Igniting a Mission
In the 1990s, the Midwest Jesuits sought to expand their ministry to Chicago’s Southwest side, understanding that immigrant and Spanish-speaking communities were the future of a vibrant city and church. They surveyed Pilsen neighbors and identified the educational needs of local youth as an area where they could make a significant impact. Founded in 1996 and honoring the bicultural background of its students, Cristo Rey’s dual-language, college prep curriculum serves as the foundation for a holistic, transformative education.
Now in its 30th school year, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School remains committed to serving families with limited financial means, who seek out a Jesuit, Catholic and college preparatory education for their children. Serving 476 students from more than 30 zip codes across Chicago’s Southwest Side, Cristo Rey creates unique opportunities for a community that still experiences great need.
To make the school both affordable and sustainable, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School pioneered the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) model for education. Through the CWSP, students work for and earn a portion of the cost of their education by working one day a week in an entry-level position at Chicagoland businesses and nonprofit organizations. All freshmen participate in a full year of workplace training that integrates executive functioning and academic topics with workplace prep, including courses in technology training and skill-building. This professional work experience, and the accompanying career exploration, mentoring, and networking provides students with social capital and a significant advantage as they enter college and the workforce.
Cristo Rey Jesuit takes a holistic approach to educating the whole person. All students complete a rigorous, dual-language, college-preparatory curriculum rooted in the liberal arts, with 30% of coursework taught in Spanish. The school offers honors and Advanced Placement courses, and 93% of students pass at least one AP exam. Nearly 80% of students participate in 11 varsity sports and 20 extracurricular clubs. In addition to learning about faith in religion class, students participate in retreats, liturgies, and complete service hours in the community.
In addition to a challenging academic curriculum and the CWSP, Cristo Rey offers its students a robust array of wraparound services that promote achievement and well-being. Understanding that 90% of students receive free or reduced lunch, and with a family income less than half of the Chicago median, Cristo Rey addresses students’ experience from a low-income background. Cristo Rey invests heavily in socio-emotional counseling services and college counseling resources. This critical guidance and individual support drive the statistic that Cristo Rey students graduate college at the same rate as their high-income counterparts.
Nearly 30 years of results speak for themselves: Cristo Rey Jesuit cultivates college-educated, work-experienced, biliterate, and bicultural men and women for others. What began as an experimental project by the Jesuits to expand ministry for Chicago’s Hispanic population has become one of the most successful models of educational innovation in our country. Currently, there are 40 high schools throughout the country that are associated through the Cristo Rey Network and operate using the educational model named for the first Cristo Rey School in Chicago.