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This year marks a major milestone for Cristo Rey Kansas City High School. For two decades, the school has offered students a unique path to success by combining academics with real-world job experience.
Founded in 2004, Cristo Rey Kansas City opened with a bold idea: What if high school students could gain valuable workplace skills while earning their education, and growing the catholic faith?
“I really love doing education in an innovative way, looking at it with different lenses, and I think that making it relatable to our students, when they go to work, they see why they're going to work," said President of Cristo Rey Kansas City Claudia Meyer.
The private-catholic school is home to about 270 students who come from underserved and low-income communities.
"We remove all the barriers as much as we can to make sure that our students are able to come," said Meyer.
Twenty years later, that vision continues to change lives for families across Kansas City.
At the heart of the school’s mission is its Corporate Work Study Program. Every student works at a job placement to help offset tuition costs, while also gaining real-world experience.
“I really, truly feel that our staff and our students and everyone that walks through this building immediately feels the connection with the mission," said Meyer.
Meyer said Cristo Rey is about more than just academics—it’s about belonging and self-worth.
“I chose Cristo Rey. I chose to sign the contract here because of the impact that this mission has, because of the faith formation that is offered for our students, because there's a sense of belonging here," said Meyer.
For alumni like Itzel Infante Magaña, who graduated in 2011 as part of the school’s second graduating class, Cristo Rey opened doors to opportunity her family dreamed of when they immigrated from Mexico.
“It was a blessing for us,” said Magaña. “The best thing my parents did was sign us up for Cristo Rey, because it really gave us the education they envisioned for us, coming to this country.”
Now, Infante Magana has come full circle—she’s returned to the school, not as a student, but as a staff member giving back to the community that shaped her.
“Makes me appreciate my education even more, because I have no idea what went behind the scenes, of how this school was kept running, of how the lights were kept on," said Magaña.
As Cristo Rey celebrates 20 years, its mission remains the same: blending academics, faith, and work experience to prepare students to lead and serve.
You can learn more about enrollment or ways to help out on their website.
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