Editorial: A new school to help close the learning gap

As young people head back to class today, a unique new program for less-advantaged students will join the ranks of Minneapolis schools. Part of Urban Venture's Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center, the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School opens today with a class of 100 freshmen.

Located in a newly constructed, state-of-the-art building in the Phillips neighborhood, the school and center programs will provide another much-needed opportunity for low-income, at-risk students to get a good education. It's a cooperative effort among a local Jesuit order, businesses and nonprofits that underscores the power of collaborative, innovative partnerships to create change.

It is also a learning approach with a successful track record of graduating inner-city youth and sending them on to college. Last year, Cristo Rey network high schools in 11 cities graduated 92 percent of its seniors; 95 percent of the graduates were accepted into college. That kind of success can help close the persistent achievement gap between less advantaged minority and more affluent white students.

The program works because of its work-study model and high expectations for students. Pupils receive a rigorous education while also building professional social skills and relationships. It enhances student confidence when they succeed in class, do well at work and see futures for themselves as college-educated adults.

The Cristo Rey network started with one school in Chicago in 1996 and expanded rapidly. With five new ones opening this year (including Minneapolis') there are now 19 programs.

Twenty-five Twin Cities area companies have each hired teams of four students who share a full-time, entry-level position. Five days a month, each student will work in a professional setting -- typically in an entry-level clerical position. In exchange for their work, the companies pay part of their tuition. Families also contribute, based on a sliding scale tied to income, with some paying as little as $300 per year.

Plans call for adding a grade each year until a full grade 9-12 high school for 400 to 500 students is established. Students are required to dress professionally and attend programs from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Over 80 percent of participants are students of color and all are from low-income families.

Housed together in a newly constructed state-of-the-art building on Lake Street and 4th Avenue, the Powell Center, whose formal grand opening is Oct. 4, and the school have great synergy. Teens will have access to a range of after-school arts, sports and other programs of the center -- yet another way to wrap the students in positive, supportive activities.

This collaboration holds tremendous community-building promise. Students get a first-class, college-oriented education that they could not otherwise afford and opportunities to work in professional settings. Employers get committed workers with whom they can build relationships. And society gets engaged families and well-educated young people who will grow into productive, contributing adults.