Xavier High School is now a tuition-supported
school. We can no longer depend solely on the subsidies from the
Jesuits in New York as we have been for the last 50 years. We
are now dependent on the revenues generated through tuition &
fees. Although we try to maintain an affordable Jesuit education,
we are conscious of the fact that our expenses far exceed our
revenues. If you would like to donate to any of the following
needs, please send a check or money order to the director:
Fr. Arthur Leger, SJ
Xavier High School
PO Box 220
Chuuk, FM 96942
Please state the particular need to which you
are donating; otherwise, your donation will be used for general
operating expenses of the school. [Click here
if you are in the United States and want instructions on how to
give a tax-deductible donation to Xavier High School, Micronesia]
Staff Recruitment & Retention
Micronesian
Leadership Team
One of the goals of Xavier is for the school eventually to become
run by Micronesians, with the support of the Micronesian community.
We still recognize the help from abroad, but we hope in time to
be fully supported by Micronesian funds. Xavier High School’s
53-year history has been under the administrative leadership of
American Jesuits and other foreign volunteers. As the number of
foreigners decrease, there is a major need to hire and retain
qualified Micronesian administrators to pave the way for another
50 years of quality education for Micronesian students at Xavier.
We need $33,000 for the recruitment and retention
of a 3-person Micronesian leadership team at Xavier High School.
Micronesian
Teacher Recruitment & Retention
For its whole fifty two year history Xavier High School has been
dependent on a "volunteer" teaching and administrative
staff. For the first twenty or so years they were all Jesuits.
From the mid-1970s until today it has been a mix of Jesuit and
lay, men and women, Micronesians, Americans, Indonesians, Japanese,
Australian, and many others. With just a few exceptions, all these
people taught at Xavier in exchange for room and board and modest
monthly stipend. Professionals who seek to support a family need
more than that. Xavier's goal over the next several years is the
recruitment, formation and retention of full-time, long term Micronesian
teachers and administrators. These teachers and administrators
will need to be compensated in such a way that they can raise
and support a family.
Our studies and programs should be shaped by
Micronesia's cultures, environment, but integrated with the best
of other traditions. In this way, students will develop a greater
sense of the value of the past, along with openness to the future.
For all these reasons, Xavier needs to recruit not only a Micronesian
leadership team, but the best of the Micronesian educators. Until
that happens, the school will continue to struggle with high turnover
of volunteers.
| Chuuk State Teachers |
Xavier Volunteers |
| $300/month - Salary & Wages |
$60/month - Stipend |
| |
$200/month - Food & Lodging |
| $1,200 Health Insurance |
$142/month - Health Insurance |
.
We need $126,000 per year to comfortably recruit
and retain 15 quality educators.
Volunteer
Assistance
Our volunteer teachers are probably the most hardworking educators
on island. They can be found in their offices as early as 6 a.m.
and the last ones to go to bed at midnight after the last student
has gone to bed. Besides their teaching load, they serve as infirmarians,
coaches, moderators, academic advisors, and other duties outside
of the classroom. While our volunteers do not receive the full
salary they deserve, we do try within our means to provide for
most of their needs including food, lodging, insurance, a small
stipend of $60 a month, and occassional social and retreat activities.
Even a care package with cookies goes a long way in boosting our
hardworking staff's energy. Here are some simple ways to help
sponsor our volunteer teachers:
| Ways to Sponsor a Volunteer Teacher |
Amount |
| Stipend |
$60/month |
| Room & Board |
$200/month |
| Health Insurance |
$142/month |
| Off-island Trip (for summer volunteer service) |
$600/summer |
| Thanksgiving Dinner (15 faculty x $27) |
$400 |
| Christmas Get Away (15 faculty x $125) |
$1,875 |
| Staff Retreat (15 faculty x $35) |
$525 |
Feel free to fund any of the above expenses
for our volunteers
Student Services
Student
Transportation
Xavier High School’s remote location poses a problem with
transportation for the boarding (boys) and the commuters (girls).
