Catholic group tests waters for new Milwaukee high school

A national network of Catholic high schools that caters to low-income students - and has a track record of getting many of them to college - is eyeing Milwaukee as an expansion site, with help from Marquette University and the Bradley Foundation.

Leaders of the Cristo Rey Network, an organization that oversees 24 private, Catholic high schools in 17 states, formally announced this week they intend to launch a year-long study to gauge the appetite for another Catholic high school in Milwaukee.

The effort is part of the group's national plans to double its number of schools, which are designed around a work-study model: Local businesses support students by employing them five days of the month, which helps offset the students' private-school tuition.

Cristo Rey students work at least one day a week in a full-time job they share with peers and then have longer school days and an extended school year to make up the instructional hours.

Since 2008, more than 85% of their graduates have enrolled in college, said Cristo Rey leaders interviewed Wednesday at Marquette.
 continue at MkeJS

Will be interesting to see how much the archdiocese fights this one.  We've seen dioceses in this state fight independent classical academies committed to their Catholic identity.  Will Marquette get a free pass to open a school?

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