With the goal of helping students reach college and heaven, one of the core values of the NDAA schools is excel.  One often hears that it takes a village to raise a child.  I think that it also takes a village to help a child excel. The four NDAA schools are a wonderful village helping more than 800 students in center-city Indianapolis excel!

One of my first experiences with NDAA was a visit to Central Catholic.  A group interested in volunteering in the schools as part of the ALLIES group attended Mass and toured the school.  At the conclusion of Mass, awards were given for attendance and being on time for school. The students also recited a pledge about being committed to their education.  Central Catholic was a village providing a framework for children to develop valuable life skills that would help them excel.

All the schools promote going to college on an ongoing basis.  I was able to participate in two different activities at St. Philip Neri in recent years designed to encourage students to have college attendance as a goal. The first involved a scavenger hunt where teams of students had a list of questions to ask adult volunteers about their college, their major, and other college experiences.  The next year, I participated in mock interviews with middle school students.   The students had prepared resumes, and we asked them questions that included their plans for high school, college, and a career. St. Philip Neri was a village setting expectations that college attendance is key to excelling.

For several years, the ALLIES for NDAA organized a tutoring program at Holy Cross.  At the end of the year, the students, parents, teachers, and tutors gather to celebrate the gains the children made during the year.  Each tutor shared how their student had grown academically.  By recognizing the student’s accomplishments, the village of Holy Cross was motivating students to continue to excel.

It has been heart-warming to see how the NDAA schools have responded to the many challenges of educating children during the pandemic.  Nutrition is an important component of a child’s ability to excel as a student.  Recognizing that food insecurity is an issue for many NDAA families, a Weekend Food Program has been established. Through the generosity of a donor, 225 students are receiving a bag of nutritious, kid-friendly food for two meals each weekend.  The food is ordered by the NDAA Nutrition Director, the bags are filled at Holy Angels by the ALLIES volunteer group, and then delivered to the other schools. The efforts of many different members of the NDAA village are providing much needed nutrition to help students excel.

Thanks to the participation of educators, donors, and volunteers, the “NDAA Village” is providing expectations and experiences every day that help students excel in small ways, like getting a perfect score on a spelling test, or larger ways such as admittance to the high school of their choice.  All important steps in the journey toward college and heaven!