History | St. Martin de Porres Academy

Our History

St. Martin de Porres Academy is a faith-based, NativityMiguel Network middle school that provides tuition free, extended day education for underserved girls and boys from low-income families in the New Haven area. We are an independent Catholic school committed to a belief in the dignity and worth of every person. We strive to provide each child with a promising start in life and to equip them to fulfill their academic potential while achieving spiritual and social maturity. We welcome children of all faiths, races, and cultures.

In 1994 a group of New Haven business people came together to improve opportunities for urban young people. After an 8 year experience in a parochial school seeing countless students who were unable to pay the very modest tuition for elementary school, they envisioned opening a private, tuition-free middle school for underserved, low-income children from the New Haven area. The journey began with the initial idea in 2003 and came to fruition with the opening of St. Martin de Porres Academy in September 2005.

Now in our sixth year, we have 61 fifth to eighth grade students enrolled and the Academy has been granted the status of “Recognized Candidate for Accreditation” by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges’ Commission on Independent Schools.

The Nativity Model

The first Nativity School was opened by the Jesuits in 1971 to educate at-risk children from the Lower East Side of New York City. The mission was to create a high-quality, non tuition-driven school for students who could not afford a costly private school education.

The Judeo-Christian values which inspired the Nativity Model include a respect for the dignity and potential of each person, a responsibility to assist the poor and those in need, a strong sense of community within the one family of God, and the obligation to promote a society characterized by social justice. In the Nativity Model, students are enrolled without regard to race, color, religion or ethnicity. Since 1989, this model has been replicated over 40 times in cities across the country, focusing on the middle school years and all committed to accompanying their students through high school and into college.

The Nativity Track

Record 88% of Nativity School graduates in 1999 went on to graduate from high school in 2003. 80% of these graduates went on to a 2-or-4-year college or university. 91% of 2003 eighth grade graduates are now attending Catholic / Private / Charter Schools in their area.

Jay Bowes
Founder &
Development Director

As we progress through our 6th year, my thoughts go back to September of 2005 when St. Martin de Porres opened with just two full-time teachers and a group of 5th graders whose parents believed enough in our vision to trust us with their kids. God was truly with us then and remains ever so present as the miracle that is SMPA continues to evolve. This year, our 11 teachers are making a dramatic difference in the lives of our 61 students. In June, we will graduate our 3rd class and have over 50 students from SMPA in high school next year. The oldest of those graduates will be begin looking at colleges. And so, the miracle continues, and the miracle workers are the literally hundreds of parents, Board members, volunteers, donors, and faculty and staff who continue to believe in our mission to transform lives by educating one precious child at a time.