Nativity schools--there are over forty in urban areas throughout the United States--provide an important alternative to urban middle schools failing to provide their students with an adequate education. Nativity schools, which are privately funded, provide a year-round educational experience for at-risk urban children. They feature small classes, an extended day, and attention to students' social and spiritual developmental needs. L. Mickey Fenzel visited eleven Nativity schools in seven cities, conducting interviews and classroom observations, and collecting standardized test scores and survey data. Fenzel examines features of the Nativity model that distinguish it from other educational programs and takes a close look at the controversial use of volunteer teachers. The Nativity model is also discussed with respect to its social justice mission that is rooted in Jesuit tradition. The following chapters are contained in this book: (1) The Current State of Urban Middle Schools; (2) The Nativity School Model; (3) Nativity School Structures and Programs; (4) Academic Success; (5) Social, Emotional, Spiritual, and Physical Development; (6) Instruction and Instructional Quality in Nativity Schools; (7) Costs, Funding, and Governance; and (8) Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Implications. Appended are: (1) The Schools, Their Students, and Their Teachers; (2) Procedures and Instruments; (3) Attendance Rates and Standardized Test Results for Individual Schools; and (4) Comparison of Means of Student Self-Perceptions and Perceptions of Environment for Eight Nativity and Two Traditional Parochial Schools. (Contains notes, references, and an index.)