Cristo Rey: North Las Vegas high school puts students to work, on path to college

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

One day, Evelyn G. mightiness beryllium auditing the paid clip disconnected accruals for each 70 employees astatine the architecture steadfast she works at. 

Another, she could beryllium stuffing goodie bags for the bureau Halloween party. And connected inactive another, she tin beryllium successful English people oregon cheering astatine a pep rally.

Evelyn is simply a inferior astatine Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory High School successful North Las Vegas, a one-of-a-kind Catholic schoolhouse with a enactment survey model. Created for families of teens with humble economical means and bully character, Cristo Rey has adjacent to 80 firm partners crossed the vale who employment students part-time, with their wages going consecutive to the schoolhouse to screen astir of their tuition.

“I deliberation that you would beryllium capable to prime our kids retired precise easy successful a room. They are ever professional, courteous, kind, responsible, respectful, and I deliberation that each starts the archetypal time they come” to the summertime predisposition for caller freshmen and transfers, said Amanda Oddo, manager of operations for the school’s firm enactment survey program. “We are astatine the doorway shaking hands, saying bully morning, and starting to amusement those expectations.”

Evelyn works with the admin squad astatine Steelman Partners, an architectural steadfast with office conscionable westbound of the Strip. She said each enactment time is different, and she likes that. (The Sun, astatine the school’s request, isn’t utilizing her past name.)

She worked astatine different section architecture firm, LGA Architecture, past year, and though she doesn’t privation to beryllium an architect, she has developed involvement successful quality resources and a moving cognition of what gathering inspectors look for. 

“It’s truly bully to spot however overmuch the institution that you enactment astatine trusts you with the accusation and the entree that they springiness you,” she said. “Whenever I archer radical like, oh, I really person an internship astatine an architecture firm, they’re like, ‘Whoa, similar astatine 16, what? That’s truthful cool.’”

At Steelman Partners, Evelyn works intimately with HR head Melissa Varela, astatine a table she’s decorated with ivy garland and twinkly lights. The amusive of stuffing the goodie bags — for the children of employees who trick-or-treated precocious past period among the cubicles — is taken seriously, keeping successful caput immoderate allergies and however to evenly administer snacks and toys.

“I deliberation what’s important is we archer her the ‘why,’” Varela said.

Every pupil astatine Cristo Rey works disconnected campus, from 14-year-old freshmen to 18-year-old seniors. Each people level works the aforesaid time each week, and connected Fridays, they commercialized off. In total, each pupil works 5 days a month, astir six to 7 hours a day, averaging astir $23 to $24 an hour. School vans instrumentality them to and from their jobs.

Jason DiOrio, the school’s manager of concern partnerships, said helium wishes helium had this benignant of operation arsenic a teen to found enactment ethic.

“The elemental information that they spell into these workplaces arsenic young kids, usually person ne'er stepped ft successful an situation similar that, and they get that acquisition astatine 14, 15 years aged is conscionable game-changing for them,” helium said. “They tin locomotion successful a country and prosecute with adults. They shingle hands. They look them successful the eye. They tin recognize a task list, however to execute it, clip management.”

“We truly conscionable privation them to person a palmy beingness and recognize however to navigate done it,” helium added. “And I consciousness that we bash a heck of a occupation getting them prepared for that.”

Cristo Rey, which opened successful 2019 with conscionable ninth-graders, has 255 students, with a extremity to turn but headdress retired astatine 400, oregon 100 students per grade. DiOrio said this year’s elder people has 56 students but the freshman people has 97, and adjacent year’s applications are higher than this year’s, putting them connected way to person different people of 100.

Oddo said the schoolhouse isn’t for everybody, but officials are upfront astir it. 

While being Catholic is not required, genitor and pupil admissions interviews, and letters of recommendation, are, and students indispensable beryllium employable — behavioral issues are not tolerated, and if a student’s archetypal connection isn’t English, their accomplishment indispensable beryllium precocious capable to enactment wherever English is spoken.

Cristo Rey St. Viator is portion of the Cristo Rey Network, which has 41 Catholic precocious schools crossed the state that travel the aforesaid enactment survey model. Financial request is the archetypal criterion for admission. Students’ families indispensable beryllium wrong 250% of the national poorness threshold, or, astatine most, $82,500 for a household of four. Work survey and scholarships screen each but a tiny information of tuition. Families are expected to wage betwixt $25 and $250 per month.

The schoolhouse operates independently of but with the blessing of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. It is the lone Cristo Rey Network school, and lone schoolhouse with a firm enactment survey program, successful Nevada, DiOrio said.

Oddo said the schoolhouse is fundamentally a staffing bureau that employers declaration with.

Most jobs are administrative successful nature, astatine private, nationalist and nonprofit offices. They see casinos and resorts, instrumentality firms, churches, car dealerships, quality services, section governments, adjacent the Mexican Consulate and a veterinary clinic. 

One employer, Volunteers successful Medicine, allows bilingual students to enactment arsenic aesculapian translators. That acquisition was impactful capable for 1 miss past twelvemonth that she is present studying nursing astatine UNLV with a program to dainty low-income women, Oddo said.

Parents are sold connected the tiny people sizes, the information — the schoolhouse employs equipped security, and visitors indispensable walk done a locked gross and locked doorway aft being buzzed successful — and the college-going academics and civilization offered for a nominal interest compared with different backstage schools. 

The schoolhouse has 100% graduation and assemblage acceptance rates. 

Every pupil indispensable use to astatine slightest 10 colleges. DiOrio said past year’s mean was 16. Most are the archetypal successful their families to spell to college.

All but 2 radical successful the 65-person people of 2026 went straight to college. The others went to electrician commercialized schoolhouse and into the military. When students spell to college, a precocious schoolhouse staffer keeps successful interaction until they decorativeness their degrees.

The schoolhouse started with astir 20 leader partners, and present has 78. Each pupil idiosyncratic is an concern of $9,250. DiOrio said helium is ever taking involvement from caller employers.

Cristo Rey is connected a engaged country of Las Vegas Boulevard and Pecos Road, but adjacent with its increasing enrollment and premier existent estate, it’s not arsenic wide known arsenic DiOrio wants it to be.

“One happening that we ever get told is, we’re similar North Las Vegas’ small secret,” helium said. “We don’t privation to beryllium a small concealed anymore.”