Major league sports have nothing on Cristo Rey Kansas City. Much like professional athletes who are drafted with great fanfare, Cristo Rey plans to host a signing day for its students on Tuesday, August 19.
As students prepare to go to work for the 2014-15 academic year, Randall Nyp, President and CEO of Providence Medical Center, and Maurice Watson, Chairman of Husch Blackwell, will sign agreements with student interns. The students will work at the hospital and law firm and earn approximately half of the cost of their education for one year.
A unique component of a Cristo Rey education is the Corporate Work Study Program, which partners each of the school’s 400 students with local businesses. The program makes a private, college preparatory education affordable for families with high economic need. Designed to give students on-the-job work experiences in a professional setting, the work study component exposes students to the real world of work. Businesses contract with the school for teams of students to fill an entry-level job, which pays $6,500 per student per year.
Cristo Rey opened in 2006 and incorporated a work study model of education. Each of the 400 students will work five full days per month at one of 115 local companies. To equip students with the skills necessary for success on the job, the 128 incoming freshmen attended three weeks of summer training to prepare for the workplace. Returning students take refresher courses, to reinforce skills in workplace etiquette, communications, and time management.
One measurement of the impact of Cristo Rey’s Corporate Work Study Program on student achievement is the record number of graduates going to college. With the first class of graduates in 2010 and in each successive class, 100 percent of the school’s graduates have been accepted to college.
About Cristo Rey Kansas City
Cristo Rey Kansas City is part of the network of 28 Cristo Rey high schools that break the cycle of poverty through education and work experience. Cristo Rey Kansas City provides a Catholic, college prep education enhanced by an innovative corporate work study program to culturally diverse students with economic need. The model of education equips students to see past their urban roots towards college and beyond.