Last week I had a conversation with a student living with her grandparents and another who lives with her Great-Grandmother.  It turns out that 10% of our students live with grandparents, and 54% of our students are from single-parent families that are helped in one way or another by a grandparent. 

Only 36% of our students live in families with a mother and father in the house. 

"My Nana is everything to me," one girl told me.  "She's been there for me my whole life. My Mom couldn't take care of me, and my Dad has another family." 

"My grandparents scrape up whatever they can so I can come to this school," another student told me.  "They want me to succeed here." 

Poverty and the typical challenges of teenage life put unusual pressure on our students.  Counselors report that our students are expected to secure a good job upon graduation and somehow lift their entire family to a new economic level. 

Amidst the pressure of teenage life, grandparents play an enormously important role in the lives of our students.  They are part of most families, have the ability and perspective to listen to our students' struggles, and often give our kids the support they need to succeed. 

As we celebrate this month of Thanksgiving, we salute our grandparents, and we thank every benefactor and corporate sponsor who makes a Catholic, college preparatory education possible for their grandsons and granddaughters.