AnnuAl RepoRt

40 Pages·2013·5.54 MB·English

AnnuAl RepoRt
-
2011 2012

Mission
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School offers a Catholic college preparatory
education for the immigrant families of Chicago’s near Southwest side.
Vision
the reason for the school’s existence is to advance the human and
intellectual capacities, as well as the religious and cultural heritage, of all those it serves. the goal
is to maximize the students’ potential to prepare them to assume leadership roles in the civic,
religious, business and cultural life of our city and nation. the hope is that all graduates become
“Men and Women for others,” with the following characteristics: open to growth, religious,
intellectually competent, loving, committed to justice and work experienced.
Means
the means to accomplish this goal is to offer a Jesuit education through
a dual-language curriculum and participation in the Corporate Work Study program.
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Letter from the President
Dear Friends, As many of you know, I started at Cristo Rey in 2000 and spent the next
decade working in different roles here. At that time, we were the only Cristo
When looking through this annual report for the 2011-2012 academic year,
Rey school in the country and we were just four years-old. look how far we
a quote from St. Ignatius came to mind, “Act as if everything depended on you;
have come!
trust as if everything depended on God.”
today there is a network of 25 schools around the country operating on the
In this report, you will get a glimpse at some of the individuals who make
Corporate Work Study Model. thanks to hundreds of generous supporters
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School possible. You will read about our teachers, stu-
and benefactors, we have a beautiful campus that includes state-of-the-art
dents, families, graduates, job sponsors and other supporters who bring this
classrooms, a library, athletic facilities, and a recently renovated Chapel of the
quote to life. these individuals give their very best and at the same time, trust
Sacred Heart. And our enrollment, which started on the first day with 66
that God will provide what is lacking. As you read through these pages, I hope
pioneering young women and men, has grown to more than 550 students.
you are as inspired as I am by their dedication.
God has truly been good to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, and I believe it is
this is a report for the year before I returned to Cristo Rey. During that year, one of the most important success stories for the City of Chicago.
we saw much change. We sent one of our founding staff members and master-
on behalf of our students, families, and 1255 alumni, thank you for your
mind of the Corporate Work Study program, Mr. preston Kendall, north to
support. It is because of you that we are able to make such a difference in the
become the president of Cristo Rey St. Martin College prep in Waukegan. We
lives of so many families. I promise that we will continue to be good stewards
said thank you to our Board Chair, Mr. Chris perry, who led us through the past
of your generosity and continue to work hard and trust in God.
four years. And we celebrated the 18 years of service that Fr. Jim Gartland, S.J.,
gave to the pilsen Community, the last eight spent as president of Cristo Rey.
Before he left, Fr. Gartland reflected on the role of president at Cristo Rey. Gratefully,
He said he believed every president was led to Cristo Rey by God for a pur-

