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Extra Mile marking 20 years of student aid
archived from: 2009-11-09
by: William Hill

Achievements will be applauded at Nov. 9 celebration

There is a growing pool of young Pittsburghers, all under age 40 — ranging from a lawyer, doctor, entrepreneur, biochemical researcher, accountant, occupational therapist, paramedic, psychologist, mortgage loan officer, social worker, radio production engineer, family therapist, teacher, principal and Catholic priest.

Members of this group have several things in common, but not wealth. The first thing is their beginning education in a Catholic elementary school — specifically the urban Catholic schools supported by the Extra Mile Education Foundation. They all graduated from high school and many went on to college and graduate school. Others went on to the military or other training. Most of them work in the Pittsburgh region, contributing their talent and resources to the local community.

“They are the products of great schools and caring parents, who committed, despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances, to a high-quality, values-based education for their children, made possible with help from the Extra Mile Education Foundation,” said Ambrose Murray, executive director.

These young professionals are just a few examples of the more than 2,000 students who have been touched by Extra Mile since its inception 20 years ago. They are the reason the organization was created, and their success is what the foundation will celebrate at the August Wilson Center in Downtown Pittsburgh on Nov. 9.

Two of these alumni will tell attendees at the celebration how education made all the difference in their lives.

Other featured speakers at the event will include Bishop David Zubik, whose remarks will focus on a societal problem — the lack of quality faith-based education at the elementary level and the ability of Pittsburgh to address this problem through philanthropy and leadership; Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., who initiated the creation of the Extra Mile foundation when he was bishop of Pittsburgh. He will speak on the role of Catholic education in helping all children advance.

Thomas O’Brien, the foundation’s board chairman, will discuss Extra Mile’s achievements, made possible through the generosity of so many loyal donors over the past two decades.

When Extra Mile began in 1990, national studies showed that 40 percent of minority students nationwide dropped out of high school. Local corporate and philanthropic leaders responded to information presented by then-Bishop Wuerl on how to maintain the educational opportunities of students in disadvantaged Pittsburgh neighborhoods by preserving the three existing church-sponsored schools — St. Agnes, Oakland; St. Benedict the Moor, Hill District; and Holy Rosary, Homewood.

Archbishop Wuerl, with the support of Extra Mile, opened the doors of the three schools to some 750 students who at that time were more than 90 percent non-Catholic and African-American. That ecumenical group of business and civic leaders went on to enlist community support so vitally needed to help ensure opportunities for inner-city children. These leaders soon were joined in their efforts by major Pittsburgh family foundations.

After 10 years of successful fund-raising, the foundation added a fourth school, St. James in Wilkinsburg, in 2000, and has since extended scholarship support to students at Cardinal Wright Regional School on Pittsburgh’s North Side and Good Shepherd in Braddock.

From the beginning, the results were remarkable, noted the first chairman of the board, John Marous, a retired chairman of Westinghouse Electric Corp.

“In an independent study done in 1990 of the three schools supported by the Extra Mile Education Foundation, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found that 100 percent of the eighth-grade graduates from these three Pittsburgh inner-city schools go on to complete ninth grade, and 92 percent finish high school,” Marous said. “The Extra Mile funding allows educators, parents and students the freedom and structure to foster a positive learning environment.”

Father John Naugle was an exceptional student facing extraordinary odds who attended St. Agnes School. He went on to attend Central Catholic High School and graduated with honors. He was awarded the prestigious Wimmer Scholarship and went on to graduate summa cum laude from St. Vincent College.

After completing initial studies at St. Paul Seminary in Crafton, he went on for his degree in sacred theology at Theological College, the national seminary at Catholic University of America. Ordained this year, he is parochial vicar at St. Sebastian Parish in Ross Township.

“The record of success for all our Catholic schools is tremendous, and it is no different at the Extra Mile-supported schools,” said Father Kris Stubna, secretary for Catholic education. “Since the initiation of the foundation, no student entering high school has had to repeat ninth grade, and 96 percent have graduated high school. After high school, 88 percent go on either to college, trade school or the military.”

Murray said, “The powerful partnership built among the diocese, our board, the educators at the schools, the parents involved and the financial benefactors of the Extra Mile make miracles every day.”

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