El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

El Futuro

A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey STRATEGIC PLAN

Our Mission Cristo Rey Jesuit High School provides a Catholic, college preparatory education and professional work experience to students from Spanish speaking families with limited financial means.

Our Vision We advance the human and intellectual capacities, as well as the religious and cultural heritage, of the immigrant families we serve. Through our Corporate Work Study Program, faith-based college preparatory education, and Spanish heritage language curriculum, our goal is to prepare students to succeed in college and to assume leadership roles in the civic, religious, business, and cultural life of our city and nation. As committed alumni of a Jesuit high school, graduates become men and women for others who are open to growth, religious, intellectually competent, loving, committed to justice, and work experienced.

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Strategic Plan

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A Message from the President Dear Friends of Cristo Rey, I am pleased to present Cristo Rey Jesuit High School’s strategic plan “El Futuro,” that will take us through a quarter of a century of Cristo Rey model education, faith formation, and professional work experience.

This strategic plan is the embodiment of our culture and a roadmap for the future of our school. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other Cristo Rey stakeholders played an active role in the development of this document. It comes at a time when we as an institution need to evaluate and plan for the future of our school. Our local neighborhood is changing, the workplace is evolving, yet the families we serve are steadfast and so must we be in our mission to educate and empower our young people who are the leaders of tomorrow. Nuestro futuro.

This is our third strategic plan for Cristo Rey since our founding in 1996. As part of the periodic review process, I commissioned a small task force to revise, update, and expand upon our last plan. A great deal of thought, consultation, and input from stakeholders resulted in this

new document. Our refreshed plan will serve as a practical guide for the school for planning and resource allocation decisions. In a much larger sense, this plan serves as the guiding document for Cristo Rey as we chart our path and are audacious with our planning. We refine our focus on the collaborative classroom and work study experience, while launching a pioneering Hispanic Ministry program at the high school level. We are dreaming big!

I, along with the rest of the Cristo Rey community, look forward to what is next for our school—the original Cristo Rey that sparked a movement of what is now a network of schools nationwide educating more than 12,000 students annually. It was our vision in Chicago that started it all, and it is on us to keep the fire lit for the future generation of Cristeros to come. Thank you for your support.

Gratefully,

Antonio Ortiz President

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El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

“We are about to embark on another journey. This journey will have two paths.

The safe one, where we can stay within our comfort zones and play cautiously.

Or, the one where our resiliency overcomes the fear of failure, welcomes the face of adversity, and exemplifies our will power.”

Hilda Carrasco, CR Class of 2014 Convocation Speech, December 2018, Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Introduction Nearly 25 years ago, we sparked a new movement right here in Pilsen. With the leadership of the Midwest Jesuits, with our pioneering Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP), and with our singular focus on the immigrant Latino community on Chicago’s near Southwest Side, we created an audacious new model for urban education—one that grew into a network of now 37 schools successfully serving low-income communities across the country.

Today, our program is proven and our movement is robust, our Board is invested and our community is strong, and our mission and Jesuit values are alive in all we do. We have continued to build on our firm foundation, broadening course offerings in our rigorous dual-language curriculum, forging mutually beneficial relationships with close to 200 Chicago companies, and graduating over 2,000 proud alumni—100 percent of whom are accepted into college, where they earn degrees at six times the national average for low-income, first-generation students.

Put simply, the Cristo Rey model we created in Pilsen works.

And it is that knowledge that calls us to step back, assess each aspect of that model today, and chart a path forward with as bold a spirit and as clear a vision as when we started Cristo Rey: because it is only by reexamining, refreshing, and,

if necessary, reinventing that model that we can extend our impact—and achieve even more for our students and every community they touch.

As high schools and colleges prepare students for a world of dynamic change and boundless knowledge, leading-edge educators are reenvisioning the classroom experience for the 21st century. The corporate world we want students to lead looks dramatically different from the jobs and workplaces we built our corporate work-study program around in 1996.

Our internal constituencies—the educators who have journeyed with us from the beginning, the alumni reaching professional maturity, the families and communities seeking the opportunities we provide—continue to grow and evolve.