pose. Fr. Foley, like the great explorer Fr. Marquette, had the audacity to trail
Antonio ortiz
blaze a new frontier in inner city education. Fr. Gartland brought his great gifts
president
of humor and was focused on building a solid community that would bridge
our families with our many friends and donors. I now step forward to be a
part of the next chapter in the school’s history, ready to explore the purpose
for which God brought me back to Cristo Rey.
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Act as if everything
t r u s t depended on you;
as if everything
depended on
God
.
– St. Ignatius of loyola
the mission of success
pat Garrity came to Cristo Rey in the fall of 2000 and was named principal Among our 31 teachers, there is a clear age-range and learning curve for new
the next spring. During these past dozen years, Ms. Garrity has been instru- technology. But because of their dedication, these boards are being utilized by
mental in shepherding and developing our rigorous college prep education everyone. From powerpoint presentations, to instant access to the internet, to
program with the mission of serving immigrant families always in focus. showing the class how to dissect an animal, the interactive white boards have
been integrated into many areas of the curriculum. According to Ms. Garrity,
While Cristo Rey is dedicated to strong academics and preparing students
“If anyone would have told me that an entire faculty would be on-board with
for the rigors of college, there is great attention given to the whole person.
a brand new form of technology in one year, I never would have believed it.”
According to Ms. Garrity, “each student is called by name and our kids really
In fact, because of the high demand, additional Mac carts and pC laptop carts
are cared for. this relational side creates a space that enables our students to
are being added to classrooms.
grow and be stretched.”
As the flagship school of a growing network of programs across the country,
“one of the key reasons why Cristo Rey works,” Ms. Garrity points out, “is the
there is unavoidable momentum driving our school forward, yet there is a
relentless dedication to the mission upon which we were founded. teachers are
firm foundation anchoring Cristo Rey back to its vision of forming “Men and
here for that mission and for the kids. they are incredibly motivated. Because
Women for others.” the combination of strong academics and mission-focus
of the Corporate Work Study program, our classes are one-hour each, which
is succeeding. In 2012, Cristo Rey graduated its largest class to-date – 118
requires a lot of preparation each day.” the school faculty and staff work tire-
students. of these students, 100% were accepted to at least one college. three
lessly to provide a safe, faith-based environment conducive to learning, which
are serving our country in the military, four deferred their admission until the
keeps students engaged and enrolled.
spring, and 111 are enrolled in colleges all over the country.
An example of this dedication was the rolling out of a technology initiative in
the summer of 2011. Cristo Rey students do not have access to technology
at the same level as their peers and this was most evident when they arrived
at college. to help our students, interactive white boards were installed in
t he dual language program requires
•
every classroom and each teacher was given a laptop. In addition, Cristo Rey
30% of classes entirely in Spanish and
purchased three Mac carts, each containing 15 ipads and 15 MacBooks, for
in-class research, small group projects and testing. teachers went through 70% entirely in english
extensive training and ongoing workshops to learn how to effectively use
3 74 applications for 160 freshman slots
these new tools. •
6
100%
of seniors
accepted
were
to at least one college.
sandra BriseÑo, cLass of 2013
Sandra Briseño’s parents wanted her to go to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Sandra credits Cristo Rey with developing her independence and confidence,
because they had heard so much about the school through friends. Sandra and allowing her to believe that she could go away to college. According to
wanted to make her own choice and decided to go to a public school instead. Sandra, “I have worked hard because I realized that my homework has helped
For high school girls, however, friends are their whole world. After a year of me to learn what college will be like.” In addition to balancing her schoolwork
hearing about how great Cristo Rey was from her best friend, Daisy, she knew and work study position, she also has the challenge of keeping up with all of
she needed to check it out. She decided to transfer to Cristo Rey her sopho- her extracurricular activities such as yearbook, national Honor Society, and
more year. Sandra says the difference is that “teachers at Cristo Rey care about teaching confirmation classes at St. procopius parish. All of this, though, has
your life.” taught her responsibility and time-management skills.
It isn’t easy to transfer into Cristo Rey and be successful. Students have a more Sandra has won the Hurtado Award for two consecutive years. this award is
abbreviated introduction into the Corporate Work Study program (CWSp), given to the student who has the highest GpA in a given class. unlike most
and they miss a foundational year of Spanish. the academic standards are much high school students, Sandra enjoys public speaking, and aspires to give the
higher for transfer students because they need to demonstrate that they are valedictorian speech at graduation in June 2013.
both motived and driven to catch-up.
now a senior, Sandra reflects that the transition into Cristo Rey was difficult.
During the summer training program for the CWSp, she received her first (and
only) detention. It was an eye-opening experience that this school was different.
o n average, we have a 98.5% daily
•
For the past three years, Sandra has worked in a lab at loyola university Medical attendance rate
Center. According to her, “My job has given me the confidence to speak with
adults.” Sandra has become a trusted member of the team, and assists in the • A t the end of the 2011-2012 academic
lab collecting data and preparing chemical solutions for experiments. She is year, 61 students had perfect attendance
currently writing an abstract on the research of protein channels and their
link to diabetes. Sandra is planning to parlay this scientific experience into a 9 5% of our students were born in
•
career in marine biology or nursing. She is looking at programs at university
the u.S. while 87% of their parents
of California Santa Cruz, Stanford university, and Georgetown university.
were born elsewhere.
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the difference is
teachers

that the
care
at Cristo Rey
about your life.
the best inheritance daughters
we can give to our
education.
is their