5058 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60644
(773) 638-6103
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On August 15th, students, faculty and staff began our 20th school year at CJA with a record number of students enrolled – 198 boys and 120 girls for a total of 318 students! With growing waitlists across CJA’s multiple grades, our teachers and Head of School worked together creatively to make room for several more students than were initially expected. Thanks to their great work and the incredible generosity of our benefactors, we have started this school year with 75 more students enrolled than at this time last year.
As we watch students thrive, grow and develop into persons for others and leaders in their communities, we cannot help but be delighted by who they are becoming. This year’s Annual Report highlights some of the wonderful things our students and alumni are accomplishing with the support of their families and our dedicated faculty and staff. Please enjoy reading below about what happens each and every day at CJA as our young men and women flourish both inside and outside the classroom.
Anna Worley
Development Officer
This summer, 100 CJA and High School Bridge (HSB) students and alumni traveled to Maine, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Indiana or Michigan to broaden their horizons at one of our 14 partner camps. Our camp attendees chose to push themselves outside their comfort zones to explore new interests, build new skills and experience life beyond Chicago. One CJA camper reflected, “This summer camp has inspired me to get outside of the city and enjoy nature more.”
One of our 8th graders recognized that his camp adventures were not just about having fun. “I got to make lots of new friends and have new experiences. I learned to be mindful of others’ ideas and feelings.” Many participants speak to how formative their camp experiences were, as these unique opportunities are foundational in helping our students embrace our Grad-at-Grad values. One alumnus found his previous time at camp was so impactful that he returned there to work as a camp counselor this summer.
Our College & Career Persistence (CP) team facilitates the camp registration process on behalf of our camp partners with our students, alumni and families. Thanks to the CP team’s hard work stewarding relationships with our partner camps, our families were offered the opportunity to send their students to camp at a fraction of the actual cost. This year, parents contributed $6,100 towards camp fees, CJA covered $11,100 in transportation and other costs, and our partner camps generously provided $438,750 in scholarships for CJA and HSB campers.
Since the start of the school year, our classrooms and hallways have been full of engaged students whose teachers are using creative means to introduce challenging material. In our mixed-age cohort of 5th- and 6th-grade boys, Elijah was excited to share about the myth he is writing based on his research of an African goddess. He and his classmates have spent the last several weeks studying The Iliad and The Odyssey, and now it’s time to create their own heroic tales. Elijah shared that using his imagination to develop his original epic story was the highlight of his day!
A third of our boys and girls are receiving targeted support from our three learning interventionists. These scholars are accessing the services of our Learning Resource Center (LRC) as they work towards ambitious academic growth goals.
Many students come to CJA from under-resourced and under-performing schools. As a result, at the start of last school year, more than 33% of our enrolled students were testing two or more grades below their grade level. 12% of our students began the school year three or more grades behind in Mathematics, and 16% were three or more grades behind in Reading.
Our hard-working young men and women are given the tools they need for success and are growing in extraordinary ways. 97% of our students completed the 2023-2024 school year testing above, on or within one grade of their age-appropriate grade level in Mathematics, and 86% had done the same in Reading.
Thanks to the intentional support of our LRC and the diligence of our faculty and staff, CJA students are off to a strong academic start!
Last month, our full-time nurse, Pam Kiefer, organized the Loyola Mobile Medical Unit to come to campus. As any parent knows, coordinating doctor’s appointments around already busy work and activity schedules can be daunting. In order to make life a bit easier for our families, CJA students were able to receive annual check-ups and vaccinations during regular school hours as well as access sports physicals in preparation for soccer and flag football seasons. Whether students choose to participate in a sport or another co-curricular activity such as Culinary Arts, Robotics or Bike Club, our young men and women had what they needed for a healthy start to the school year!
As a tuition-free school, we rely on the generosity of committed benefactors to underwrite four-year scholarships for each of our students before they begin 5th grade. This ensures we have the resources our students need to chart their unique paths to success through their 8th-grade graduation from CJA.
We are hard at work raising the remaining 28 of 62 scholarships for students who will graduate in our Class of 2029. If you are interested in supporting our young men and women as a scholarship benefactor, visit our website or contact Danielle Pernini at [email protected] for more information.
5058 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60644
(773) 638-6103