And the Catholic faith that guides us is finding new vitality with—and seeking new ways to serve—Latino communities like those at the heart of our school community.

In this strategic plan, we seek to address this changing landscape and build on our strengths, melding proven best practices with innovative new practices as we define a Cristo Rey model for tomorrow—one that evolves each of our programs and galvanizes all of our people to advance the human and intellectual capacities of every student we serve as they grow into men and women for others.

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Strategic Plan

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El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

More than 25 years after pioneering a new approach to urban, Catholic education and sparking a nationwide movement, our flagship Cristo Rey School is ready to take the next step in our evolution. By reinforcing and renewing our school’s core while adapting to emerging opportunities and challenges, we will achieve even more than we already have:

Cristo Rey will be the pathway to transformative leadership for Spanish-speaking students from Chicago’s Southwest Side, inspiring each and every one of them to become a catalyst for change in their communities and for the world.

To make this vision possible, our community must rally together, audaciously expand our programs, and double down on our investment in the future leaders who will emerge from Chicago’s under resourced Latino communities. Specifically, we will realize this broader impact by evolving programs and engaging people.

EVOLVING PROGRAMS

ENGAGING PEOPLE

Our longtime pillars—a rigorous, dual-language academic program that promotes equity and opportunity; an innovative work-study program that empowers students to join the professional world; a grounding in the Catholic faith and our Jesuit values—remain as important and impactful as ever. As we prepare students for the radically shifting world all around us, we must elevate and expand the core programs that nurture them as individuals—and guide them as future leaders.

As we reinforce our core pillars, we must also deepen our support for the communities who make so much of our students’ success possible, and who provide structure, guidance, and inspiration on the path not only to success, but to leadership.

Goals • E levate our academic program through active learning and experiential education, giving every student the skills they need for success and leadership in college, career, and the rest of their lives.

• E volve CWSP into a work readiness and workforce pipeline program—one that prepares students for purpose-driven leadership in the changing corporate workplace while supporting Cristo Rey academically and operationally.

Goals • Attract, develop, and retain outstanding faculty and staff, ensuring that the educators and advocates who shape students’ lives and futures can build long and fulfilling mission-driven careers at Cristo Rey. •C ultivate an engaged alumni community that extends Cristo Rey’s legacy of service and leadership.

• E mpower our community of families to provide support as students navigate unfamiliar environments—both at and beyond Cristo Rey—on the path to success.

• L aunch a pioneering Hispanic ministry program that builds on our unique combination of Jesuit faith and Latin American cultural traditions, inspiring lives of faith and leadership in students and opening doors to new dialogues taking place in our local churches, the Jesuit community, and the broader American Catholic Church.

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EVOLVING PROGRAMS: ACADEMICS Goal Elevate our academic program through active learning and experiential education, giving every student the skills they need for success and leadership in college, career, and the rest of their lives.

Why it Matters The best education today is about more than imparting knowledge. It’s about facilitating learning: empowering students to take charge of their own education and fostering the skills they will carry with them in every aspect of their lives.

As we prepare Cristo Rey students not only for changing college and career standards, but for a world defined by change, we must build on the strength of our existing academic program and set new standards of excellence for the years ahead—blending the skills, content, and Jesuit values in our current curriculum with the need to foster a growth mindset within each student. By infusing each classroom with dynamic discussion, hands-on projects, and experiential approaches, we can promote active learning, leverage their grit and resilience, and prepare the whole person for the world that awaits.

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El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

Objectives •D efine the skills we seek to prioritize in the curriculum and identify existing gaps and opportunities for further curricular growth.

• I dentify and integrate modern, evidence-based instructional practices that support experiential education, respond to changing workplace needs, advance college readiness, and cultivate a skillset for success in tomorrow’s world.

• S trive to identify new learning technologies that fit our culture and support our goals and determine how best to integrate them into the classroom.

•C larify and strengthen the relationship between academics and CWSP, ensuring that classroom learning and workplace experiences complement one another in achieving outcomes that lead to student success.

EVOLVING PROGRAMS: ACADEMICS

TACTICS

1. Increase students’ college and career readiness.

A. I mplement and evaluate new daily schedule; connect ideas of student ownership & time management to college readiness.

