Work-study plan key to new Jesuit school

National Catholic Reporter, March 29, 1996 by Pamela Schaeffer

Munz said only students from the neighborhood will be accepted. "The idea is to serve that neighborhood and that population," he said, by way of addressing concerns that the school will siphon students from other Catholic high schools in the area.

Preston Kendall, a layman hired to oversee the work-study component, said the program promises to be "time-consuming and rigorous, filling up the days" for students, thus demanding commitment not only from them, but from their parents, who often will have to make extra sacrifices because a potential family wage-earner is busy at school. The work-study plan is "not just a financial mechanism, to keep the school open, but a way of opening up avenues, to get students into places where they can meet professionals and establish networks," he said., Law enforcement agencies say some 20 gangs are operating in the area, "so there's a lot of value to just keeping kids off the streets," he said. "A lot of the students we're tapping have avoided gangs thus far," Kendall said. "These kids have so much potential. Ifs just a matter of getting someone like the Jesuits to open doors for them," Kendall said.

Ricard Tostado, director of economic development and urban affairs for Ameritech, the major telephone company for the Chicago area, said his company will provide five to 10 jobs next year, possibly including some projects, such as computer work, that can be done at the school. "For us it's good PR and good business as well," he said. "We end up being good corporate citizens and also seeding our own future."

Kendall said the school will probably operate vans to get students back and forth to their jobs.

Jesuits expect students' experiences in the workplace to nurture good work habits and social skills and to build students' sense of self-worth and raise their vocational sights, Munz said, along with their intellectual curiosity, motivating them to learn. Education at Christo Rey will be family-based, Munz said. It will also be a dual-language program, with some classes offered in Spanish, some in English, aimed at producing graduates who are fluent in both. The curriculum will also be sensitive to Mexican culture and history, he said. "Those are some pieces of a distinctive program all in the framework of a very traditional Jesuit Catholic high school program. This is not an alternative school."