St. Joseph Academy (SJA) has received a $50,000 grant from the St. Francis Fund of Felician Services, Inc. for a second year in a row to support the Academy’s Expeditionary Learning Education learning model.

The EL Education learning model offers students a real world experiences within the curriculum. When students have completed their academic career and entered adult life, they will be judged not by performance on basic skills tests—but rather, by the quality of their work and the quality of their character. This premise serves as the foundation for EL Education’s overarching vision of increasing student engagement and elevating and expanding student achievement.

To realize that vision, focus is placed on student excellence in three core areas: Mastery of Knowledge & Skills, Character and High Quality Student work. Many schools who have incorporated the EL Education model into their curriculum have seen improved test scores and increased student confidence, among other measurable impacts. There are more than 150 EL Education schools in the country. Fifteen are located in Wisconsin.

“I am grateful to the St. Francis Fund for their continued support of our ministry,” said Dr. Tabia Jones, President/CEO of SJA.  “Their sustained backing allows us empower our students in stellar fashion, preparing pathways for them to college and/or their career of choice.”

St. Francis Fund Committee awarded grants totaling $438,000 to 14 sponsored ministries in seven states and two countries. “The members of the St. Francis Fund Committee become very animated each year as we read and review the proposals of our sponsored ministries,” said Sister Marie Rosita Brennan, a member of the St. Francis Fund Committee. “The dedication and foresight that they exhibit in their proposals continue to amaze us and to reinforce for us that the sponsored ministries of the Felician Sisters are very much about the care of those most in need.”