B. Pilot and evaluate a 1:1 laptop program initially with one class, leverage access to technology to improve college readiness for collaboration and communication.

C. Evaluate current assessment practices, grading scale, and connected GPA outcomes.

D. Develop preparation programs for student success on the SAT suite of assessments.

E. Investigate alternative curricular offerings to greater meet the needs of students.

F. D efine the 21st-century skills we seek to prioritize in the curriculum and identify existing gaps and opportunities for further curricular growth.

2. Increase active & experiential learning throughout our academic program.

A. Re-align existing teacher supervision program to meet the needs of school & faculty.

B. Continue refining the Instructional Coaching program in order to offer faculty greater support for professional growth.

C. I ncrease structure and frequency of DDI conversations within level teams and departments.

D. I nvestigate current support structures for faculty to identify gaps.

E. Identify and integrate modern, evidence-based instructional practices that support experiential education, respond to changing workplace needs, advance college readiness, and cultivate a skillset for success in tomorrow’s world.

3. Increase integration between the academic program and CWSP. A. E valuate existing work of the ACC as well as artifacts produced (i.e. communication and technology roadmaps).

B. Collaborate with CWSP to ensure support for programming when the academic schedule allows (i.e. professional development half-days, Magis period).

C. Continue to refine a strategy for CWSP as a grade.

D. Identify concrete opportunities to pull CWSP experiences into the academic programs within the school.

4. Increase the quality of the student experience.

A. U nderstand and continuously identify challenges around student retention.

B. D evelop a socioemotional wellness curriculum that includes students and parents.

C. Identify gaps in the student- and parent-facing practices with regards to operations (i.e. digital vs. paper processes).

D. Examine the classroom spaces to determine adequacy for modern learning environments.

E. Establish linkage between the admissions and college access processes to ensure that students are prepared to persist and succeed in college.

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EVOLVING PROGRAMS: CORPORATE WORK STUDY Goal Evolve CWSP into a work readiness and workforce pipeline program—one that prepares students for purpose-driven leadership in the changing corporate workplace while supporting Cristo Rey academically and operationally.

Why it Matters As we define the next evolution of Cristo Rey and consider how we can provide the skills, experiences, and connections that actualize students’ potential, we must evolve the Corporate Work Study Program—a core pillar of the Cristo Rey experience from the very beginning.

We can do so by cultivating deeper, mutually-beneficial relationships with our corporate partners. Working handin-hand with them, we can better prepare students for the norms, needs, and expectations of a changing workplace, where soft skills and digital literacy must each be present.

Students will be positioned in roles that provide meaningful experience to them and real value to the partner company.

Corporations will view CWSP as not only a way of giving back to the community, but also a way of developing talent and leadership that serve at various levels Chicago companies.

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El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

Objectives •A lign the program with employer needs, positioning students to add value to partner organizations and CWSP as a talent pipeline for Chicago companies.

•C ontinue to consider how Cristo Rey can create greater employer and student satisfaction, working to connect employers more deeply with Cristo Rey’s mission and increase program retention.

• I ncrease Board of Directors engagement in the development and stewardship of corporate partner relationships and growing business development.

•C larify and strengthen the relationship between academics and CWSP, ensuring that workplace experiences complement curricular experiences and contribute to student growth and development.

•D etermine CWSP’s role in the Cristo Rey revenue model moving forward, in partnership with the Board of Directors and establish practices to consistently meet financial goals.

EVOLVING PROGRAMS: CORPORATE WORK STUDY

TACTICS

1. Widen companies’ perception of students’ value add, building overall program brand and marketability A. T horoughly document students’ job descriptions on OneNote and CR website to expand/elevate work at existing job partners.

B. C onduct annual job segmentation to assess value proposition for job partner and student; strategically set goals to improve value add to job partner and/or student.

C. B uild capability of team to be exceptional Client solutions managers, helping CWSP job partners to better utilize and stretch students on-the-job.

