SAVE THE DATE: C.A.P.E.R. 2009
Bel-Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades
Saturday, April 25, 2009

For 31 years, C.A.P.E.R. (Crespi Auction to Preserve Educational Rewards) has brought the Crespi Community closer together through the fellowship of working to raise funds for our Financial Aid Students, culminating in our annual gala event.

This year we invite you to join our Crespi family and friends for an evening of fine dining and silent and live auctions at the beautiful Bel-Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades.

Cocktail Reception & Silent Auction - 6:00 p.m.
Dinner - 7:30 p.m.

If you are interested in volunteering for this event or if you have any questions please contact Jaclyn Campbell at 818/654-1322 or jcampbell@crespi.org

 

Crespi is once again proud to nominate an outstanding young man for the John Wooden High School Scholar-Athlete Award. Senior Everett Frost is a fine example of a Crespi Man. In the classroom, Rett maintains a 4.595 GPA and scored 2340 on his SAT's. He is a member of our Academic Decathlon team, a Student Council officer and President of the Mock Trial team. Rett has also been accepted to Stanford University, following in his father's footsteps. As an athlete, Rett has been a member of our water polo team for 2 years, as well as a member of our swim team for 4 years. Rett is also an outstanding member of the community. He has been an altar server for his parish and donates his time to the Brothers of Charity House as well as the Red Cross Disaster preparedness program. Rett is also an Eagle Scout and was recently awarded the honor of full fledged Eagle Scout upon completion of his Eagle project. Rett is caring, courteous and a great role model to young men everywhere. We truly believe he exemplifies this great award.

 

Crespi's subscription to the Gurian Institute Newsletter can now be found in our School Publications page.

This month's issue involves adolescent development. To download Vol. 8, Issue 12, Click here.

Be sure to check back for frequent updates to the School Publications page!

 

For a duration of 13 days (May 25 - June 6, 2009) a Holy Land Pilgrimage will travel to the following places: Cairo, Mt. Sinai, Jerusalem, Caesarea, Cana, Nazareth, Tiberias, Sea of Galilee, Masada, Bethlehem, Dead Sea, and Capernaum. Join our spiritual director, Fr. Paul Henson, O Carm. Space is limited!!!

Click here to download the brochure.

 

The new December issue of CresCom is now available online in the School Publications Center.

Click here to download the Decemeber CresCom.

 

More families than usual are pulling out or seeking financial aid, even as the institutions' own fortunes are dwindling.

By Carla Rivera, L.A. Times

At the private New Roads School in Santa Monica, 20 families decided not to re-enroll in the fall because of financial nervousness.

At Loyola High School near downtown, 40 families have come forward since the beginning of the school year seeking financial aid to help cover tuition costs, even as the school's endowment -- heavily invested in equities -- has taken a battering in the financial market.

Pacific Hills School in West Hollywood is creating flexible payment schedules for some families and is tightening its own belt with an eye toward more tough times ahead.

The economic meltdown that has ravaged many banks and homeowners is also affecting private schools in Los Angeles and nationwide, forcing educators to revise budgets, plan extra fundraising appeals and brace for possible lower enrollments next year. The distress comes at a time when some independent schools already have seen potential students gravitate to public charter schools, which are free and offer some of the same advantages of private campuses.

In previous downturns, private schools have tended to fare well, with minimal drag on enrollment or tuition trends. Some affluent families are recession-proof, and many others will sacrifice in other areas to avoid disrupting their children's schooling.

A sampling of 59 Los Angeles area independent schools found a slight increase in enrollment in 2008 from the previous year: 29,024 from 28,944, according to the National Assn. of Independent Schools. But much of this year's enrollment picture was determined last winter and spring, and it may be that schools have yet to feel the full brunt of the economic downturn.

Educators at private schools say the severity of economic forces this time have put them in uncharted territory.

"People are more worried about their financial future and carefully looking at expenditures," said Patrick Bassett, president of the independent schools group. "So far, we're seeing a lot of activity in admissions fairs, but schools are very conscious of the need to be receptive to parental concerns about financing."

That is evident at Loyola, the venerable, 143-year-old all-boys Catholic prep school, where the number of families on financial aid climbed from 18% to 22% this year. But officials were surprised when, after classes began this fall, 40 additional families sought help to pay the school's $12,500 annual tuition. It is expected that even more families will seek extra support throughout the school year, said John Baker, vice president for advancement.

Meanwhile, the value of Loyola's endowment, worth $36 million last year, dropped to about $26 million, with the losses straining the school's operating budget and ability to boost financial aid for strapped families.

For one family, that has meant taking out loans to keep their son, a senior, in school. The family had been receiving financial assistance for the last three years but were told this year that funds would not be available.

