Washington D.C., Dec 27, 2018 / 14:30 pm
As urban Catholic schools nationwide are closing their doors, it may come as a surprise that the Catholic Cristo Rey Network says it is on-pace to expand to a total of 50 schools within the next decade. The network says that it can provide Catholic education in low-income areas for a fraction of the cost of other high schools.
What's the secret? Through a unique arrangement called the Corporate Work Study Program, Cristo Rey students are placed in entry-level corporate positions for five days a month. Instead of being paid for their work, students earn their tuition.
The Corporate Work Study Program began in the mid-1990s, when Chicago Jesuits were seeking to better serve the city's Latino community. After surveying residents, they discovered that they most desired a college-prep high school in their neighborhood. When issues of funding came up, the Jesuits assigned to create this new school reached out to a "very creative, original thinker" for ideas.
"They asked [the consultant] for some ideas about how to sustain a private school for students and families who could not afford to pay for it. He came back with the suggestion that every student have a job," Fr. John P. Foley, S.J., founder of the Cristo Rey Network, told CNA.