincent Academy in Newark, Joan Tursi is the principal Carol Palmer is a French teacher. Destiny branch is a senior sister Noreen Neary is a former chemistry teacher and director of Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. And on that note, Sister Noreen, 155 years is what the school is celebrating. Exactly. Tell us about that. Well, actually, the sisters of charity were founded in Newark a 165 years ago. It's our anniversary as well. But in a hun in uh 1869 we established an industrial school for girls. It was called Saint Vincent's Industrial School. And it was really to take impoverished girls and provide them with the skills, um sewing needle work, housekeeping things so that they could earn anonymous living and support themselves without any thought of, you know, an academic program. But by 1919 10, that had changed and it now the industrial school was gone. It was now an academic school again for girls at the secondary level. Um somewhere in the mid 20th century, in addition to the academic work, they included uh commercial program. So some of the girls took typing shorthand, bookkeeping in the mornings along with their regular academic subjects like English and history and religious studies. But then in the afternoon, they went out to the corporations in Newark and they had jobs there. So that when they finally did graduate from Saint Vincent, they were able to move seamlessly into a position in the business community of Newark. Um as parents no longer saw that as a value, they wanted solely a college prep program. That is what Saint Vincent then became and that's what it remains today. So essentially, almost 100% of the students who graduate go on to college and are quite successful in college. Yes. What has this school meant to you? Destiny and looking at how it's evolved to keep up with the changing times for women. Well, I view Saint Vincent as the blueprint for a lot of educational institutions, specifically, those that follow the same algorithm of uh serving women, serving the in acidity and serving women of color and people of color. I believe that Saint Vincent has molded its testimony and molded its mission on helping those who are in need. And that ties right back to S IC. They are building women to go out into the community and those saint women are helping Saint Vincent and the people around them. And how many women do you all typically help? A year? We have about 200 students and um we have 100% graduation rate. Congratulations. I'm so very proud of that. And um 97 to 98% of our students go on to two and four year colleges um to uh either join the military or take a gap year with the intention of then following through with their college aspirations, Joan. Where do you draw these girls from? They're from the greater Newark area. Most of them are from the city of Newark, but they do come from the surrounding towns.

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518Spotlightnj3_2024-05-18-12-20-30

Saint Vincent Academy in Newark is what we are talking about here on spotlight New Jersey. Joan Ty Bursey is the principal. Carol Palmer is a French teacher. Destiny branch is a senior sister Noreen. Neary is a former chemistry teacher, Director of Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth and Carol. We wanna talk to you about the dedicated staff and teachers that Joan referred to in our last segment. How long have you been there? I've been there for 37 years and throughout those years, it has been a wonderful experience. That's why I'm still there because the educators who come into our building as soon as they're introduced to the mission and our purpose of being there, the philosophy of the school they are usually taken in as I was many years ago, fresh out of college and they dedicate their lives during the time that they're with us to pouring into these young women, to making sure that they become the best possible human beings, not just academically, intellectually, but also spiritually emotionally, personally and all their interactions. We're very much concerned about the whole person in educating and throughout the years, we have just met some fantastic individuals who've touched our lives as well as the lives of the students. And it's interesting that even if they go on to other professions or other, other jobs, they're still a part of us and they usually keep in touch with us and many of them are among our contributors. It's a wonderful family that's established at Saint Vincent Academy. I love the way you say family and you see how things have changed for women over 155 years, how has the curriculum and you as teachers kept up with that? And what do you bring to the classroom every day for them? Well, we, we're very sensitive to our young women and where they're coming from. Uh many of them faced face obstacles that uh we can't even express, but we have such confidence in them. And we've tried to keep up, especially with the changing times as you've said. And the technology that's out there. Um We have just uh instituted two labs, biomedical labs that we Yes. So that was the dream of sister June Favata for many years. Uh Our uh administrator, one of three on another, our administrative team and one of the labs is dedicated to none other. But our sister Noreen Neary who has played a great role in getting our students interested in the sciences over the, she's inspired so many of the young ladies, she's a master teacher and I must say we were really sad when she moved on to the archives, but we know everyone wants her. So why is that so special to you to get the girls interested in science like that? Because I, as a child, I had very little science in elementary school, but I had superb teachers in high school and they were sisters of charity. Um And it just, I love science. I love the way of thinking about science. Um, I believe it, even if a girl doesn't choose to pursue that as a career, it's a good foundation for logical thought and the ability to think critically and.