"I assume because there were parents worse off and funding went to those more in need," said the father, a San Gabriel Valley resident who did not want his name used because of the sensitive nature of financial aid issues. With two other college-aged children, the family is stretched thin.

"With the cost of tuition going up faster than your income, as well as the costs of normal day-to-day living expenses, you start getting squeezed at every end," the father said. "Our choice was to take on more debt. We didn't want to pull our son out of private school, especially in his last year."

Like many other schools, Loyola is looking to cut expenses and increase fundraising early next year, Baker said.

"Once we get a fairly good idea of how things are tapering out and what our real needs are going to be, we'll begin a special appeal to our donors who are consistent supporters to give them a clearly articulated case and message," he said.

New Roads Head of School David Bryan said some families who previously paid full tuition -- $26,830 for upper-school students this year -- are now receiving financial aid, which can be awkward for some.

"It's clearly far more embarrassing for those families than for families who have needed aid right from the start," Bryan said. "There are families who've had disposable income for years and find themselves in a position where coming up with cash is impossible."

Of the 20 families who left because of financial uncertainties, Bryan said, "These were not families that were having to make a decision between a rent check or a tuition check, but just didn't know what the next year was going to look like. We were able to replace those families and meet our enrollment goals, but we had to work hard at it."

Market stresses also appear to be creating problems for some private schools either in the midst of capital campaigns or those that have recently completed facility upgrades, said James McManus, executive director of the California Assn. of Independent Schools.

Some schools may be reappraising their goals, he said, and "the other impact is if they had taken out a bond to help pay for facilities upgrades and had a variable interest rate that had been historically low, they may have just been greeted with a whole new set of problems."

One sensitive issue for schools is how aggressively to solicit financial contributions from hard-hit families. Danese Bardot, director of development at Pacific Hills, said parents are being encouraged to make monthly gifts instead of one lump-sum donation. So far, she said, this year's fundraising is outpacing last year's.

"We're continuing to ask them to make decisions to support us and reminding them that this is an investment in their school," she said. "What they're spending [monthly] for the cost of a cup of Starbucks, they should consider pledging that $25 to the school."

Besides direct mail and telephone appeals, Pacific Hills will coordinate its annual gala with an online auction, using a service that promotes these events to anyone who wants to support educational causes. More schools are using such technology to reach a broader market in the hope of increasing fundraising.

Cambridge, Mass.-based cMarket, one of several online auction firms, reports that K-12 school online auctions have raised more than $16 million on its site since 2005. California ranks first in the nation in money raised, with more than $6.7 million -- more than $4 million of that for schools in Southern California.

St. John Bosco High School, a Catholic campus in Bellflower, opened its first online auction last month and hopes to raise $10,000 before it closes Nov. 24 with items such as two VIP tickets for "Dancing With the Stars" (valued as "priceless") and an autographed Home Run Derby gold baseball from all-star rookie Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays.

At a time when the school is challenged not only by the economy but also by competition from other nearby Catholic campuses as well as public schools, Bosco has to exhaust all resources, said Erin Wilson, director of annual events.

"This has opened us up to so many more people than just families of Bosco," Wilson said. "We've been around for 70 years, but times are changing."

Rivera is a Times staff writer.

carla.rivera@latimes.com

 

The newest issue of "Celts" is now available online in our School Publications Center.

Click here to download the "Celts" Fall 2008 Issue.

 

By Paula Doyle, Staff Writer - The Tidings

Click here to read the online article in The Tidings.

Alongside American and California flags, the papal flag flutters in the breeze above the new track and field adjacent to the new fine arts mission-style building at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino.

Named for Fray Juan Crespi, life-long companion of Fray Junipero Serra, the all-boys' high school has a renovated campus thanks to an ongoing $10 million capital campaign bolstering its nearly five-decade commitment to educating young men. The only remaining all-boys' college preparatory Catholic High School in the San Fernando Valley, Crespi will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

"We've made it a priority in the years to come to reach out to students on the west side, the Ventura County area and the Santa Clarita region," said Carmelite Father Paul Henson, principal. The non-profit school, operated by the Carmelite Religious Order since its founding in 1959, currently has a capacity enrollment of 600 students.

"If you ask our boys what they like best about Crespi, 95 percent will tell you it's the all-boys' environment," said Robert Kodama, admissions director. In the last few years, Crespi has adopted the brain-based and gender-specific teaching awareness taught through the Gurian Institute, which advances teaching strategies based on the different learning styles of males and females.

"What [Gurian] did was give a lot of our teachers the brain science behind why their teaching methods work," noted Kodama. By appealing to the spatial-mechanical nature of the male brain, and creating class assignments that engage boys' interests and abilities, the teachers motivate boys who like to "fiddle, manipulate and move things," Kodama explained.

