Gratitude in First Year as Executive Director
A Letter from the Executive Director
Dear Friends and Partners of the Cristo Rey Institute,
As I close my first year as Executive Director, I want to begin with gratitude. The Cristo Rey Institute exists to safeguard and strengthen the Catholic identity of the schools we sponsor, to form the people who carry that identity forward, and to walk alongside each community. This past year reminded me, again and again, that this work is never abstract. It is happening in classrooms, hallways, and corporate offices across the country, in the lives of young people who are discovering their purpose.
My first year in this role has been a year of building upon the foundation that was laid by CRI members. It was a year of listening, planning, and reimagining how we accompany our schools. None of this would be possible without you. Thank you for believing that a Christ centered Catholic education, one that seeks the wisdom of the Spirit, can positively impact the way a young person lives their life in the world.
Viva Cristo Rey!
Linda Nguyen Ishii, Ed.D.
Founding Executive Director, Cristo Rey Institute
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A First in Formation: Our Inaugural Retreat
This year we launched the first Cristo Rey Institute formation retreat for our sponsored schools, a milestone we had long imagined and prayed toward. School presidents, board members, principals, and other key school leaders, gathered for a half day of prayer, reflection, and shared learning, grounded in the CRI charism.
The retreat was not a workshop in the ordinary sense. It was an invitation to encounter the mission again, together, and to remember that the work of Catholic identity is carried by formed and faithful people. Participants left with a renewed sense of common purpose. This first gathering will become an annual cornerstone of how the Institute forms and sustains the leaders of our schools.
This inaugural retreat was made possible by the generous sponsorship of B.J. Cassin, a name long associated with the growth of the Cristo Rey model across the country. We are grateful for B.J.’s support and investment in the formation of those who carry the CRI mission forward.
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Milestones Across Cristo Rey Institute Sponsored Schools
This year brought moments that mark not only progress, but permanence. Each of these belongs to a sponsored school community, and each reflects the mission the Institute exists to protect and strengthen.
Miami Celebrates Its First Graduating Class. Cristo Rey Miami High School reached the moment every founding community dreams of: its very first graduating class crossed the stage. [number] graduates completed both a rigorous college preparatory education and the Corporate Work Study experience that defines the Cristo Rey model. A first graduating class is far more than a ceremony. It is a promise kept, and it is proof that the mission takes root and bears fruit.
A Permanent Home in Orange County. Cristo Rey Orange County High School purchased a permanent building this year, securing a lasting home for its students and its mission. Ownership brings stability, and stability allows a school to plan, to grow, and to serve generation after generation of young people. This is the kind of investment that turns a promising start into an enduring institution.
Charleston Breaks Ground. In Charleston, the community broke ground on a new campus. In doing so, it broke spiritual ground as well, carrying the mission of Cristo Rey into a region newly blessed by this work. A groundbreaking is a sign of faith in the future, a public declaration that these students, in this place, are worth building for.