MARIANISTS ANNOUNCE THIRD MUSP PROGRAM

Fr. Tim

Fr. Tim Kenney, assistant for education, announces the creation of a third Marianist Urban Students Program (MUSP) at Central Catholic High School in San Antonio. MUSP is a program that identifies high-potential students in urban elementary schools and offers them financial, academic and social support to succeed in Marianist high schools. MUSP programs are in place at two other Marianist high schools —Villa Angela-St. Joseph in Cleveland and Purcell Marian in Cincinnati.

Bro. Rich

Bro. Rich Thompson (Holy Rosary, San Antonio) has been appointed director of the program. He will serve under the supervision of Bro. Gene Meyerpeter, who administers the Cleveland and Cincinnati MUSP programs. The Central Catholic program will be modeled after the existing MUSP programs, with comparable guidelines and an advisory board. Bro. Rich will work with Central Catholic and the Archdiocese of San Antonio to determine which elementary schools MUSP will draw candidates from and qualifications for the program.

The new program, slated to begin September 2007, aims to increase Marianist outreach to Hispanics — one of the fastest growing Catholic populations in the United States. According to Fr. Tim, Central Catholic’s strong Marianist charism and location in a growing Hispanic area made it a natural choice as a MUSP site.

“Expanding our outreach to the Hispanic community in Marianist education was identified at previous Province assemblies and supported at subsequent Provincial Chapter meetings. It has been an important goal of the Provincial Council and the office of education,” said Fr. Tim. “It also is a direct response to the Province Mission Statement, ‘committed to education, we minister with youth and in solidarity with the poor.’”

Fr. Tim cited numerous national reports that show immigrant teens at a severe economic disadvantage, with limited spiritual and academic resources. “There’s a high dropout rate and low educational success,” said Fr. Tim. “We want to provide access to Catholic schools and the educational opportunities they provide.”

Fr. Joseph Tarrillion, president of Central Catholic, said the board and administrators of Central Catholic are very enthusiastic about the opportunities MUSP provides to students in need. “We are looking forward to the integration of this program into our efforts to serve young men seeking a quality, Catholic leadership education.”

Central Catholic High School