D. D evelop a CWSP Supervisor Forum to crowdsource new work-streams for students.

E. S trengthen CWSP communications and stewardship.

2. Elevate students’ workplace skills, specifically around technology and communication A. Optimize existing CWSP student training (i.e. Summer Business Training, Dry Run Training, re-employment); annually refine to align with student and job market needs.

B. O versee the development and execution of routine student training workshops.

C. R ecommend multi-year plan for ongoing, advanced skill training with lens towards building skills that will improve job marketability today. Research/analyze professional skills curriculum from community partners.

D. S upport school efforts to improve students’ executive functioning and Microsoft Office skills (academic integration).

E. A nalyze and make final recommendation on whether course additions/insertions are needed to teach students advanced workplace skills.

F. R efine and institutionalize process for student coaching and performance improvement.

3. Improve supervisor training and support, increasing ease and sustainability of program A. Develop supervisor onboarding materials and best practices tool-kit.

B. Develop/execute 1-2 supervisor support related events per year (i.e. webinars, panels, industry/functional cohort events).

C. Develop/execute monthly CWSP newsletter for supervisors.

4. Ensure CWSP operational practices are effective, efficient and embedded within institution A. U nderstand and continuously identify innovative approaches to improve department efficiency and eliminate low-value added work.

B. O versee the development of a CWSP handbook for students and job partners.

C. O versee the development of an internal document outlining operational practices and policies to create departmental legacy.

D. I ntegrate/add data systems needed to efficiently support CWSP processes.

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EVOLVING PROGRAMS: FAITH Goal Launch a pioneering Hispanic ministry program that builds on our unique combination of Jesuit faith and Latin American cultural traditions, inspiring lives of faith and leadership in students and opening doors to new dialogues taking place in our local churches, the Jesuit community, and the broader American Catholic Church.

Why it Matters Our students’ lives of leadership are shaped by their academic skills and professional experiences—built upon our Catholic faith, our Jesuit traditions, and our historically Mexican cultural heritage.

As we place students on the path to a lifetime of service, success, and leadership—and as the broader Catholic community seeks to better serve young people like our students—we must do more than ever to center our Catholic and Jesuit values and our students’ heritage in school life. With a new Hispanic ministry program, we can inspire pride and understanding as our students live out their rich faith traditions at Cristo Rey, in college, and well beyond.

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El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

Objectives •D efine Cristo Rey’s approach to Hispanic ministry and bring it into our students’ and their families’ lives, applying the cultural and spiritual values of Cristo Rey throughout the daily school experience.

•C reate a formal structure to deliver Hispanic ministry programming and establish its relationship with students, parents, and alumni; the Pilsen community; the Cristo Rey Network; and the broader Jesuit and Catholic community.

EVOLVING PROGRAMS: FAITH

TACTICS

1. Define the state of Hispanic ministry scholarship, historical context, methodologies, and strategies A. E stablish an Advisory Board comprised of a mix of leading national Latino theologians, Cristo Rey alumni, current faculty and staff, parents, religious, and funders.

B. D etermine metrics, survey instruments, and establish baseline data.

C. D efine the state of Hispanic ministry at Cristo Rey within the broader context national best practices, methodologies, strategies.

2. Define where Latino Spirituality, Ignatian Spirituality and Youth Ministry intersect at Cristo Rey A. B egin building a curriculum and catechesis that incorporates Latino spirituality and Ignatian spirituality, geared towards adolescents.

4. Serve as a catalyst and resource for new pedagogies in service to the Cristo Rey Network, Jesuit Schools Network, and the broader Church A. O pen new dialogues around faith and culture in the Latino community.

B. B e recognized as an experiential training ground for Jesuits aspiring to minister within the Latino community.

C. Serve as a resource to the largest private network of faith-based schools in the country serving 12,000 students, at least 60% of whom are Latino.

D. S erve as a resource to the Archdiocese of Chicago which closed the Office of Hispanic Ministry despite an ever increasing Latino demographic in Chicago.

3. Establish the Cristo Rey Institute for Hispanic Ministry A. Find ways to incorporate art, music, culture, and language in the faith formation for our students, parents, and broader community.

