Cristo Rey Jesuit High School's Hire4Ed, Work-Study Program, calls itself "A School that Works." The Hire4Ed work-study program underwrites almost half the cost of education and exposes the student to a corporate work environment and the positive influences of the supervising professionals. In exchange, employers that participate in the Hire4Ed Work-Study program receive high quality, cost-effective workers and get to play an active role in students’ future success.
CRJHS is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory high school exclusively for under-resourced students. For Allie Bell and Fatima Vite, Cristo Rey and employers like the UST Opus College of Business (OCB) are why getting a college degree is a dream that will come true. The University of St. Thomas is one of more than 90 leading companies and organizations in the Twin Cities that provide high school tuition dollars for these young employees, in exchange for 5 days of work from each of them each month. The tuition OCB pays allows the students to support over 50% of their tuition at Cristo Rey (CR) and receive a college preparatory high school experience that would not be an option otherwise. At the same time, the jobs CR students do provide valuable work experience each year while in high school, which empowers them to take an active part in financing a major portion of their education.
The Cristo Rey vision is a good fit with the values of the University of St. Thomas and the Opus College of Business. Various OCB departments have employed 6 students over the past three years. Does your department have jobs they could do? Come and meet these extraordinary young women. On May 23rd at 10 AM in the TMH Fireside Room, Fatima and Allie will share stories about their year here at UST. Talk to their UST supervisors and find out how to participate in providing work for one or two CR students next year.
Cristo Rey is increasingly receiving national recognition as a ground breaking model for urban education in response to the success of Cristo Rey, the Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invested close to $30 million toward replicating this educational model around the United States. Currently, there are 24 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. Minneapolis is one of them.
Founded by the Jesuits in 1996, the mission that inspired Cristo Rey is - to advance the human and intellectual capacities, as well as the religious and cultural heritage of all those it serves. The goal is to maximize the students' potential to prepare them to assume leadership roles in the civic, religious, business and cultural life of our city and nation.