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519spotlightnj4_2024-05-19-09-00-01

We are chatting with the ladies from Saint Vincent Academy in Newark, Joan T. Bursey is principal Carol Palmer is the French teacher. Destiny Branch is a senior there at Saint Vincent Academy. Sister Noreen Neary is a former chemistry teacher and director of Archives of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. In the last segment, we were talking about the biomedical labs that you have there. That is so cool. It's really, it's amazing and exciting time. But you know, I think it's important to note that before, you know, the terminology of stem or steam where, where it was even a buzzword. Our president, sister June Favata had this dream and this vision for our young women that they should be more involved in the sciences, not only because they have the ability to do so, but that their talents and their voices are needed in those fields. And so to see that vision come to fruition with the opening of those two new science labs this year is just a dream come true and it's so wonderful to see the girls working with the newest technology. Um We'll be starting an engineering program in September that will um balance out the biomedical program along with all, all of our other um classic science courses. And obviously we're a liberal arts school. So the curriculum is really, it's jam packed, but there's something for everyone and ways for the girls to discover who they are and who they wanna be. And that's important, isn't it? Destiny as a student? Yes. Yes. Yes. Finding my identity in Saint Vincent is something that I do contribute to what it means to grow up in New York and to be around women of color and what I find myself feeling right now is bittersweet because I'm graduating in, I think almost two weeks, two weeks in almost two weeks before, you know it. I know. And unfortunately I'm not into stem, but I have found myself being able just to freely think and in classrooms like history of racism and in modern history, I think that it's a privilege to know what it means to grow up and to analyze history with an open eye just to see what is and just to freely think. And I have that privilege and that advantage at Saint Vincent is something that a lot of women deserve to have. It shouldn't even be, uh, a topic of debate. And it's amazing. And Carol as the teacher, when you watch how these students evolve and change and like you said, become the person they're intended to be. How does that make you feel? Oh, it's the most satisfying thing that one could do in life just watching them grow. And it's funny you don't take the credit for it because you know that there's so many other people on the faculty, it's, it's, it's a communal effort. It's not anything that one person does so to speak. It's all of us pulling together in the same direction, being supportive of each other. The, the culture of the school is of such that just stepping into the building, you can feel the difference.

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519spotlightnj5_2024-05-19-09-41-06

We're chatting with the ladies from Saint Vincent's Academy in Newark and they can use a lot of community support which they do get. And we also wanna discuss the resources that the school needs. So let's start with you, Joan, the principal. Um So the quest to educate one student per year is over 10,000, over $16,000. Um Our tuition is $5800 and we haven't raised it in over five years. So that tasks the school and our development team with raising the difference to educate each child per year. And so that's a huge financial um obstacle to overcome and we work very hard at it. And the reason we do that, it, it, it all goes back to the mission. We are there to serve students and students in need. And we believe that a financial situation should not make it hard for a young woman to attend this school that these young women need this transformative education and they deserve it even more. So and so their family's financial situation should not stop them. And that is all part of our mission and our goal. How do you all do that. You've seen other institutions raising the cost of tuition. Where do you want? Ok. What do you do to raise the money that you need? We have two major fundraiser. One is our friends in concert gala that usually takes place in the fall and we just had our balti roll golf outing on Monday. Um, we work with our alums, we work with different corporations, foundations. We, um, apply for grants. It's a lot of, you know, boots on the ground, everybody all hands on deck, but that's the way that we do everything. Um, and it's challenging, it's challenging. Um, but we do the best we can and we believe that when people really learn about the school and they need our students, um, they're sold because it's easy to fall in love with the school. It's a home, it's uh a, a vibrant environment and the students really speak for themselves. You know, they, they speak for the school and when they come back and they go out into the world and they say that they came from Saint Vincent Academy makes us very proud. I bet it is. I see you over here nodding your head. Yes, I can't agree more. It's just a wonderful thing and, and like Jones said, stepping into the building, the, the students in the school and the atmosphere in the building, it sells itself. It really does. And we, we invite people in spontaneously because we're not putting on a show that we are who we are every day, each day. You can come into our building, you can tour, you can see what happens in the classrooms. It's just a wonderful place and I've had people visited for sporting events, even comment on our students comportment their behavior and, and just everything about being in the school made them just feel safe and very, it's a very wonderful warm atmosphere. And so we'd like to invite other contributors out there, come on in and see what we're doing. And I'm sure that you'll wanna invest in the lives of these wonderful young women.

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519spotlightNJsix

Saint Vincent Academy in Newark marks 155 years of educating young women in the community. The school constantly keeps up with the changing times and roles for young ladies. They have two science biomedical labs. They'll be offering engineering programs. This fall tuition is $5800 annually, which they have not increased in five years. The Academy holds two big fundraisers a year. They're also working to boost alumni contributions. It's not that they don't want to, but it, it's hard when they're trying to make it in their own careers and get their self settled and potentially start families or move up in their careers. You know, it's not that they don't appreciate. They all come back and say how much they appreciate the school. Um They all come back and say it was the, it was the pivotal time in their life that attending Saint Vincent's changed the trajectory of their lives. Um So we're working on the give back part, they give back in many other ways, they participate in activities, but it's the financial contribution that becomes a challenge.

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News 12’s Della Crews spoke to staff members and a student to learn more about the school’s history.

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