The Protégé Program at St. Gregory the Great High School was created to better prepare students for life after graduation and to alleviate some of the financial struggle of the families of students. Edgewater-Andersonville is a richly diverse neighborhood, home to such businesses as Aon Corporation, Temple Steel, S&C Electric, the Swedish Museum, Raven Theatre and Weiss Memorial Hospital, to name just a few. In an affirming vote of confidence, they have committed to partnering with St. Gregory's High School in the hiring, training and evaluation of senior student interns. Designed to provide an experience they could not receive in the classroom, the Protégé Program will prepare graduates for life in the real world, providing them with solid, marketable skills, and at the same time, raising their confidence and self-esteem.
The Raven Theatre Partnership is another promising development. For a good number of years the performing arts have languished at St. Gregory's. All the money in the world could not replace the charismatic talents and inspiration of gifted teachers such as Lorette Kittler or George Hacker. Discovered during the Protégé Program outreach, the Raven Theatre welcomed the interest of St. Gregory's. Beginning in the fall of 2005, a class of students interested in all phases of theatre from acting and set design, to lighting and promotion, will travel daily to this state-of-the-art professional theatre complex located just a few blocks from the school. Investigation into other off-site but local arts organizations, such as the nationally acclaimed Joel Hall Dancers, suggests the possibility of expanding the performing arts offerings at a fraction of the cost of finding and hiring talented and qualified faculty to run such programs. |
