Cristo Rey Schools

Cristo Rey is a designation for a private or diocesan Catholic high school that is part of the educational [Page 236]endeavor commonly referred to as the Cristo Rey Network. The Cristo Rey Network is a confederation of 22 schools, with 2 additional schools undergoing feasibility studies. Cristo Rey is also the name of the school, located in Chicago, that was first to employ the Network's model of service to economically disadvantaged students desiring a Catholic education. That institution, which serves as the association's flagship school, is also the most widely known in the Cristo Rey Network.

The mission of the Cristo Rey Network is to prepare young people with limited options for entry to a 4-year college or university, with the stated goal that all students have equal access to the educational opportunities they need to be successful in college and contribute with their gifts to the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The Network proposes to achieve its mission by supporting member schools that provide a rigorous Catholic secondary education, a real-world work-study program, and learning within the context of the Catholic faith. It ensures the quality of those schools by sharing best practices, offering professional development and job training, seeking funding and resources for member schools, promoting ongoing spiritual formation, and supporting graduates of Cristo Rey schools while they are pursuing college degrees.

In general, the economically disadvantaged students served by Cristo Rey schools are those who qualify for the U.S. federal government's free or reduced lunch program. To qualify for that program, a student's family must have a combined household income that is less than 185% of the federal poverty level. In 2006, this meant that a family of four must have earned $37,000 or less to qualify. The family financial information of all incoming students is shared with the Network—average family income for incoming students in 2006 was $33,051 and the average family size was four. Like all Catholic schools, those of the Cristo Rey Network serve both Catholics and non-Catholics, although students who attend Network schools must be willing to receive a religious education and participate in and contribute to the Catholic ethos of the school. In some Cristo Rey schools, 50% or more of the student population is non-Catholic.

The first Cristo Rey secondary school was formed by the Chicago province of the Society of Jesus in September 1996. It was founded on—and was the prototype model for—the Equity School model pioneered by educator and businessman Richard R. Murray and designed to provide a balanced curricular program of classroom and experiential learning. Equity refers to the contributions that each of the model's constituencies—students, families, educators, businesses, and communities—makes toward the development of every student.

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is located in the predominantly Hispanic southwest Chicago neighborhood called Pilsen-Little Village and offers a dual-language curriculum in English and Spanish. From its inception, the school developed partnerships within the local business community in the form of corporate internships. Each of the sponsoring businesses provides a full-time, entry-level clerical position to be shared by a team of four students. The salary for this position serves directly as a work-study subsidy toward the cost of a college preparatory education; the remaining student costs are met through fund-raising efforts, scholarships, financial aid, and family tuition payments. Classes at the school are structured in such a way as to accommodate the rotating days at work, with students never being required to miss one for the other. Students are employed by an incorporated Corporate Internship Program (CIP), rather than by the individual sponsoring businesses. The CIP is administratively responsible for the students and combines the practices of employee leasing and job sharing to fill full-time clerical positions. Companies are contracted by the CIP to outsource entry-level jobs on a fee-for-service basis. In 2007, each employer paid $27,000 per year for each full-time position (shared by four students) to the school. This accounted for 67% of the total cost of education per student of $10,125 in 2007.

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