From after-school algebra to comprehensive college prep: The rise of Camp Catanese
- Jude McGee
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
By Jude McGee
When Jason Catanese started teaching at Pueblo Del Sol Middle School in Phoenix’s Maryvale neighborhood, he noticed something. He’d been placed there as a member of the Teach For America Corps, teaching seventh and eighth-grade math. He observed that his students were brilliant and capable, but were not offered ample educational opportunities due to their zip code and personal circumstances.
The middle school has a 99% minority enrollment rate, according to U.S. News. Its math proficiency rate is 15%, and its reading rate is 16%. Approximately 100% of the students are classified as economically disadvantaged.
Catanese wanted to teach algebra, but was prohibited from doing so during the school day, due to a lack of funding. He decided to host an after-school algebra class that was voluntary for students to attend, three times a week for two hours. He went door-to-door and explained the importance of the class to parents.
“And I thought: 20 kids will show up,” he said. “And 86 kids showed up.”
The program was a success for the school that year, as 99 students passed the Algebra Qualifying Test, which provided them with algebra credit. What started as an after-school class snowballed into the largest math program for middle school students in the city of Phoenix.
“So what it showed was that when you present opportunities to kids, they really take advantage of them,” Catanese said.
Four years later, some of the original algebra students came to Catanese asking for help with Pre-calculus. Catanese helped tutor them. Then the students asked for help preparing for the ACT.
Upon discussing the ACT with their students, Catanese recognized the depth of the obstacles their students faced in college preparation.
“They had done what they were supposed to do, on paper,” Catanese said. “But there were so many other factors that were contributing to whether or not they could actually go to college and graduate, and a lot of that was just the opportunities that were available to them in high school.”
In 2016, Catanese contacted Arizona State University (ASU). He wanted his students to visualize a college experience on a campus while gaining the tools they needed to get in and graduate from college. From that, Camp Catanese was born.
The Camp Catanese Foundation provides year-round College preparation resources to first-generation college students in Phoenix. They host weekend retreats, provide free ACT preparation, and offer educational field trips to universities. Their week-long summer camp program, held annually on Arizona State University’s West Campus, teaches science and math, and further prepares students to get into college and graduate within four years.
The summer camp on ASU’s West campus served 404 students this year. The foundation served a total of 530 individuals this year. Over the last 10 years, 100% of the camp’s participants have graduated from high school, 93% have gone to college, and 70% graduated from college within four years. The need for these services is high; in Arizona, only 77% of high school students graduated on time in 2022. That same year, only 48.3% of high school graduates enrolled in postsecondary education.
Nathan Martinez Rubio was once a student in Catanese’s class. Catanese saw his potential and knew he could be a great teacher. Despite Martinez Rubio’s self-doubts, he went through the entire Camp Catanese program. He attended the after-school algebra class and went to the summer camp every year. He graduated from high school, went to ASU, and became a Teach for America Ambassador.
“Initially, he seemed like a normal teacher, but just more enthusiastic,” Martinez Rubio said of Catanese. “Then I found out he had very high, ambitious goals and realized, this guy isn’t just a teacher, he cares about the community.”
Soon after, Martinez was teaching down the hall from Catanese at Pueblo Del Sol.
“It shows you the power of positivity.” Catanese said, “Our whole community, what we really try to do is build up kids and tell them what they're capable of doing.”
To learn more about the programs provided at Camp Catanese, visit campcatanese.com.
Photos courtesy of Camp Catanese.
