Breaking the Cycle of Poverty. How Cristo Rey High School Empowers Students for Their Future.

Father Christopher: [00:00:00] Families trust us, and when you see Sunday Best on graduation day and beaming smiles and tears of joy, you realize this isn't just a single student experience. This isn't just a school experience. This is a whole community experience that just, it gives purpose to everything we do.

Jeff Holden: Founder and host of The Non Profit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion is to highlight a nonprofit organization in each weekly episode Giving that organization an opportunity to tell their story, in their words, to better inform and educate the respective communities they serve, as well as provide one more tool for them to share their message to constituents and donors.

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I may even play your message in an upcoming episode. I look forward to more engagement with you as we continue to grow and better serve our nonprofit community. Thanks. We often speak about the cycle of poverty with so many of the organizations on this program. How do we break that vicious cycle? How do we reverse it?

How can we begin to create a cycle of generational wealth? It's incredibly difficult, as we all know, but we also know that the earlier we begin, the better. And I think most of us would agree, it begins with education. Getting that next generation of the family to be supported in a mission to intentionally change the way things have been.

And just when that family with that child, that student gets there, what happens? [00:03:00] Money. In many cases, the money isn't there to make the things that need to happen, happen. Well, thankfully, we do have nonprofits to serve those needs and we do have schools to teach these children and get them on a path to success.

This episode is about one of those schools working to break that cycle of poverty. These graduates will not see their kids attend that same school if it's successful. And full transparency, I was a board member for eight years when the school was in its infancy. Now in its 19th year, I couldn't be more proud to see the product the school is producing, the talent and the teachers and the leadership of the organization.

But there's a novelty to this school that transcends education alone. And we're about to hear all about it from the president of Cristo Rey High School, Father Christopher Calderon. Father Christopher Calderon, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. 

Father Christopher: Excellent. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate being here.

Jeff Holden: I am so looking forward to this conversation for, [00:04:00] for many, many reasons, but one is as a former board member of the high school to see the changes and the distinctions and the significance of what's happened over the course of this last 18 years, 

Father Christopher: we're in our 19th year. 

Jeff Holden: That's right. So I, let's get into this conversation.

Let's do it. Christory High School is really unique in several ways. Would you first identify the mission of the school for us? So the 

Father Christopher: long and the short of it is we are one of 40 schools in the country that seeks to create formational experiences first, access to solid education always for the sake of transformation of students and communities.

And it's important to note for kids from low income backgrounds, so kids who may not have had access to these things. So providing solid education, in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy and the Jesuits Shaping Minds and Hearts for the

It is 

Jeff Holden: a college prep school. [00:05:00] So it would be on the equivalency academically of a Jesuit, Christian Brothers, St. Francis in the same space. 

Father Christopher: That's our effort. The difference is many of our kids are coming from public schools. 75 percent is the average for a class coming from public schools. And unfortunately, our students are coming two and three grades behind.

So, what a lot of schools like St. Francis or Jesuit are doing, where they have kids who have been prepared well, we have the added task of caring for our kids so that they're prepared to survive in high school and then thrive in college. 

Jeff Holden: So, there's some catch up. There's a lot of work to get them back to grade level initially, especially I would imagine with the freshman class, and then you can work them through.

That tees up a lot of the questions that are going to be coming up so, so well. How about the eligibility for a student? 

Father Christopher: So, in order to qualify, even to apply to Christian Re, most of our families, 99 percent of our families are at the federal [00:06:00] poverty rate. So just to give you a sense, at our school, the average family of five income, household income is 47, 000.

Imagine raising a family of five on 47, that's average. So there are some that are below, there are some that are slightly above. But federal poverty level is 98, 000. So if that gives you a sense. Half, we're 

Jeff Holden: at half of that? Mm hmm. Amazing. And I do know there is a bit of a contingent there where some of the families have some skin in the game too.

They actually make a contribution or tuition to the school. 

Father Christopher: Yes. So whether it's, so every student could pay up to 2, 700, but the average tuition payment is 700. So everyone pays something and for many of our parents, even 20 a month is a profound sacrifice, but we recognize whether it's a little bit of treasure or a lot of time or certainly heart, we need them as [00:07:00] partners in all of this, because so many of our parents will come, not sure if they are able to participate, if they're able to contribute.

