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• February 2011
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• January 2010
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Cristo Rey Newsletter

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Summer Learning in the City

The summer before her senior year at Cristo Rey, Jazmin Mendez helped perform her first autopsy. On a visit to the National Institutes of Health, a doctor made Jazmin an offer she couldn’t refuse. Who would like to help him perform the procedure? Jazmin jumped at the chance. “No one else wanted to do it,” Jazmin said. She took the scalpel and with the doctor’s slow and steady hand guiding hers, she made the first incision. “It was amazing.”

Jazmin was able to do what many low-income students don’t have the opportunity to do – attend a summer enrichment program. These opportunities help students prepare for college and future careers. With the help of scholarships, several Cristo Rey students attended prestigious summer programs.

Jazmin attended the National Hispanic Youth Initiative in Health, Biomedical Research, and Policy Development Scholar’s Program in Washington, D.C. She visited institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, several agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Capitol Hill and several museums. She learned about the unique health problems Hispanics face and presented her findings during the NHYI banquet.

“What I most enjoyed was receiving the knowledge for a future career,” Jazmin said. “I am grateful for this opportunity to seek and find motivation from doctors who took the time to answer our questions,” she said. “If someone similar to me can succeed, then so can I.”

Mariah Mendoza and Luis Nava-Torres attended the Georgetown University Pre-College Program in Washington, D.C. In this program, offered exclusively to Cristo Rey Network high school students, students attended college prep workshops and participated in leadership exercises. They dined with the President of the Cristo Rey Network, Rob Birdsell. The founder of the Cristo Rey Network, Father John Foley, S.J., spoke at the closing banquet.

On the first day of classes, Mariah Mendoza noticed a pattern. “We were going around in a circle introducing ourselves and were saying ‘I am so lucky to be here,’” Mariah said. “We didn’t have to pay for the program,” she said. “When an opportunity like that comes around you take it.”

Luis Nava-Torres also attended the program at Georgetown. “I really enjoyed taking International Relations and American Politics classes,” Luis said. “I experienced what college professors are like,” he said. Georgetown is his number one pick for college. Dr. Daniel Porterfield, Senior Vice President of Strategic Development at Georgetown, offered to write recommendation letters for Mariah and Luis.

Not all of the students traveled to Washington, D.C. this summer. Isidoro (Izzy) Tirado, David Jara and Chris Silva attended the United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar in Annapolis, Md. The Summer Seminar is a six-day experience for high achievers who want to learn about life at the Naval Academy. Midshipmen (students at the Naval Academy) ran the program with oversight by active duty Navy and Marine Corps officers. More than 2,250 students from around the world attend the program each year.

Kiara Clark stayed close to home this summer. Kiara attended ThreeSixty Journalism, a youth journalism workshop based at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minn. Students wrote and reported their own stories. They experienced the challenge of getting sources to call back, interviewing strangers and staying objective. Her story about obesity ran in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota’s two largest daily newspapers.

The most valuable part of Kiara’s experience was meeting a diverse group of people. She interacted with students of different racial and socio-economic backgrounds. “… an Asian student, an affluent white student,” Kiara said. “These are people I usually wouldn’t talk to and now we’re friends.”

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Student named “Emerging Legend”

Simone Fuller, class of 2011, was recognized by The General Mills Foundation and UNCF as an “Emerging Community Legend” at the 20th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast.

Each year, the annual holiday breakfast includes the presentation of Local Legend awards to those actively involved in their community, demonstrating Dr. King’s dedication to nonviolent social change. The Local Legend award honors those with a legacy of service, while the Emerging Legend award honors youth who are making a difference.

Simone organized her peers and collaborated with the Student Council to create the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Service Committee. Prior to coming to Cristo Rey, Simone already displayed a passion for service at the Sabathani Food Shelf and at the Family Enhancement Center in south Minneapolis, which strives to prevent child abuse. Fuller is on the honor roll, plays on the intramural volleyball team, is involved in tutoring, and works at Thomson Reuters.

Simone joined Fr. David Haschka, Mr. Rick Campion, Mr. Julius Eromosele (her Hire4Ed coordinator) and several others from Cristo Rey at the morning breakfast.

Cristo Rey Student of the Month (December)

Chris received the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Student of the Month Award for his excellence in academics for the month of December. To qualify for the Student of the Month award, a student must:

• Have no unexcused absences or tardies for that month
• Consistently portray the 7Ps
• Take responsibility for own learning
• Have no missing or late work
• Achieve high grades
• Maintain good standing at work
• Demonstrate the Habits of Mind
• Exceed the standards set forth by the CRJHS college preparatory curriculum

 

 

Hire4Ed Employee of the Month

The Hire4Ed program allows students to work in businesses around the Twin Cities in entry level positions, gaining valuable experience and earning money towards the cost of education.

The Hire4Ed Employee of the Month needs to demonstrate positive  behavior and is interested and motivated. There is a new Hire4Ed Employee of the Month each month during the school year.