Crespi's biology class, for example, is a hands-on lab full of live animals for students' observation. The video production lab in the new fine arts building has state-of-the-art cameras and editing equipment. The expanded music program offers a class in Taiko drumming.

"The Taiko class reflects the Gurian philosophy engaging the whole body," explained Father Henson. "For 90 minutes, the students go through a series of practices: jogging, yoga, contemplative prayer and, finally, the actual drumming."

"A lot of people think boys don't want discipline, or they don't want to be challenged. I would argue the opposite," added Kodama. "Boys love being challenged and they love competition. That's where they thrive."

It's apparent, he says, in the Latin classes, which have had a resurgence in enrollment due to the teacher's incorporation of a classic "boy" project: action figures. Beginning students start with a "slave" action figure, which they can upgrade to "gladiator" and "free man" in the contest to be "emperor" as they advance in their studies.

Sophomore Latin student Davis Kudlo is enrolled in beginning Latin again this year. "The reason I came back is it's a very interesting class I didn't want to give up on," said Kudlo, seated near his Roman action figure. Latin teacher Tod Post, 34, carved the original model out of wood to make a mold for the polyurethane figures which are personalized with paint and materials by the students.

"I like hands-on projects and the students like them," said Post. "We've been developing this over the past few years. I sometimes can't keep up with what the students want to do." One student, he noted, researched a formula for Roman ink and brought in hand-made quills and ink for his action figure.

Nolan McDonnell, ASB president, said his past four years have been rewarding academically and socially. "I fell in love with the overall brotherly atmosphere," said McDonnell. "Right when I walked on campus in eighth grade, I knew this was home for me."

 

The new strategic plan for 2008-2013 has been made available to the public. Click here to view the new strategic plan.

 

Crespi Carmelite High School has been a constant presence of Carmelite Education in the San Fernando Valley since 1959.  We remain the only all boys school in the valley. We teach the young men who attend our school the importance of the whole human person, his relationship to his God and the entire human family.  We call on the Crespi Man to be a brother to all he encounters; we ask him to be a steward to the world he lives in, as well as, a custodian of the future; to live his life with reflection of the gifts, and tribulations, he will encounter.  These are attributes that encompass the Carmelite charism: Fraternity, Service, and Contemplation.

Crespi Carmelite High School enters an era of renewal and growth as we prepare for our 50th Jubilee Year in 2009.  With the continuing support of alumni, alumni parents, current families, and friends we have built a Fine Arts Building, housing an art studio, music studio, and media center, as well as, a collegiate-style student commons and cafeteria, campus chapel, counseling center and campus ministry, faculty and conference rooms. This $7.7 million project, the first major addition to the campus since 1968, will help our students compete at the highest academic levels for entrance to the nations leading universities and colleges. With an additional $2 million campaign for the improvement of our athletic facilities, we will, this year, host our athletes on the finest synthetic playing field and track, as they continue to grow in body and spirit with the healthy pursuits of competition and sportsmanship.

Following our successful WASC evaluation in 2006, we have recently completed a five year Strategic Plan enabling Crespi Carmelite to continue to bring the very best to our students, their families, and the community, shaping our future for the next 50 years. The plan includes the establishment of transportation services to our out-lying valleys and west-side communities, thus enabling parents the opportunity to eliminate commuting from their decision in regards to their son’s education.

Crespi Carmelite High School is owned and operated by the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, headquartered in Darien, Illinois. As a Carmelite Community we dedicate ourselves to the examples of obedience shown to us by the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel; like the Prophet Elijah, we thirst for God’s presence in our lives.

We invite you to join us on our journey up Mount Carmel, as we strive to impart on the young men who enter our halls, the ‘loving knowing’ of God’s grace in themselves, and inthose they meet along the way.

May Our Lady of Mt. Carmel continue to protect and guide you.

Sincerely,

Rev. Thomas Schrader, O. Carm.
President

The newest issue of The Celt is now available online in our School Publications Center.

Click here to download "The Celt" Volume XII1, Issue I.

 

For those parents who are having difficulty finding the online registration for Parent Connect XP, we will provide instructions here:

1. Go to www.crespi.org
2. Click on the link titled "Student & Parent Resources" in the brown navigation bar to the right.
3. Click the picture of "Parent Connect XP".
4. Click "Continue to this website" to accept the certificate. Although it says "not recommended" we assure you that it IS SAFE for you click this. You will then be directed to the Parent Connect XP registration page.
4. Click "Register" to submit all of your information.

Please allow 2 business days for the information to be processed. Then you must come to Crespi, visit the reception desk where Mrs. Musich will hand you your User ID and Password.

 

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