B. Influence the way we celebrate Mass and the Liturgical calendar.

C. Influence the way we plan and execute retreats.

D. Use digital media to capture and enhance how we celebrate a Catholic faith that is universal but also contextual and culturally relevant.

E. Parents/Families.

F. Student leadership training: Inspire and train a new generation of Hispanic ministers, in service to the Church.

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ENGAGING PEOPLE: FACULTY AND STAFF Goal Attract, develop, and retain outstanding faculty and staff, ensuring that the educators and advocates who shape students’ lives and futures can build long and fulfilling mission-driven careers at Cristo Rey. Why it Matters Called here by our unique mission, by our foundation in Jesuit education, and by the opportunity to be part of an inspiring community, our faculty and staff define the day to day experience at Cristo Rey—and enable so much of our students’ learning and success.

As we now transition from a young school to a mature and ever-evolving institution, we must deepen our commitment to the outstanding faculty and staff at the heart of our educational community—rewarding their commitment and dedication, supporting them at all life stages and as long-term members of our school family, and investing in opportunities that enable them to bring leading-edge practices into every classroom.

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El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

Objectives •D efine what it means to be an outstanding faculty and staff member at Cristo Rey and refine performance measures that reflect this standard of excellence.

• E volve our compensation model, strengthening transparency and consistency for both faculty and staff.

•A llow for more formal professional development opportunities (internal and external) so that colleagues can learn and teach in collaboration.

•C reate and/or refine current systems and procedures, especially related to academic support and communications between departments, faculty, and staff.

•C onsider expanding or realigning academic administration to better support the work and growth of faculty and staff.

ENGAGING PEOPLE: ALUMNI Goal Cultivate an engaged alumni community that extends Cristo Rey’s legacy of service and leadership.

Objectives • B egin the alumni experience when they are current students to foster life-long Cristero pride and connection.

Why it Matters As our first alumni reach personal and professional maturity and seek to give back to Cristo Rey, we have the opportunity to engage them further in carrying our mission and Jesuit values forward. We want to continue to help our alumni be leaders in their communities and in the Cristo Rey community. We want them to help us redefine what alumni legacy can mean—not just passing opportunities and advantages on to your own children, but also expanding opportunities for others.

•M eet alumni where they are in their lives—personally, professionally, and spiritually—and consider how Cristo Rey can support alumni as leaders in their churches, communities, and professions.

By providing opportunities that bring our alumni together and keeping them in the Cristo Rey family, we can create an even more robust community of support and empowerment for students past and present— professionally, spiritually, and culturally.

•G row alumni leadership potential with the goal of having an alumni presence on the Board of Directors.

•C ontinue to increase and strengthen engagement opportunities for alumni, creating not only a culture of philanthropy, but also meaningful ways for students and alumni to connect and support each other.

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ENGAGING PEOPLE: FAMILIES Goal Empower our community of families to provide support as students navigate unfamiliar environments—both at and beyond Cristo Rey—on the path to success.

Objectives •C reate a multi-year plan to engage students and their families in activities that foster college readiness—socially, emotionally, academically, and financially.

Why it Matters The success of the Cristo Rey model speaks for itself: 100 percent of our graduates are accepted into college, and our alumni earn degrees at six times the national average for low-income, first-generation students. But despite the remarkable college completion rates we have achieved to date, we know that preparing our students to be leaders requires doing even more.

• E ngage alumni families in the life of the school, providing opportunities to mentor and serve alongside current families.

Our families collaborate in partnership with Cristo Rey to provide a critical source of support for students. By ensuring that every Cristo Rey family is engaged, informed, and empowered to support their students’ success, we can make sure the path to leadership that begins at Cristo Rey continues well beyond it.

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El Futuro: A Commitment to Chicago and Vision for Cristo Rey

• E nhance communication systems and content to ensure families receive information in an effective way and that communication channels continue to be open between them and the school.

• E xplore how to better support our families by leveraging existing resources and partnerships in our community.

For more information, contact: Morgan Collier, Executive Vice President Email: mcollier@cristorey.net Phone: (773) 890-6818

1852 West 22nd Place, Chicago, IL 60608

www.cristorey.net