And we want them to know they're the first people that are forming their kids and we're being entrusted with their children. And we do it together 

Jeff Holden: with the most significant intent to break that generational poverty cycle through education. Absolutely. You know, some of the key components of the school are really getting that student to not only graduate, but to make the choice, the choice to go to college.

And they're not going to show up there if they don't have the intent or enough push and support from the family to get them to take the next step post high school. So that means first, graduate high school, which in many cases, they're the first child in a family to graduate high school. And then secondly, to get accepted into a collegiate program, which would be a first again for many of these students.

What percentage of the students [00:08:00] actually graduate high school? At the high school level. So they go through their four years and they get out of crystal ray, 

Father Christopher: certainly. So Jeff, I think what's important, let's, let's look at some numbers. So if you look at our average over the last five years from freshman year to senior year, we have a retention rate of about 80%.

Now, I could go into Covid and explain why all that has impacted that number at and making it 80%. But 80% make it from senior year, day one to graduation. We have averaged about 98 percent of our students receiving at least one four year college acceptance. Wow. Last year, we averaged four, four year college acceptances.

And of our 60, I think it was 66 seniors, we had over 240 four year college acceptances. And what I love is just to bring it back to the present. Just last week, my college counselor came up to us and said, father, I [00:09:00] want to present you to Ximena, one of our seniors. And she, he, she had good news. What's the good news.

I just got into William Jessup and he said, this is the first college acceptance of this year. And then I asked her, so how are you feeling? She's like, No one in my family has ever gotten into college. And to be able to celebrate those moments and those victories, and I have no doubt we're early in the game, she'll have more.

But that's, that's a part of the secret sauce of Christa Rae, just to have that opportunity for the student to know, because they're loved, they're supported, because we've given them the skills and talents to thrive and ask for help when they need it, to recognize they're part of a community, that college and so many other things are possible in their life.

Jeff Holden: Yeah, that's, that's amazing to think so many of these students for the first time ever in a family, for the, for the family to see the student get that acceptance. I know that comes with some other consequences at some point too. When, when you look [00:10:00] at that and. Well, it's, it's a very special day to be able to see all of those families and all the families of people that we know are able to see.

I remember attending a lot of the graduations early on. It's emotional. It's emotional for anybody from the outside. These are my kids, yet they felt like they were because you saw them go through the process and to actually graduate and to see the families and just the thrill and the joy and the excitement of the families to say that their child, their student, made it through.

Father Christopher: Absolutely. Where 

Jeff Holden: they never. ever, you know, got halfway. 

Father Christopher: And for many of our families, our kids are the first, not only to receive a college acceptance, but the first to graduate from college. And if our students aren't the first, it is likely because their older brother or sister went through our school.

And it speaks to the trust that we've established in the community. It speaks to the, the, the mission of who we are. Families trust us. And when you see Sunday best on graduation day and beaming smiles and tears of joy, it You realize this [00:11:00] isn't just a single student experience. This isn't just a school experience.

This is a whole community experience that just, it gives purpose to everything we do. 

Jeff Holden: And the kids themselves, the bond of those students over the course of those four years, some kicking and screaming coming in. Yes. Because parental push got them there to that graduation, the date of graduation, how they all went through it together.

Mm hmm. And they all. had their own challenges and their successes. It's just, it really is emotional. It's very different than what I'll say, a traditional or familiar high school experience. Sure. 

Father Christopher: And, and, and just if you were to look at the basic numbers of it all. So average high school, public high school in town is well over 2000 students.

The average Catholic high school, traditional high school in town, is around a thousand, depending, St. Francis is a little smaller, Christian Brothers a little bigger, Jesuits right there. [00:12:00] We this year are just over 350. And we're, the goal is to have a hundred students each class. And we've been building back up to that goal with great success.

But even at 400 students, if we were to hit that goal or at 350 something today, our kids are known and they know each other. They know each other. 

Jeff Holden: Exactly. Well, you talk about a graduating class last year of 66. Correct. Correct. Correct. I can remember 66 names. You get to 100, I start to push it a little bit and age has done a funny thing with my memory.

But nonetheless, that's a familiarity with every single student by name. 

Father Christopher: And the students know each other. The students know the staff and faculty and the faculty staff know them. And depending on the families, if they're the second or third or fourth or fifth kid from a single family to come through us.

