Community Outreach

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School works to provide the residents of Chicago’s Pilsen/Little Village neighborhood with a brighter future through education and thus enhance their quality of life. Our growth and development over the years has consistently led us to consider additional ways we can invite the surrounding community into the school. Our Community Engagement Program not only links Cristo Rey with community organizations that provide social services to our families, but also provides in-house expertise in the areas of health, mental health, and social services.

The Community Engagement Program yields positive results as it increases participation by students, parents and teachers in fostering the academic and social success of students, removes social-service and health-related barriers that keep students from doing their best work, and increases access to programs and services provided by community agencies at the school.

Highlights of the Community Engagement Program include:

• Cristo Rey’s holds a community health fair for Pilsen/Little Village residents. Attendees receive much needed services including influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, screening for hypertension, elevated blood glucose levels, breast cancer, asthma, cholesterol, and vision problems, and enrollment in the All Kids Program.

• Cristo Rey’s library / media center is open to students Monday thru Saturday and includes over 4,000 volumes of book and 40 computer work stations.

• Cristo Rey’s Grupo de Apoyo Para Padres De Estudiantes offers parent education classes,for parents of Cristo Rey students. These classes meet monthly and cover topics ranging from how to help students form good study skills to improving communication within families.

• Cristo Rey collaborates with Poder Learning Center (http://poderlc.org/) to offer adult English as a Second Language (ESL) and computer classes on-site at the Cristo Rey campus Monday through Thursday.

• Community organizations utilize our facilities to offer a variety of services to community residents – organizations include: the Resurrection Project, FUERZA, Whittier Elementary School, Asthma Mobile Care, Pilsen Mental Health, San Jose Obrero Mission, the Young Hispanic Lawyer’s Association, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and St. Paul Elementary School.

• The Cristo Rey Summer Sports Camp serves approximately 100 children, ranging in age from 10 to 14 years old. It is focused on providing a safe and active summer camp for children in the neighborhood that would otherwise have a more sedentary summer experience. It also gives Cristo Rey students leadership opportunities as camp counselors.