Education

New Durham high school provides state's first work-study experience for low-income students

Data shows most students from low income families are less likely to get accepted into college or earn a college degree. That's why a new school in Durham has adopted a national program with a 90% success rate.

Posted Updated

By
Lora Lavigne
, WRAL Durham reporter
DURHAM, N.C. — Data shows most students from low income families are less likely to get accepted into college or earn a college degree. That’s why a new school in Durham has adopted a national program with a 90% success rate.
Cristo Rey Research Triangle High School is providing employment and hands-on experience from jobs to help set young people up for success.

Cristo Rey Research Triangle High School just opened its doors in August. It’s where roughly 80 selected students from all over come to learn how to not only be a good student but apart of a major company. Tucked down below in the American Tobacco Campus the hallways looks like a slew of corporate offices, but they’re classrooms.

“I’ve been in education almost 40 years and this high school is the most transformational high school model that I’ve ever seen, said Mike Fedewa, the school’s President. Fedewa was superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Raleigh and close to retirement when he learned about the Cristo Rey Network.

Cristo Rey is now part of a nationwide network of 38 Catholic high schools dedicated to providing work-study experience and a college preparatory curriculum for students from low-income families.

“When you get out of high school, most students who don’t have an opportunity like this will be struggling to find a job to go to college," said Imani Washington.

Washington wants to become an engineer. She’s learning how to code and build computers at her job. “I work at NC State so it’s like I work with a whole bunch of college students that’s in the field of engineering so it’s like I get to see the perspective of college students from high school students perspective," she added.

“And the salary that they make in these real jobs goes back and pays for half of their tuition," added Fedewa.

The school’s unique tuition model asks families to contribute $70 a month, with the rest covered by fundraising and by wages that students earn from companies like Cree Wolfspeed, NC Subway Group, the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, ZenBio and N.C. State’s College of Engineering.

The school provides transportation to deploy student to their jobs, classes and homes.

“Math and science has always been my favorite subject since I was in elementary school," said Lucero Ramirez, who’s excited about the experiences shes gaining at the school.

It’s giving teens with big dreams who otherwise believed college and a quality job were unattainable for them, the tools to succeed.

“I’m very proud of myself for overcoming the challenges, being here and hopefully becoming an anesthesiologist," added Ramirez.

Inside, the school, students are on laptops waiting for assignments from their employers in between classes. Outside, during lunch, they get to become apart of corporate lifestyle.

Unlike many private schools, grades are not necessarily a limiting factor for admission to Cristo Rey. Applicants also do not have to be Catholic. Students must wear a uniform and tie, have a longer school day and start the year early.

“Not only will our students be successful here while they’re at Cristo Rey and while they’re in college, but the hope is that they’ll come back to their communities and give back and really transform the communities that much in the way the Cristo Rey has transformed them," said Fedewa.

The majority of Cristo Rey Research Triangle’s students are from Durham, but others come from Raleigh, Chapel Hill and even Burlington.

Right now, the school only has a freshmen class and plans to add-on a new class each year. An open house will take place October 28th for interested parents.

WRAL’s parent company, Capitol Broadcasting, partnered with Cristo Rey Research Triangle in bringing the school to downtown Durham.

Related Topics

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.