Cristo Rey High School (formerly North Cambridge Catholic High School)

CONTACT:

100 Savin Hill Ave.
Boston, MA 02125
617-876-6068
cristoreyboston.org

Sister Ellen Powers, CSJ, President

DESCRIPTION:

NCCHS has faced closure several times in its 83-year history, largely owing to its focus on low-income youth—“Tip” O’Neill and his son, Thomas P. III (the current Board Chair) are alums, but today only 10% of the students are white, and 62% are from Boston (73% are Catholic). In 2001 the Archdiocese of Boston gave notice that NCCHS must become self-supporting by 2004; it found a solution in a work-study program originated at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago. NCCHS is one of 16 Catholic High Schools nationwide who were competitively chosen to replicate this model program under partial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Students will work five days a month at sponsoring institutions (law offices, accounting firms, universities, etc.), gaining skills, knowledge, experience and mentorship from professionals about potential careers and the need for further education. Employers pay the school $20,000 a year for each job shared by four students, for their tuition. At Cristo Rey, 93% of the class of 2003 graduated, and 100% were accepted to college. Success is by no means assured; significant further support is needed to put all the pieces together in this new model. But nothing succeeds like success—student applications for 2004-05 have quadrupled! 21st-century philanthropy to the rescue!

(2004: CULTURE: Education: Formal: Schools)