Cristo Rey Network

The Cristo Rey Network traces its roots to 1996 when an innovative Jesuit school opened in Chicago, integrating four years of college preparatory academics with continuous professional work experience through the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP). By 2016 the network included 32Catholic, college preparatory schools serving 10,933 students across 21 states and DC and collectively claiming 11,508 graduates. The Cristo Rey Network has been lauded for its success in educating low-income, inner-city youth from underserved communities with the knowledge, incentive, and skills to become successful in the business world.

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago opened under the leadership of John P. Foley, S.J., in 1996, introducing a highly innovative integration of academic and professional experience to Catholic secondary education in the United States. The model had immediate appeal, first to Catholic educators across the country and soon after to prominent philanthropists committed to educational reform. The Cristo Rey Network was incorporated in 2003 and has grown into the largest network of high schools in the country that exclusively serves low-income students. The impact is clear: Cristo Rey graduates are enrolling in college at rates consistent with the enrollment levels of high-income students, and completing college at 2.4 times the rate of high school graduates from low-income families nationwide. Cristo Rey claims 7,000 graduates who have either earned their undergraduate degree or are currently enrolled in college.

The Corporate Work Study Program (a separately incorporated entity) operates like a temporary employment agency within Cristo Rey schools and employs every student five full days a month in an entry-level, professional job all four years of high school. Students earn much of their education cost while gaining real-world work experience across 3,000 Corporate Partners including law, finance, healthcare, technology, marketing, university, and many other professional offices.

More than two decades ago, Foley and his team created the Corporate Work Study Program out of financial necessity to ensure Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago opened as both an academically rigorous and financially sustainable school. CWSP has since proven to have critical formational impact on students—demystifying the world outside their neighborhoods, developing valuable workplace readiness skills, introducing them to inspirational role models and supportive mentors, and building the competence, confidence, and aspiration so important to college and career success.

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