Students Working to Afford School
Cristo Rey Network Is Making A Difference
Indeed, most Cristo Rey students go on to college. This school has expanded into a network where corporations hire students and salaries go to private schools to keep tuition down to $2700 a year. This plan is working everywhere it has been tried.
High School and Work
While many Catholic Schools are closing in the inner cities because families can not afford the expensive tuition, a new trend is popular. The Jesuits, the largest male religious order within the Catholic Church, wanted to reverse this trend and offer a high quality education to students who could not afford to pay. After his 34 years of missionary service in Peru, Rev. John Foley met with a creative management consultant, Richard Murray. Murray had assisted the Jesuits in the past with fundraising ideas.
Murray had internship experience as a high school student and felt it was very beneficial. He wondered if Catholic business people would allow several students to share a job allowing students to learn skills at work and yet have enough time to study. Attorneys were consulted to discuss whether this was even legal and if the school could be legally liable if students were injured on the job.
Two entities were formed
- A school
- A temp agency
Student jobs paid $27,500 for one shared position. However, students were paid minimum wage, which amounted to $9,000 for a school calendar year. Students keep this and may use it to pay tuition. The rest of the salary goes to support the school without payroll deductions. This is in exchange for a safe school and solid education with experience in the corporate world.
New School Funding Idea
While adults liked the idea, the question that everyone had was "will the kids go for it?" Foley was now the president of the school and had no idea if this idea would work. He confessed to wanting to hide under his desk on the first day that students were sent out to work.
In Chicago, the students were taken to their jobs in corporate America in a fleet of buses. In a New York City school, students ride the subways supervised. Employers rate the student workers and 95% of the students receive either an "outstanding" or "good" rating. Not only is this innovative idea working, it is changing lives.
Cristo Rey Network
A network has now been established and schools may apply to participate. The criterion for a school wishing to join the network is strict.
- Must be Catholic
- Serve only economically disadvantaged students who do not need to be Catholic
- Play an active role in the community
- Accredited
- Require students to work in a Corporate Internship Program
- Integrate work learning into the classroom
- Hire a work-study coordinator
- Participate in the Cristo Rey Network
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill Gates has donated over $1 billion to education. He is perhaps best known for his efforts in New York City to make large schools into small schools. While this plan did improve academic success to a small degree, it is not proving to be as successful as hoped. In 2003, the foundation gave $9.9 million to the Cristo Rey Network. In 2006, it gave another $6 million. The Cristo Rey Network has schools now in seven cities.
Academic Record of Cristo Rey
The network is concerned that the students’ academic record is not as high as hoped. While the school accepts disadvantages students without regard to ability, the average ACT of 18.4 is below the national average of 21.1 in 2006. 70% of Cristo Rey students qualify for free and reduced lunches. The network has not been able to conquer the poverty issue.
There are currently 22 Cristo Rey schools with plans to have 32-33 by 2012 and serving 40,000 students. In spite of below average ACT scores, nearly all students attend college. Had they attended another school, these same students would be likely dropouts.
Source: AmericasFuture.org, Laura Vanderkam, May 28, 2008