Xavier’s enrollment includes 58 female students who live
with local sponsor families all around the island of Weno, Chuuk.
These students commute to and from the campus every day to attend
classes. Our 83 male boarding students constantly need transportation
to and from all the resources downtown. Xavier’s main mode
of transportation for the students are 2 buses that were donated
in 2006 by Japanese benefactors and parents this year. The buses
need constant maintenance and repairs to last on the poor roads.
We are asking for money to help cover the costs
of operating the two buses
Food
As a boarding school, Xavier High School provides three meals
for 93 male boarding students and 20 volunteer teachers &
support staff who live in on-campus housing. We also have a lunch
program for the 51 commuting female students and 16 commuting
support staff. Currently, there is a disparity between what the
students pay and what it actually costs to educate and feed a
student here at Xavier. It costs approximately $2.00 to feed a
student a day while the students pay 90 cents per day for food.
Xavier constantly has to find funding elsewhere to make up the
difference.
We are asking for $60,000 to subsidize the current
food budget to feed our students while also focusing on the awareness
of locally produced food.
Scholarship
As much as we have tried to maintain an affordable tuition,
many families in Micronesia still cannot afford to pay the full
tuition. Currently, it costs a little over $3,042.00 a year to
educate a student at Xavier. However, the female students (commuters)
pay $1,100 a year for tuition & fees while the boys (boarding)
pay $1,200 for tuition, room, board,). During the 2005-06 school
year alone, Xavier High School will have spent over $45,000 in
scholarship for students who meet the rigorous academic challenge,
but have little to no financial means to pay the full tuition.
We would like to build up a scholarship fund to support these
needy students.
We are requesting any amount or actual sponsoring
of one student throughout their 4-year education at Xavier High
School
Electricity
Cost
As a boarding school, we need electricity even throughout the
night when the students are studying. For a long time, Xavier
had been fortunate to pay a flat fee for its electric consumption.
Prior to last year, the Chuuk State government subsidized our
energy consumption expenses. Since the privatization of the public
utilities in Chuuk, the State subsidy has stopped completely while
the school pays an average of $3,000 a month for electricity alone.
We budgeted $1,000 a month for electricity, but has hardly been
sufficient to cover the actual cost. Even with all of our energy
conservation efforts including nightly blackouts, we are still
paying a monthly average of $3,000 for our electricity needs.
The campus needs to maintain the amount of energy consumption
necessary to support refrigeration, air conditioners, computers,
stoves, etc.
We are requesting a $24,000 ($2,000 per month
x 12 months) subsidy for the rising cost of electricity.
Technology & Information
The WASC report of 2006 recommended
Xavier upgrade it’s technology to educate students livning
in the 21st century. To do this, Xavier hopes to purchase the
following items:
1)
Computers - Internet research access continues
to be a need for our students. We want to maximize the potential
learning opportunities offered through the internet, but currently
have only four online computers for the students. We hope to purchase
at least 5 more.
2) LCD Projector –
to be used by staff and students inside the classroom
3) Printer – a
laser jet printer for the students to be able to print, scan and
copy
4)
Laptops - for female students who live with local
sponsor families to use at home; the male students have access
to the computer lab on campus at night.
5) IMAC computer - for
song recording/media
6) Digital camera- for
the school website and year book
Keyboard
We are requesting any amount you can pledge
or actual donation of any of these items.
Pacific
Islands Social Studies Collection
We are in the process of revising our social studies curriculum
to meet the changing times in the Pacific. We aim to focus the
new curriculum on Pacific island scholars and the publications
needed to support the new program. In addition to textbooks, we
want to add subscriptions to various Pacific island journals as
well as the acquisition of videotapes, and publications.
We are requesting $8,000 to start a collection
of Pacific Island Scholars’ textbooks, journals, videotapes,
etc. for use in the social studies curriculum.