The Employee of the Month for the month of December was Gracie, who works at SPS Commerce. Gracie is pictured here with her supervisor, Natalie.

 

A Letter from Father David Haschka

Dear Friends:

With the beginning of this new dec-ade, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School—Twin Cities is facing a challenging but rather common transition in the development of most new schools, the departure of some founding per-sonnel.

Mr. Stephen Schulz, the Executive Director of Hire4Ed is leaving this month to return to his former profes-sion in healthcare consulting. Mr. Schulz has been a member of the leadership team of the school from before it opened and has been responsible for designing and implementing our signature Cristo Rey corporate internship pro-gram. During his tenure, he established a strong network of employers for our students and an excellent reputation for the program among Twin City area businesses.

Dr. Kristine Melloy, our founding Principal, is also leaving the school at this time to return to her former career as a professor and researcher in special education. Dr. Melloy has likewise been a member of the leadership team since before the school opened. During her tenure, she established a research-based curriculum and school culture designed to best prepare our students for success in college. She recruited, mentored, and retained highly dedicated and skilled teachers. In short, Dr. Melloy built an excellent platform for this school’s continued growth and development.

Both Mr. Schulz and Dr. Melloy will be greatly missed by both students and staff at Cristo Rey. It will be some years before their contributions to this school can be fully accounted. I am especially grateful that they have timed their departures at a point where the school can proceed in a stable and consistent fashion even while searching for re-placements who can carry their work forward.

Mr. Nathan Wendt, S.J., Hire4Ed program coor-dinator will serve as acting director of Hire4Ed and Mr. Jeb Myers, academic assistant principal, will serve as acting principal.

Like many of you, we continue to struggle with the effects of the “Great Recesion.” But, as you will read elsewhere in this update, we continue to make steady progress in the effort to develop a solid, college-prep school uniquely designed to serve our chosen demo-graphic. Thank you for your continued interest and support of this mission.

 

Admissions

Annemarie Hansen,

Admissions Director

A student and his mother came to Cristo Rey the week before school started after having attended an orientation at another local school. His mother explained that both she and her son left with the sense that “it just didn’t feel right.” When touring them through Cristo Rey, they were both put at ease. They found what they were looking for at Cristo Rey and he has become a shining star here.

When we complete financial aid applications with the families, we hear stories of foreclosure, unemployment, and other financial hardships. Despite their challenges, they are committed to find their child the best educational opportunities possible. It is sobering to know with how little our families are getting by. I spoke with a mother recently whose family of 8 survives on her husband’s salary of about $14,000/year. She expressed her desire to send her children to private school, and her inability to keep up with the payments.

Cristo Rey gives 218 students and counting the opportunity to change their reality and be a part of something different. We are honored in admissions to be the ones facilitating this change. At this time, we are working with 181 prospective students to apply before our Priority Deadline, February 26. We hope to admit up to 125 new students in September.

Development

Rick Campion,

Development Director

Our students continue to rise above challenging circumstances to improve their lives at Cristo Rey. They are experiencing amazing growth that would not be possible without the generous support we have received from so many of you.

In fact, the support we have received to date this fiscal year has resulted in an 8% increase in revenue and a 10% increase in the number of gifts over last year. As we pass the midpoint of our fiscal year, we have raised 64% of our goal.

Development Update

• Total Budget Operating Expenses $3,300,000
• Budgeted Hire4Ed Program Earnings $1,296,000
• Budgeted Student/Family Contributions     $81,000
• Total Need for FY10 $1,923,000
• Total Funds Raised 12/31/09 $1,222,000
• Remaining for FY10 Goal   $701,000

We hope that you will find it in your heart to continue to help our students become productive, contributing members of society. Gifts at the following levels, along with Hire4Ed and Family Contribution income, will change a student’s life in the following way:

• $10,000 will fund one student for an entire year.
• $5,000 will fund one student for a semester.
• $2,400 will fund the family contribution for one student for an entire year.
• $1,200 will fund the family contribution for one student for a semester.

Thank you for your support of Cristo Rey!

A Message from the Principal

Jeb Myers

As with all facets in life, communication is important in education. At Cristo Rey, we are improving our communication with students in two ways: the Educational Enrichment Initiative and the Eligibility List.

Last summer, a team of four faculty, led by founding Principal Dr. Kristine Melloy, joined six other schools from the Cristo Rey Network to articulate the standards by which our students will become proficient to ensure success in college. We call this the Educational Enrichment Initiative, but our students know this work termed as standards, benchmarks, gold binders and rubrics.

The Eligibility List is a weekly report for students. Students are “Eligible” if they are in good standing academically, behaviorally and in their Hire4Ed responsibilities. Eligible students are afforded privileges such as the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities and attend college visits.

These two communication tools resulted in 38% of students on the honor or high honor roll for first quarter compared to 33% at the same time last year and a greater sense of urgency amongst students to complete assignments regularly as evidenced by the number of students studying during lunch and after school.