You, you become a part of their families also and you see mom come back to enroll the youngest and you've missed them, you know them. And [00:13:00] so the tradition continues of relationship building and that's part of the success too. 

Jeff Holden: And there's an irony in the alumni, so to speak, of the school. The expectation is your children will not be coming to Cristo Rey.

Correct. Because you will have broken that cycle of poverty. 

Father Christopher: Yeah. And Jeff, without fail, every now and then a senior, every year that I've been at the school will say, I've loved my experience. I can't wait to send my kids here. And I have to explain to them. why we hope that doesn't happen. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Father Christopher: Because they've, they've succeeded in college because they found the career that gives them life and purpose because they've moved their family out of poverty, not just for the sake of a bank account, but for the sake of dignity and justice.

And so that, yeah, they'll be connected as alumni, maybe supporting our mission. I was going to say, they 

Jeff Holden: better have the contribution side of it. Yes. But I jokingly 

Father Christopher: tell them, I need you to go make millions because I one day will ask you for it. Yes. Yes. 

Jeff Holden: That's perfect. Yeah. There's, [00:14:00] there's your solution right there.

Absolutely. On the college side of things, I want to give you a chance to brag just a little bit. Before we get there, a lot of the students do go to our local community colleges and to Sac State. If I'm not mistaken, in the four year colleges in the area, Sac State gets the majority of our students, maybe 20 of that 66 ish.

Sure. Sure. 

Father Christopher: So, uh, I'll back up just a little bit, so, for the previous class, class 23. 67 percent enrolled in a four year, and 14 percent enrolled in a two year, and the 19%, that remaining 19%, combination of the armed services, trade school, and some elected not, even though they had the acceptance not to attend.

Sac State is, without a doubt, continues to be the place where most of our kids go. And sometimes that's the best fit. But sometimes that's where they go because they feel they still need to be present to their family, either because of the relationship alone or the relationship and the financial needs of the family [00:15:00] has.

So I need to stay local to work and support, or I need to help my family save some money. So I'm not going to go to Notre Dame. I'm not going to go to Georgetown. I'm not going to go to Villanova. I'm naming schools where our kids get in, and And it's a tension as we try to convince parents, you're not losing your child if they go across the country, your child will be okay, there is support there.

And so this year, we are making a concerted effort to bring in alums who have gone abroad, or gone out of state, I should say. to talk to parents, to talk to parents who have had their kids go out of state. I, my, my own mother, I grew up in LA in a situation not unlike our students, and she had a hard time with me going to school in San Francisco.

I've brought her in to talk to parents. I know what I'm talking, I'm speaking from the heart is the point of it all. And so the hope is that our parents trust that this is an opportunity for everyone. And in a, in a sense, it's working because in a few weeks I have a [00:16:00] student that's, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.,

invited a couple of our students for their overnight program to tour the campus. Georgetown over the summer invited one of our students to participate in a three week trial program. And then in a couple, I think actually it might be Tuesday of next week, has an interview with an alumni rep. And so whether it's our students learning about all the opportunities beyond Sacramento or the students that are, wanting help to convince their parents.

Those are, I mean, these are all part of the conversation because opportunities are out there and we, we want, Sac State is a great school for many of our kids, but we don't want our kids to sell themselves short if there's something else that might give them life. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and two things there that you say, the caliber of those schools to think that the student who four years prior may have been a struggle to even know if they were going to graduate high school.

now graduates and gets accepted into these schools. Absolutely. Of [00:17:00] incredible integrity and academic accomplishment. Congratulations to everybody that's, that's doing that. The second part of that is for the ones who stay at Sacramento State and or our community college, whatever they choose to do in our community, the benefit is ours.

Father Christopher: Absolutely. We win on 

Jeff Holden: that because we don't lose them and possibly lose them. from the community in the grand scheme of things because they end up moving to wherever the school is or a job or whatever. And I would 

Father Christopher: say to that 

Jeff Holden: point, Jeff, 

Father Christopher: whether it's cultural dynamics of wanting to stay close to your family or our work study program, which we could, we could touch base on the relationship.

Yeah, exactly. So the relationships that they build through our school, keep them tied. So whether they go abroad, we had a student who, when he was at Christopher Ray. He was working at, through our Work City program, at one of our hospital relationships. He then goes to Villanova, gets a degree in nursing, graduated last June, and I found out over the summer that he got hired at Mercy San Juan as a nurse, [00:18:00] registered nurse.

