Out to launch

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

NORTH MIAMI | Prayers, holy water and a ribbon cutting ceremony greeted Cristo Rey Miami High School’s new educational building, boosting its blend of education, work-study and Catholic values.

The April 8 event culminated a project that began with groundbreaking in November 2023. The school’s new three-story home includes classrooms, labs, offices, meeting rooms, even a rooftop pavilion.

Amelie Ferro, president and CEO of Cristo Rey Miami High School, described its impact in space-age terms.

“Our school’s new home is more than just a building,” Ferro said. “It’s a launching pad for students to change the trajectory of their futures and reach their full, God-given potential.”

With its new building, Cristo Rey Miami School can expand from its current enrollment of 210 to 450 students per year, Ferro said.

The event began in a big tent in front of the new building as more than 200 Cristo Rey students filed in. Each of them held a candle while singing “This Little Light of Mine,” wearing the school uniform of blue blazers, khaki pants and blue-and-gold ties.

Student Gabrielle Delucien spoke glowingly of Cristo Rey’s programs.

“I've been challenged to be the best version of myself,” said Delucien, who later wielded the scissors for the ribbon cutting. “And to rise to that challenge every day.”

Rodger Shay Jr., chairman of the board at Cristo Rey School, thanked the many supporters – including donors, business leaders, church leaders – for their part in the building project.

“There are many fingerprints on this building,” Shay told to his more than 300 listeners.

Ferro asked her audience to give a little more, noting that the school is launching a $10 million fund drive for a planned gymnasium and more classrooms. She added that the school needs 30 more jobs in which to place its students.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who blessed the new structure, helped out by quoting a Haitian proverb: “To say thanks means to give us some more.”

More seriously, he added: “Cristo Rey teaches students not only how to make a living, but how to make a life, to love the Lord and to do good in the community… Catholic education is about being your very best.”

The archbishop prayed for God to make the school a place where students and teachers alike “will search for the wisdom that guides the Christian life and strive wholeheartedly to stand by Christ as their teacher.”

He then blessed the new building by sprinkling it with holy water. He did the same in an outer hallway and in the school office after the ribbon cutting.

Board member Sophie Susman noted a plaque stating the school’s values: “Christ centered, engaged with the world, seeking wisdom.”

“The school lives and breathes that mission,” Susman said. “With everyone you meet here, you see that passion.”

Also present was Msgr. Franklyn Casale, who retired in 2018 after nearly 25 years as president of St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens.

“Education is God’s blessing for this world,” said Msgr. Casale. “And this school is a blessing to the community.”

Cristo Rey Miami is part of a Chicago-based network of 40 independent high schools in 24 states, all with the aim of reaching low-income youths with rigorous education, Catholic values and work/study experience. In its 28 years, the network has graduated more than 31,000 students.

Along with academic training, Cristo Rey also places students in its Corporate Work Study Program, where they work five days a month at 50 local companies, including banks, colleges, hospitals, financial consultants, legal firms, even a drywall engineer.

The jobs not only provide work experience but pay more than half of their education, with half of their earnings going to Cristo Rey. The students stand to earn $1.7 million this year.

“That makes a big difference,” said Ferro, the school president. “They're not working to get a car or pay for a weekend. They're working to go to school.”

Principal Deonté Green, 29, began his career at the network’s member school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he taught math and served as dean of freshmen students. He then moved to Miami to join the founding team of the local school.

“We gather as a community with Jesus as the center,” Green said. “When we say Cristo Rey, we’re saying it’s his school.

“As we'd say in Louisiana, it’s a beautiful gumbo of success,” he added. “It re-ignites me to do this every day.”

The relationships, in fact, were among the things students mentioned as strengths of Cristo Rey.

"You even get to know the principal," exclaimed 10th grader Thalis Raymond. "Teachers get to know the students in a way that they couldn't in big schools."

For 11th grader Christie Fleuricot, it's “like I created a family of friends who are Christ-based. That’s what I needed. Who you hang around with is who you become.”

Ninth grader Patrick Jeudy voiced appreciation that Cristo Rey, as a small school, allowed teachers to pay personal attention to the pupils.

“If you're sad about something, they’ll take you aside and ask about it,” he said. “They're more like equals. We’re all working toward the same goal.”

For all the fresh paint and new equipment, the spiritual nugget is as solid as the statues of the Holy Family and St. Ignatius of Loyola in the student plaza. The school also runs a campus ministry, headed by Sister Maria José Socias.

“The essential part of life is a connection with God,” said Sister Socias, a member of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. “With that, everything else makes sense.”