Sava, UCC blend historic character with revolutionary service
And for the past 12 years, Sava’s pen has been moving quickly.
As the executive director of the United Community Center since 1988, Sava has already created new links between social service programs and public education in Milwaukee’s Walker Square area and beyond.
In fact, Sava said, the changes have only begun.
"What we are doing is combining social services and education on the campus level," Sava said of the UCC, a nonprofit community organization at 1028 South 9th St. The April 2002 opening of the UCC Middle School has marked another $5.5 million advancement in creating a hub of educational and social resources unique to the city and the rest of the country.
Now Sava and other civic leaders say that the UCC model is a marketable concept other cities can apply to their own neighbors to improve the education and quality of life in urban areas dominated by minority populations.
"Our expansion is in response to demand," Sava said. "Clearly one of those demand calls for higher educational standards."
Honor roll
At the UCC, Sava has billed education as his top priority.
The UCC’s new 54,000-square-foot middle school, which includes nine classrooms and a historical, Aztec/
Mayan design, is stylized proof that education remains the most important institution in providing a better quality of life for local Latinos.
Sava’s dedication to providing students with more classroom resources has helped his schools set the precedent for other educational systems to follow.
"The No. 1 solution to socio-economic development is education," Sava said. Although only 50% of Latino-Americans are graduating high school across the United States each year, students who attend either Bruce Guadalupe Elementary School or the UCC’s middle school have a 95% graduation rate.
"One of the worst things about our schools [on the national level] is that they’re too big," Sava said. "Students don’t get enough personal attention in the classroom."
Not only is the UCC’s new middle school providing more classrooms for students, but a new 25,000-square-foot alternative middle school at 6th Street and Washington Avenue is set to open in fall 2003. The school will offer an education solution for troubled students who are at risk for dropping out of traditional schools.
And with U.S. Census numbers reporting that Milwaukee’s Latino population has already doubled from 40,000 in 1990 to more than 80,000 in 2000, more classrooms means more good news for Milwaukee’s Latinos.
"Still, the money has to come from somewhere," Sava said on building classrooms for news students.
In response to the influx of families moving into the area, the UCC launched a $20 million fundraising campaign that stretched over 15 years. Sava has also initiated another $5 million campaign this September called Vision 20/20. The money raised will pay for new developments on campus, including a third school and new art gallery and auditorium located in the UCC’s community center.
"We’ve been very fortunate in
our fundraising efforts," Sava said. "As the community has evolved, so has
the center."
In addition to traditional schooling, the UCC also provides students with an after-school homework center that provides tutorial services to children ages 5 through 16. Summer school sessions include five-week courses that are an integration of education and recreation. And the UCC’s adult education courses are helping local immigrants earn their General Education Diploma, take English as a Second Language courses and gain US citizenship.
"We don’t have to do any outreach," Sava said on getting the community involved in the UCC’s programs. "Everything you need is right on one campus."
Buzz in the barrio
Former executive director and current board president Ricardo Diaz has watched how Sava has integrated quality schooling with community programs that have helped improve the quality of life in the surrounding area.
"To have all these programs under one canvas … that doesn’t exist anywhere with the quality of our facilities," Diaz said.
One of the UCC’s most successful endeavors includes its Elderly Program, which includes adult daycare, a senior center and a 20-unit assisted living center called, U.S. Bank Village. The village offers elderly Latinos affordable assisted living and the opportunity to participate in UCC activities.
"Four years ago, we didn’t have a senior center," Sava said. "The median age of Latinos is much younger than Anglos, but our older population is getting older. It’s our job to address these needs."
Sava said the UCC is able to help bridge age differences by integrating students into the senior day programs. During the school year, students participate in after school reading programs and service programs with elderly Latinos. Sessions are accommodated in the UCC’s senior center, which features a new reading room, activity room and even an on-site beauty parlor.
In addition to a growing senior population, a new middle class is also emerging from the blue-collar roots of the local barrios. While Sava noted that Latinos’ incomes are still significantly less than those earned by Anglo-Americans, he said many are taking an interest in the cultural arts.
The UCC responded to the growing interest by investing $2 million on a 4,000-square-foot art gallery and auditorium to be built in spring 2003. The new building, to be located in the heart of the UCC community center, will allow more people to experience the visual and performing arts of Latino cultures.
"This community needs something like this," Sava said. "Art and culture reminds us of who we are. This is the best way to maintain your identity."
UCC board member Jose Olivieri said the expanded cultural and arts programs have helped complement UCC’s educational goals while helping it reach out to a broader community and attract more Latinos to the center.
And Latinos are not just limiting their interests to art.
Other UCC amenities include health and athletic facilities, an on site health center and the popular Café El Sol, which features Puerto Rican and Mexican food, along with live Latin entertainment and a fish fry every Friday.
Community keepsake
The UCC has done more than provide educational and cultural outlets to local Latinos. Since its expansion began some 15 years ago, property values in the Walker Square neighborhood have skyrocketed and crime rates have dropped significantly.
"Eighty percent of the area is under home ownership," beamed Sava "We have made his area more appealing, more accessible and have served as an anchor for neighborhood redevelopment."
Angel Sanchez, alderman of the city’s 12th District, which includes the Walker’s Square neighborhood, agreed.
"Due largely to UCC’s presence, MPD [Milwaukee Police Department] brought a community policing station that sits right on Walker Square Park," Sanchez noted.
In response to the positive impact the UCC campus has had on the surrounding neighborhood, Milwaukee Public Schools is starting to develop a similar educational structure that would also provide after-school programs and possibly daycare centers for student mothers.
Diaz, who is working with MPS on developing the plan, said the district will have to endure the initial growing pains that come with integrating traditional classroom time with community orientated services.
"It’s interesting that MPS is now getting credit for something that the UCC has been doing all along," Diaz said.
And apparently, it’s been doing things right. Sava recently compared notes with attendees at the annual convention for the National Council of La Raza in Miami. The convention drew together leaders of community centers from across the nation.
"I have not seen an agency like the UCC anywhere in the US, not with this kind of campus approach," Sava said. "Nowhere can you go from a senior center, to a classroom, to a theater all in one place."
Oct. 25, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