So he came back. Perfect cycle. Exactly. That's the 

Jeff Holden: 360 we want to see. Exactly, exactly. And he's earning a good income. And he has now broken that cycle of poverty for his family. 

Father Christopher: And he happens to be the first of five that have gone through Krista Ray. 

Jeff Holden: Well, he set an expectation 

Father Christopher: and a high 

Jeff Holden: bar, didn't he?

Father Christopher: Absolutely. Yes. Okay, siblings. 

Jeff Holden: You've got some, some objectives to hit. Yes. 

Father Christopher: Yes. Yes. I'm 

Jeff Holden: sure the parents can't be, I can only imagine the pride of those parents. We, you mentioned school capacity at about 400, 100 class, but I do want to congratulate you also on the freshman class this year is the largest ever at 115 and you said there's actually a waiting list.

We, so 

Father Christopher: I, I think because of 18 years of relationship, and I say, I think only because I've been a part of the school for five years, but in my heart, I believe that 18 years of trust with families and communities, theater schools, principals, even beyond that business centers, we have [00:19:00] people that keep wanting their kid to be at our school.

So we, there are 40 Christa Ray schools in the country. We are one of four. And our waitlist is deep. So it's hard, and last spring when we sent out the acceptances, it was the first time in the history of the school where there were moms essentially protesting in the lobby advocating for their children.

I need to get my student in. Absolutely, and I both admire it and it's a struggle, right? How can we only do so much? But again, it speaks to what we're doing, people want their kids to be a part of. You And we're just doing our best to keep it going. And there are limits to what we can do. We'll never be a school of a thousand.

Right. But I think if, as long as we continue to do right by the community, invest in our kids and with gratitude, nurture the relationships that we have, we'll continue to be healthy and strong. 

Jeff Holden: That, that's amazing. And that waiting list portends the next four years, that 115 go [00:20:00] through, you have a little bit of attrition.

Now you're graduating a hundred students and every class along the way is a hundred students. That's amazing. I love that. From 66 to a hundred. That's a big percentage gain. 

Father Christopher: Absolutely. Absolutely. And there was progress toward that number before the pandemic for a variety of reasons. The pandemic threw us a curve ball, but we're back on track.

That's excellent. 

Jeff Holden: Mm hmm. We'll be back with more from Father Chris and what's happening post pandemic with Cristo Rey High School, right after this message from the people that make this program possible. I was in the media business for over 35 years and had the great privilege of working with Runyon Saltzman, RSE, Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations.

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In our more recent survey, we heard concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments. If you would like a copy of the survey or to discuss your organization, look me up, scottthomasatcaptrust. com. 

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com. I, I want to backtrack just for a second because you said something about one of the students going to college at William Jessup. Mm 

Scott Thomas: hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And while this is a Catholic school, In every way, shape, and form, that clearly states non denominational and or other faiths. can participate. 

Father Christopher: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Address that just a little bit.

Father Christopher: So we're a Catholic school in the Sister of Mercy and the Jesuit tradition. Yes. But the ultimate goal is to create opportunities of access for anyone who comes through our doors. Now, whether you're Catholic, Christian or not, the expectation is that you're committing to who we are and what we're about, [00:23:00] and that doesn't mean catechetical formation.

It does mean the tenants of who we are as people of dignity, people of faith, people of gratitude. And so in addition to the academic expectations, et cetera. So anyone can come through our doors if they're going to buy into believe in what we're doing, we want them there. And so. We are, culturally speaking, we're 95 percent Latino Hispanic in population, so that lends itself to a heavy Christian population, predominantly Catholic, but I think we are 92, 95, depending on the year, percent Catholic.

So yes, we're heavily Catholic, but we're not uniquely Catholic, and you don't have to be Catholic to attend the school, but it is, it is a primary identity of who we are, And we want to make sure anyone who isn't Christian or Catholic who comes to the school feels welcomed and supported and never like an outsider, but always like a member of the community.

So we do that in a variety of ways. 

Jeff Holden: And that's why I [00:24:00] so like the William Jessup choice. Mm hmm. I just think that's really neat that a student from that environment would say, Hey, I want to get and continue the faith. 

Father Christopher: Well, and in that vein, that, that relationship comes about because locally we have relationships with schools.

