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A SPICE 2003 Program
Corporate Intern Program
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
Chicago, Illinois
 In order to make private, college-preparatory education affordable to at-risk young people from this economically deprived area of Chicago, the Jesuits developed a brand new work-study program for high school students called the Corporate Internship Program (CIP) which combines two commonly used business concepts: employee leasing and job sharing. This initiative gives students the means of financing their education. Incorporated as the Cristo Rey Work Study Program, Inc., the CIP allows each of our 450 students to earn 74% of the cost of their education by working five full days each month in entry-level positions at sponsoring Chicagoland corporations. Currently, 90 Chicago area firms such as Bank One, Ernst & Young, Leo Burnett Worldwide Advertising, and the Northern Trust Company participate in the Corporate Internship Program, along with several nonprofit agencies such as The Resurrection Project and the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum.
Class and work schedules are designed so that students are never required to miss one for the other. The school day (8:00-3:30 p.m.) and year (10 1/2 months) are extended to make up for the time students spend at work. Teams of four students share each job on a rotating basis, allowing employers to receive needed services such as faxing, filing, copying, etc. every day of the week. In exchange, each employer pays $25,000 a year to Cristo Rey for each job (4 student interns). As a result of their hard work, each student then earns $6,250 of the cost of his/her education. The cost to educate each student at Cristo Rey during the 2002-03 school year was $8,450, thus the remaining balance of $2,200 represents the annual tuition each family contributes. While the $2,400 annual contribution is the lowest tuition in the Archdiocese of Chicago, over 40% of Cristo Rey students still receive need-based financial aid.
While initially the Corporate Internship Program served as a financial proposition to pay the costs of running the school for students who otherwise would not have the financial opportunity to attend a private college-preparatory school, we have discovered many real-world benefits for the students. The CIP has evolved into an innovative means of providing students with crucial hands-on, white-collar work experience, while simultaneously empowering them to take an active part in financing a major portion of their education. As a result of working in a business environment, students acquire desirable job experience and marketable skills, develop a network of business contacts, gain exposure to a wide variety of career opportunities, refine a strong work ethic, and increase their self-esteem.
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