Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston

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Cristo Rey Jesuit
College Preparatory of Houston
Address
6700 Mount Carmel Street
South East Houston, Harris County
Texas 77087
United States
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Information
Type Private, coeducational
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic, Jesuit
Established 2008; 16 years ago (2008)
Opened August 2009
Founder Father T.J. Martinez, S.J.
President Paul Posoli [1]
Principal Garcia Prats
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 500 (2013-2014)
Color(s) Orange, white, and marigold
Athletics Boys soccer, girls soccer, girls volleyball, flag football, baseball, softball, Boys basketball, Girls basketball, and Golf
Mascot Lion
Affiliation Cristo Rey Network
Website cristoreyjesuit

Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston is a Roman Catholic secondary school located on 6700 Mount Carmel Street in Houston, Texas, United States. It was founded by the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus and continues to be a sponsored work of the Jesuits. It is a part of the Cristo Rey Network and also affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. T.J. Martinez, S.J., was the founding president.

The school was opened in August 2009.[2] It is located on the campus of the former Mount Carmel High School.[3][4] Like other Cristo Rey schools, students help pay for their tuition through a work-study program.

Cristo Rey Jesuit, along with The Chinquapin School and Yellowstone Academy, is one of the few Greater Houston private schools that serve exclusively low income students.[5]

Admission requirements

Financial: Students should come from a family with sufficient financial need to qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program. Families who are only slightly over this level are still encouraged to apply. The PSAS financial aid application will be used to verify need on a case-by-case basis, as the first criteria for admission.

Age: Students must be 14 years old by September 1 of the year they enroll.

Scholarship: Students must have at least average grades and attendance and be willing to work hard to achieve the high academic expectations and the work obligations of the school.

Employability: Students must possess the maturity and work ethic necessary to be successful in an office environment working with adults. All students must also be able to present legal verification of their citizenship or residence and either have or be able to obtain a social security number.

The Corporate Work-Study Program

The Corporate Work-Study Program provides students with the opportunity to receive a university-preparatory education, while providing real-world work experience. Cristo Rey Jesuit students spend between one and two days each week at a major corporation in an entry-level job. The salary earned pays for approximately 70% of their tuition at Cristo Rey Jesuit.[6]

Sports and extra-curricular activities

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cristo Rey Jesuit fields teams in soccer, basketball, baseball, track, cross-country, flag football, and volleyball. Clubs and other activities depend on student interest and availability of sponsors.

However, students' first commitment on the days they work is to their corporate sponsor; they may not miss work to participate in sporting events or other activities. Likewise, students who are struggling academically will be placed in tutoring and may be unable to participate in extra-curricular opportunities until they are able to improve their academic performance.[7]

Founder Fr. T.J. Martinez, S.J., biography

Raised in Brownsville, Texas, Father T.J. Martinez entered the Jesuit seminary after receiving a bachelor’s degree in political science with honors from Boston College. During his training for the Jesuit priesthood he earned five graduate degrees including a law degree from the University of Texas and a school leadership degree from Harvard University. While at Harvard, Father Martinez was honored with the 2008 Harvard Intellectual Contribution & Faculty Tribute Award and was selected to deliver the Harvard Graduate School of Education Student Commencement address. The day after receiving his diploma he returned to Texas to found Cristo Rey Jesuit College Prep which follows the Cristo Rey model, an innovative, game-changing high school that combines a rigorous college prep program with a salaried job, serving exclusively children who live at or below the poverty line. In six short years, Father Martinez and his leadership team increased the student population from 80 to nearly 500; added 150 blue-ribbon corporations so that every student has a job; purchased a nine-acre worn-down facility and renovated it into an architectural-award-winning 21st century educational institution; and raised over $22 million to fund the operating and capital projects of the school, including a new 10,000-square-foot Center for Mission and Ministry that houses a conference center, guest rooms, and the new school chapel. In June 2013, Father Martinez graduated his first class, all of whom were accepted into college.

In 2010, Father Martinez was knighted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, a Papal Knighthood that recognizes outstanding service to the Church, in founding the only Catholic high school in the state of Texas that exclusively serves underprivileged children. The Jesuit Volunteer Corps USA presented Father Martinez with the national Standard of Christ Award in 2011 for his service in providing a private college prep education to underserved children. Houston magazine Paper City named Father Martinez one of the four “New Influencers” in the city in 2012 for his citywide advocacy of greater opportunities for higher quality education for all children. In 2013, the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Houston awarded Father Martinez the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Education Award for his founding work in launching a new model of education in the city. In 2014, Notre Dame University bestowed on Father Martinez the Father Theodore Sorin Award for Service to Catholic Schools, the highest award the university offers for Catholic high school leadership. And later that year, Boston College awarded Father Martinez the Alumni Ignatian Award which recognizes an alum who lives the mission of “men and women for others” to an exemplary degree. Mayor Anise Parker officially proclaimed May 30, 2014, as Fr. T.J. Martinez, S.J., Day in the city of Houston. Fr. Martinez served on the Board at the Kinder Institute of Urban Research at Rice University, the Holocaust Museum Houston, and was a Senior Fellow in the American Leadership Forum.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Posoli
  2. ↑ "About Cristo Rey Jesuit." Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston. Retrieved on February 6, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Welcome to the Mount Carmel High School Website!." Mount Carmel High School. April 15, 2007. Retrieved on February 6, 2009.
  4. ↑ "New school buys Mt. Carmel campus." KTRK-TV. Thursday August 21, 2008. Retrieved on February 6, 2009.
  5. ↑ Radcliffe, Jennifer. "Third Ward school for poorest of poor still thriving." Houston Chronicle. Monday October 11, 2010. Retrieved on October 21, 2011.
  6. ↑ "How the Work Study Program Works." Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston. Retrieved on May 26th, 2009.
  7. ↑ Student Life

External links

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