So, we will trust a school that will be attentive to our kids in a particular way, because whether it's the fear of the unknown, the experience of imposter syndrome, or just, I don't know if I can afford this or if I can hang. I continually tell students year after year. You were accepted not on accident.

You were accepted because they want you. But we need people when they get to those campuses to tell them that too. And so whether it's William Jessup, Sac State, any of the CCs, UC Davis, or a lot of, we have partner schools all throughout the U. S. that will care for our kids, reminding them that they're not alone, they are supported, they can do it.

Then our kids are successful. So we, we nurture those relationships. 

Jeff Holden: That's wonderful. That, that is just wonderful. [00:25:00] Now, this is the fun part. Because I was chair of this particular committee. And it's the work study part of the school. It's what makes us unique. That's the novelty. That's the, that's what I think sets these kids apart because they're doing two jobs.

They're not just doing their academic side of things. They're actually working their way through school. Talk to us about the work study program. 

Father Christopher: So in a nutshell, five days a week, our students are sent off to work. Why? Practically speaking, a business owner will sponsor a student, and I'll get into the details on how that happens in a second, and that helps fund their education.

This year, we invest nearly 14, 000 in each of our students. If you go back to my numbers about what average tuition payment is, tuition makes up 2 percent of our budget. The work study program, depending, depending on the year can be 65 to 75 percent of our budget. [00:26:00] So what does that look like? We have relationships with professional offices all throughout Sacramento, whether it's Sutter or Mercy Health, whether it's Pacific Coast or CVC, whether it's agencies like the Yokodihi tribe who supports, I think over 16 of our students in nonprofits.

Jeff Holden: And by that, what you mean is they make the contribution for the student monetarily, but they don't have them come to their facility. They actually pay for them to go to a nonprofit. 

Father Christopher: Absolutely. So whether it's direct service so that our kid ends up at Mercy or Sutter or Pack Coast or indirect support like Yokie Dehe so that they can go support things like the SAC Food Bank or Girl Scouts of America.

Our students are then five days a week entering into office spaces, professional settings where they're learning practical skills. That's, that's the basic. With time, they're building confidence and relationship, their horizons are broadening, and the [00:27:00] ideas of what I could do with my life, what I could invest in my community, starts to grow exponentially.

And the data shows that because of that, our kids, when they, when it comes time to apply for college, are more focused. I did this in work study, I really loved it, so I want to study that in college. And then the data shows that our kids come back to Sacramento and are looking for those businesses, because whether they worked in a hospital or a law firm or a non profit, they have a sense of, I can be in those places.

I can see myself. At the same time, they're building relationships with CEOs and presidents and business owners all throughout Sacramento. And those relationships, not only in the moment, build confidence and connection, but I would like to imagine our kids are impacting the hearts of those office spaces so that when those businesses are imagining, how do I want to invest in my community?

How do I want to reimagine what we're going to do in the community? [00:28:00] They're doing it with our kids and their stories in mind. So this year, for example, a business will sponsor a student for 8, 000 a year. That's one student, one day a week. So, they're not paying payroll, they're not paying benefits, and we drive them there, we pick them up, we train them, depending on the needs of Meaning that employee will show up.

Correct. Exactly. So they, otherwise they get detention and they deal with all of those things. So we, we take care of those logistics. But then we're constantly in communication with supervisors of our students so that if they say we, we need our kids to have this skill or could you train them in this way, we'll adapt, we'll adapt and help them grow so that they're competent and helpful.

And so then in that way you get. Good labor, and yes, a freshman 14 year old is going to produce different work than the senior 18 year old. For those who have been with us since the very [00:29:00] beginning, or just a handful of years, you see the progress. I had a student last year who, as a freshman, very shy, incredibly quiet.

As a senior, she was working for the Raley Corporation, Raley Supermarkets, but in the corporate offices. She was making presentations before the board in collaboration with her supervisor before the board so that they could present this new initiative. Things like that demonstrate to me that it's not just helping us fund the invest in the education of our students, but it's helping them imagine all that they can 

Jeff Holden: do in incredible ways.

Well, I think of the confidence of that student who has the ability to present to a board of one of the largest grocers. in the country, and then take that on to their collegiate experience. 

Father Christopher: Absolutely. 

Jeff Holden: And then come back. 

