[2][3] In 1971, a group of Jesuits opened a middle school in the Lower East Side of Manhattan to serve the waves of Dominican and Puerto Rican immigrants settling in the area.
The Nativity Mission Center provided their middle school-aged boys with an educational program in which they could excel academically, socially, and spiritually.
The extended school day almost doubled that of the local public school, a low student-to-teacher ratio ensured time for one-on-one instruction, and a summer academic program extended learning year round.
[citation needed] The Nativity Mission Center flourished, and by the 1980s had attracted the attention of Catholic educators nationwide.
In 1993, the Christian Brothers opened the first San Miguel School in Providence, Rhode Island.