Textbooks
Textbooks are lucky to last 5 years at any school. The humid temperature
in the Pacific can cause books to deteriorate faster than in normal
dry conditions. Xavier students are using textbooks that have
been passed down for over 10 years and many are in poor condition.
Books in the library and textbooks are old, outdated and worn.
Any donations for new textbooks or donations of any books would
be greatly appreciated.
Please contact us (xhs-director@mail.fm)
for specific textbooks.
Facilities Improvement
Physical
Plant
In fifty years the physical plant of Xavier has grown
quite a bit. The 1960's saw the construction of two classroom
buildings (completely renovated in 1987) and the chapel. In the
late 1980's the boys dormitory was built and dedicated. Most recently,
a new five-classroom building with new science lab was dedicated
in 1998. All these buildings need regular and ongoing maintenance
and repair.
We are requesting any amount you can pledge.
School
Roof
This is the most important and most difficult maintenance required
at Xavier. The roof of the main administration is in dire need
of repair. The rest of this building, which is the former Japanese
communications headquarters built before WWII, is old but is in
remarkably good condition except for the roof. Leakage through
the concrete roof is beginning to seep into the computer lab and
chapel. One room is unable to be used because of the leaks. Paint
and wood from the roof and ceilings are beginning to fall off.
Plans to build a corrugated iron roof over the entire roof of
the main building, or locate the Pacific Unity Chapel on top,
are being discussed.
We are requesting any amount you can pledge.
Chapel
At the beginning of this school year (2004-05) we transformed
the old chapel (Callaghan Chapel) into a much needed indoor multi-purpose
auditorium. We moved our daily liturgies into the main building.
We plan on building a new Pacific-designed chapel on top of the
main administration building as a way to end the devastating water
leakage on the roof and build a new chapel to accomodate our spiritual
life.
We are requesting any amount you can pledge.
Student
Lockers & Chairs
Xavier does not have enough lockers to cater for the entire school
body. Seniors and Juniors must leave their books on shelves and
in rooms during the school day, while Freshmen and Sophomores
must leave them in small unlocked desks. Books constantly disappear
and items are stolen. Xavier needs funds to purchase 100 lockers
for each student to store his/her books during the school day
and 100 new lecture chairs for the study hall.
We are requesting any amount
you can pledge.
Alumni
Wall of Fame
The names of Xavier graduates dating from the first
class were hand-drawn (by an art class) on the wall of the main
building corridor. Lack of wall space is now a problem; last listed
was class of 1999. We need to improve the Alumni Wall in the main
corridor to create more spaces for other graduating classes by
framing the names of the graduating classes and put them in the
main corridor along with pictorial history of the school.
The Chuuk Alumni Chapter committed to raising the
funds for re-tiling the corridor which cost over $7,000. We are
requesting $400 initial cost for 60 matted picture frames (size
11x14) to be used for hanging the names of each graduating class
on the wall of the main corridor.
Sports
Equipment
Currently Xavier possesses only 3 basketballs and no volleyballs.
Two wooden struts holding up the basketball hoops have broken,
leaving only one set of hoops on the main court. Any donations
for sports equipment, particularly for basketball or volleyball,
would be greatly appreciated.
Inter-island Competitions: The basketball team
works very hard each year fundraising to be able to go to other
islands outside of Chuuk to play basketball. Some years, due to
poor funding, they are unable to go. Any donations to help support
a boys and girls team to play in an off-island tournament are
welcome.
Any help you can provide in terms of sports equipment
or funds to help our teams will be appreciated.
Endownment Fund
Xavier
Endowment Fund
Xavier High School announced a fund raising goal of $1,000,000
for its golden anniversary year. The anniversary fund raising
has one purpose: to create a permanent school endowment to support
student learning and school programs well into the future.
We are requesting any amount you can pledge
to the goal of $1,000,000.