Father Christopher: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: How impressive 

Father Christopher: is that? Absolutely. And imagine applying for college and saying, I have over a thousand hours of work experience in a professional setting.[00:30:00] 

Some of our kids are still working at places like Starbucks and Dutch Brothers on the weekends. normal teenage jobs, but I'm also working in the executive office of fill in the blank of an incredible business partner that we may have. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and the exposure to a law firm or an accounting firm to know what that's really like.

You don't have to think I might like that job. You're experiencing that job to say, I, I love it or I hate it. I don't ever want to go into this. And I know we have students who choose after their first year of work study to say, that's just not for me. Or I believe now I would like to go too. 

Father Christopher: Absolutely.

No, we had a student a couple of years ago thought she wanted to be a lawyer. So she was in a law firm. After two years, she expressed a desire for change. And they placed her at UC Davis Medical. And there she was. Currently, she's a sophomore at UC Davis studying medicine, biology, pre med. And she, she knew what she wanted.

She figured it out and she reached her goals. 

Jeff Holden: Isn't that [00:31:00] amazing? It really is. I do recall when I was on the board, one of the students, freshman, going to go to a law firm and just do basic filing and admin stuff. Gets to the elevator, And stands there, pushed the button, had no idea what to do. Had never been in an elevator.

Had never been in a high rise building. Had never been downtown Sacramento. And just froze. And you have to take a step back and realize some of these students, some of these kids have just never been exposed to so many of the things that we just take for granted. 

Father Christopher: Right. 

Jeff Holden: And it, it was an eye opener. I think everybody, when, when that story came back was, Oh my gosh.

What an experience for that student. Can you imagine when they went home? I got in this box. This box took me up to the top of the high buildings and we see it on the horizon, mom and dad, I can't believe it and I'm going to work there. 

Father Christopher: Yeah. The student who went to that Georgetown program over the summer had never been on a plane and the first [00:32:00] time they get on a plane is for a graduate prep program at Georgetown.

And so whether it's the experience of the elevator or a plane or any other number, a business lunch, whatever it may be, our, our kids, our goal is to create opportunities for them to see they can. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And they will. Well, and thanks to Mulvaney's too, because I know occasionally they will do an etiquette presentation at a luncheon.

Father Christopher: Uh huh. 

Jeff Holden: And so many of those kids. They don't know what fork to use. What is, why are there so many utensils on this table? I don't understand. Multiple forks and spoon. And it's, uh, it's, it's a wonderful thing that Patrick and Bobbin do there too. 

Father Christopher: We love it. We're grateful for all of our partners. 

Jeff Holden: You did talk about funding.

I just wanted to express the, the significance of that budget. It's roughly a 5 million budget this year and 60 plus percent of that coming from the work study sponsors. 

Father Christopher: So, it's important to note 91 percent of our budget is [00:33:00] directly invested in our students. I mention that because we're incredibly efficient.

There's not a lot of fluff. As I engage as the president of the school, as I engage benefactors, we don't go out for big fancy lunches. Because they recognize it's better to invest in our students. I still want to go out for coffee and connect to lunch. Do 

Jeff Holden: podcasts. Yeah, 

Father Christopher: absolutely. But we, we are very intentional on where we invest in our kids.

This year, unfortunately, Jeff, I will mention that our, across the country, the 40 Crystal Ray schools saw a drop in work study partnerships. Businesses who said to us, we love your kids. We love the mission. Work is changing though. We don't have people in the office or we don't have enough work for them to do or we don't have supervisors for them.

And so this year, we in particular saw 23 very dedicated partners say, we're sorry, but we can't continue. So as a result, that that's a hit to the budget. So this year on out, usually the past has been 65 to 75 percent of the budget is work study. This year, that number has [00:34:00] flipped a little. It's closer to 40.

45, 50 percent of our budget is work study, and so then advancement has to pick up. But my hope is that we'll continue to understand the needs of our business partners, adapt, evolve, so that we can get back in those spaces, be more creative in other spaces, because Sacramento is an incredibly generous place with a lot of good partners.

So if our 4. 8 million dollar budget needs to come from work study and advancement, fundraising events, direct ask, that kind of stuff, I have faith that we will be able to do it because the people are good. But when, again, when we remind ourselves that 2 percent of our budget comes from tuition, it's a lot of work to get out there.

