Lighting the Way for the Leaders of Tomorrow
Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep is a private, independent Catholic high school to be accredited by the AdvancedED, located in the Pleasant Grove area of Southeast Dallas. The Cristo Rey Network’s formula for success is a proven, revolutionary model of college preparatory high school curriculum accessible to those of limited financial resources. Cristo Rey Dallas is the 30th of more than 35 schools within this prestigious nationwide system.
Cristo Rey Dallas opened in August 2015 adjacent to Saint Augustine Catholic Church. Today, the school enrolls approximately 500 students in grades 9-12 as well as nearly 100 faculty and staff to support the school’s curriculum. Here are other important facts about Cristo Rey Dallas:
Mission
Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep is a Catholic, college preparatory school for students from households of low to moderate income. Cristo Rey Dallas nurtures and challenges young women and men of all faiths to recognize and realize their full potential as they grow to love God, respect others and serve their community. Each student participates in the Corporate Work Study Program which offers a weekly work study experience for all four years.
Admissions
- Applications available at Cristo Rey Dallas offices or online
- Individualized and bilingual assistance available for families throughout the admissions process
Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP)
- A key component of the fiscal sustainability of the Cristo Rey model
- Students work to earn the majority of their tuition
- Students work in professional settings five days per month, building self-confidence and a resume that includes some of Dallas’s most prominent companies
- 144 job partners
Faith-based
The School Sisters of Notre Dame have served as the religious endorser of Cristo Rey Dallas since its founding in 2015. The Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in Bavaria in 1833 and devoted to education that “enables individuals to reach the fullness of their potential as individuals created in God’s image and assists them to direct their gifts toward transforming the world.”
- Religious education is included in the curriculum, with students of all faiths welcome
Tuition and Funding
- Families contribute to the cost of education based on financial ability
- Corporate Work Study Program funds close to 65% of the cost of education and parents pay less than 10%, with the balance funded by private donations
- Cristo Rey Dallas receives no government funding for school operations
Pleasant Grove Population
- 244,600 residents within a 5-mile radius
- 64.5% Hispanic, 39.5% African American
- 55% of families earn $34,000 or less per year
Pleasant Grove Educational Profile
- 4% of the population graduated from college (compared to 18% in Dallas overall)
- 44% of the population over 25 have not graduated from high school
- High school graduation rate is currently 71%
- Only 42% of Pleasant Grove seniors in Dallas ISD have taken the ACT or SAT
The Cristo Rey Network
- Mission: Transforming urban America one student at a time
- Founded by Jesuit priest John Foley, S.J. in Chicago in 1996
- 9,000 students nationwide
- 35 schools in 24 states and the District of Columbia
- Students often come from failing schools, many with dropout rates as high as 50%. Students sometimes enter as many as two years behind grade level.
- 100% of graduates were accepted into a two-year or four-year college, with a 90% matriculation rate
- 90% sophomore college persistence rate, compared to a national average of 60%
- Four times the college completion rate of their public-school peers
- Average family income of $34,000
- 72% of freshmen qualify for free and reduced lunch
- 2,000 Corporate Work Study Partners, representing the nation’s most prominent corporations
- 46 national University Partners
