Even as our American society continues to reel from the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, a new academic year has begun at Cristo Rey Boston High School. We have welcomed some students to our classrooms, while other families have chosen for their child to participate remotely. In either situation, our students and their families find themselves, through no fault of their own, in an even more precarious position.
Cristo Rey Boston is a caring, faith-based community dedicated to educating young women and men to become compassionate, responsible, lifelong learners. As part of the Cristo Rey national Network, we close the opportunity gap for college bound students from under-resourced communities. Through our innovative Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP), we are making intentional investments in people, organizations, and communities of color and delivering real change by building a pipeline of diverse, 21st Century talent.
For example, over the last ten years 100% of our graduates have been accepted into 4-year colleges, and all students graduate from CRB with AP credits. We are very proud of our college 'persistency' number, the percentage of our students that graduate from college in 6 years, which today stands at 63%. That compares to just 13% nationally for young people from similar socio-economic backgrounds.
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| President Rosemary Powers pictured with Cristo Rey Boston students in December 2019. | |
This year, our financial model is upended. Our students can't go out to work - companies and organizations are still not back in their offices and are unable to participate in our work study program. So, we need to 'bridge the gap' to be sure that our students can continue their education at Cristo Rey Boston.
The impact of the coronavirus crisis on our corporate work study program has left us with a deficit of over $1m in our budget. Through this campaign, we will 'bridge that gap.' Already, we have raised $500,000 towards that goal! Over the next seven weeks, we will be sharing stories from members across the Cristo Rey Boston community. You will hear how the CRB experience is transforming lives and providing our students the tools they need for academic and career success. In addition to students, alumni and CWSP supervisors, you will also hear from our volunteers and committee co-chairs, individuals like Deana Martin and Shannon Zollo, whose vision and leadership is so critical to the success of CRB.
At the end of seven-week campaign, we will be hosting a Virtual Event on Wednesday, October 21 at 5 PM EST. I hope you will "tune in" each week!
In peace,
Rosemary J. Powers
President, Cristo Rey Boston High School
