St. Philip & St. Augustine Catholic Academy

$25 raised by 1 donor

0% complete

$70,000 Goal

About

Why SPSA

Located in the heart of Southeast Dallas, St. Philip & St. Augustine (SPSA) has been proudly serving the community since 2015! Over the past decade, the Dallas community has come together to help us build an academy that serves as a safe haven for children and families facing tremendous challenges while transforming the trajectory of their lives. Our families are striving to build a better life for their children and we believe that a transformative education is the key to improving the futures of our students and creating long-term stability. Your support isn't just an investment in education; it's an investment in our community's future leaders.

SPSA is a Catholic elementary and middle school serving over 360 students Pre-K through 8th grade. SPSA’s theme for the year is BECOMING. Becoming is more than a word. It’s the story of our school community. Rooted in our mission, we are committed to helping students become critical thinkers, self-advocates, moral citizens, and spiritual leaders. It is the story of children becoming confident in who they are, becoming leaders who are rooted in faith, and becoming young people who believe their future is filled with purpose and possibility. This is also the story of a community becoming stronger together through the shared responsibility of shaping the next generation.

SPSA is thriving because of a community that believes in our students and we’re proud to share a few of our many successes that you have helped make possible:

Academic Excellence: 95% of our students read at or above grade level compared to 47% in DISD.
Soft Skills Training: Students in fifth through eighth grade participate in intentional development of leadership, time management, conflict resolution, and interview skills, preparing them for high school and beyond.
Extra-Curricular Activities: Students enjoy a well-rounded experience that includes art and music classes, a wide variety of extracurricular activities, and eleven athletic programs such as basketball, volleyball, track, and soccer.
Leadership Opportunities: From Student Council to National Junior Honor Society, students are empowered to lead, serve, and grow.
Community Involvement: 100% of our students complete service hours every year and our families are actively engaged in giving back to the community as well.
High School and Beyond: 100% of our students graduate from SPSA and attend their best-fit high school and going on to earn full scholarships to prestigious universities across the country, including Boston University and TCU.
Family Engagement: Our families are deeply committed to lifelong learning. In response to parent interest, SPSA launched the monthly Parent Engagement & Education Program (PEEP) where we partner with community organizations and share important topics with our parents such as financial literacy, healthy living, mental health awareness, cyberbullying, and more.

Mission

St. Philip & St. Augustine Catholic Academy promotes Gospel values, inspires a love of learning, and upholds academic excellence in a nurturing community.

Needs

At SPSA, we believe that economic circumstances should never limit a child's access to a transformative Catholic education. In Southeast Dallas, where 1 in 5 children face food insecurity, 59% of our families live below the poverty line and the rest are considered low income. Even though SPSA offers one of the lowest tuition rates in the Diocese of Dallas, far below the actual costs to educate a child, 75% of our students still rely on scholarships or financial aid to attend.

Unlike most Catholic schools, SPSA is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit and receives no annual financial support from a Catholic parish or the Diocese of Dallas. We rely entirely on the generosity of donors, foundations, and community partners to fulfill our mission.

This year, SPSA is experiencing remarkable enrollment growth as more families seek a high-quality, faith-based education for their children. As we welcome both returning and new students to the SPSA community, we invite you to invest in a sustainable future for our school and help ensure that the children and families of Southeast Dallas have access to transformative educational opportunities for years to come.

Our top funding priorities are:

- Educational enhancement and sustainability for SPSA

- Removing tuition barriers

- Support for teacher salaries

- Parent Engagement and Education Program (PEEP)

While our funding priorities are big, donations of any size will ensure that our students are fed, have the supplies and support they need to thrive in the classroom, and that our parents are equipped to assist their children on their educational journey.