With its revolutionary work-study program and focus on character development, the Cristo Rey Network's values-based education model has presented a new vision in school administration and reinvented urban education. Education has the power to lift people out of poverty, but America's schools have often failed to give the most disadvantaged children the opportunity to build a better life. Meanwhile, despite high employment, employers complain that they can't find qualified workers. By combining the latest advancements in education, the values of Catholic education, and an innovative work-study program, the Cristo Rey Network has developed a model of education that gives underprivileged students the opportunities they deserve. Anecdote driven with amazing stories of hardship and transformation, this book will highlight the student experience and why the Cristo Rey program is effective. Supportive, committed teachers implement a rigorous college-prep curriculum to help students overcome the challenges faced in many inner-city schools. Students also take part in a work-study program that allows them to work as entry-level employees at major corporations five days a month. "Lifelong learners" come out of the program with critical thinking skills and the experience needed to enter the work force, leading to increased success and financial sustainability. The Cristo Rey Network's breakthroughs in what has often been a broken system have placed it on the leading edge of education reform and developments in college completion. Moreover, by making students employable at an early age, the program's impact is seen both personally-as student's visions of themselves expand-and socially-as it meets the needs of communities in which these students live and work. The program's additional focus on character growth ensures the formation of a "whole person" who understands their role in serving others. Presenting the lessons learned along the way, this book shows that any school-Catholic or otherwise-can learn from the Cristo Rey model and offers a hopeful outlook of what young people and determined educators can achieve together.
