c. 2004 Religion News Service

CHICAGO _ It’s 8 a.m. and about 120 students at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School here are chatting in the school’s cafeteria as they eat breakfast.

Lourdes Orozco, a program coordinator at the school reads a few announcements and rattles off a list of students she needs to speak with. Then she has a few reminders.

“Gentlemen, I still see a lot of facial hair,” Orozco says, rubbing the back of her hand against her cheek. “Ladies, I need to see your pants looser.” Orozco grabs her black slacks and stretches them out to underscore her point.

Why the emphasis on clothing and appearance? Because these students are going to work, not to class. The Chicago high school is one of five Cristo Rey Network schools across the country that place students in entry-level clerical jobs in which the money earned defrays tuition costs. Cristo Rey means Christ the King in Spanish.

Six Cristo Rey schools will open around the country this fall, in Ohio, New York, Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts. Feasibility studies are under way in Indianapolis and Kansas City, Mo. The goal is to establish 16 schools nationwide by the 2007-2008 school year, Cristo Rey officials say.

The model is a radical departure for Catholic schools, which for decades have been tuition-driven. Cristo Rey high schools cover more than 90 percent of their operating expenses through the work program and tuition. At a time when Catholic high schools are closing due to financial problems _ a nationwide drop from 1,100 to 600 high schools over three decades _ the network is a way for Catholic high school education to stay alive, especially for low-income students.

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago was founded by Jesuits and opened in 1996 in the poor neighborhood of Pilsen/Little Village. Research had shown a demand for educational alternatives in an area where public schools are weak. The only other Catholic school in the predominantly Mexican community is for girls only.

In 2001, philanthropist B.J. Cassin established the Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation to replicate the Chicago school around the country. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has also contributed. The other Cristo Rey schools are in Austin, Texas; Denver; Los Angeles; and Portland, Ore.

At the schools, expectations are high and failure is not an option. Students have a strict dress code and are required to apply to college. Parents must personally pick up their children’s report cards and progress reports.

Not every student who is interested in a Cristo Rey school gets in. Students need to be motivated and capable of handling college prep courses and a professional work environment.

Sheila Miller, a volunteer at the Cristo Rey school in Chicago, is in awe of the students at her school.

“My parents gave me a college prep education. That was a gift,” says Miller, a 2002 Boston College graduate. “These kids are working for it. It’s a pretty inspiring thing to watch.”

Karina Moreno is one of those students. Karina, 17, a junior at the Chicago school, not only goes to work at an investment company in downtown Chicago as part of the school’s work program, but also holds down a job at a video store to earn extra money.

She has a 3.85 grade-point average and wants to study business management in college. Karina said she was scared about working her freshman year as a messenger for a downtown Chicago law firm.

“It was hard at first because I didn’t know the downtown area, but once I got the hang of it, it was fun,” Karina says.

One of the hallmarks of a Cristo Rey school is a corporate work-study program. Schools act as temporary staffing agencies that help companies fill full-time entry-level clerical positions with teams of four students each. Students are trained in clerical work such as filing, copying and faxing. The school takes care of payroll taxes and insurance.

Cristo Rey schools pose some special challenges. About a quarter of the students are at work on any given day, so it’s hard to have an all-school function. Club meetings and sports events are compromised for the same reason. The academic year starts earlier and ends later than other schools, and the school day is about an hour longer. There are fewer electives for students to choose from since the goal is to provide a college-prep education.

“It’s the new future for Catholic inner-city education, but it’s not a model that will work everywhere,” says Patricia Garrity, principal at Cristo Rey Jesuit High in Chicago.

At the same time, Garrity adds: “Cristo Rey is breaking down barriers to Catholic education. Catholic schools are struggling to accept kids with limited resources, but that is exactly what we cater to.”

KRE/PH END GONZALEZ