Yes, it's a heavy lift. It's a heavy lift, an important lift. And I think any opportunity to let people know, we don't see you as benefactors. We don't see you simply as supporters. We see you as partners because the investment in the community, whether it's the community on our campus, We're the community well beyond our [00:35:00] campus of all of Sacramento.

We're making change. We're helping people get out of poverty, recognize dignity, and bringing us together. And that, that. Yes, we, we, the brass tacks of the numbers are everyday concern of mine. But I know that when we share our mission and what we're about, people will help us. And so I'm always looking for new job partners.

If there are people out there that have opportunities, whether it's one student or 16 students, Mercy Hospitals employ over all of their hospitals, 40 of our students, we have the capacity to adapt. It's almost 10 percent of the students. Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Better than 

Father Christopher: 10 students. Yeah. Yeah. So no, our, our, our budget this year is.

tight, but I have faith that because Sacramento has proven to be good, we'll find people. People reach out, find us, and we'll continue to do our best. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and we have that, that connection of demand of interest from the community for the school. Yes. That certainly will filter back into the community as demand for support for the school.

And I will share something because we do this nonprofit [00:36:00] podcast network. I'm talking to nonprofits all the time. I happened to be at river city food bank a couple of weeks ago. And what do I see? One of our students. I see a student standing there with a shirt, and I go up and talk to him, and I think he was frightened.

Why is this guy talking to me? And I said, you have to go tell Father Chris you ran into Jeff Holden and blah, blah, blah. And he just shaking his head and staring at me. He was a junior. And then just yesterday. I was at Sacramento Children's Home, who also has one of our students, and amazes me to think that just randomly you walk out, you will see Crystal Ray's student at that, that law firm.

It may be your law firm, your accounting firm. 

Father Christopher: Yes. Maybe 

Jeff Holden: your accounting firm at the nonprofit that you support. There's a student there. So that proliferation of students and impact in the community exposes itself to others who might have an interest in giving and supporting the school. 

Father Christopher: Yes. No, it's one of the [00:37:00] many gifts of our school.

With respect to all the other high schools in town, I think we're the only high school that has the impact on Sacramento the way we do. Because we're building connections. So if you see our Crystal Ray Saints dressed in purple, say hi to them. Get to know them. They'll tell you how good our mission is. 

Jeff Holden: So, bouncing off of that funding question.

If money were no object, this is the fun part of the conversation. Money's no object, what would the school look like? So 

Father Christopher: one thing we've discovered over the last so many years is our kids are coming to us with a lot of needs, academic support. I'd love to double quadruple our academic support. And that's staff, that's resources, that's time, that's space.

I'd love, so we are rock stars in the realm of, we're a division seven school, a division seven soccer, constantly state champions. And a few years back, the community came together and we built a field that is a point of pride. We, we [00:38:00] welcome people, we compete hard, we represent our school well. And it's a lit field on top of it.

It's a lit field. And when it was built, it was arguably the best field in town. It was a few years back, but I, I still think we're pretty good. But, I look at, so our kids, yeah, they, they come from limited resources. We don't have a lot. But if money was no object, we need another space where they could play basketball and soccer, or rather basketball and volleyball.

Because right now where we play, we're really grateful to St. Francis High School, but we use an auxiliary space of theirs. And it's not ours. It's different bringing people into your own home. It's different when you know that you can have a space that's yours and take care of. And that's not just for the sake of having, for instance, a basketball court, but that's because our kids deserve spaces too.

Our kids deserve to have places where they can grow and build team dynamics and relationships and be proud of the school that they're, they're attending, representing us. I'd love to Right now, for the first time in the history of the school, our faculty are at [00:39:00] 85 percent of the SAC unified pay scale.

That's the highest it's ever been. It still needs to be better. Our faculty work day in, day out, loving and serving our kids. And I want them to know, well beyond salaries, certainly, that we care and appreciate what they're doing. But the salaries are how they support themselves and their families. So if I could increase that for the sake of professional development, for the sake of classroom resources, those kinds of things.

And there, if you've ever been to our campus, we're an old buzz box. There are two buildings on campus. We own the land, we own the buildings. By the grace of God and the generosity of many, but we only occupy one building. The second building is a shell of a building that it's a dream staring at us every day.

If money was no object, that building would be more classrooms, more office spaces, places for counseling, meetings, places where parents can come and gather. That basketball court that could also serve as a giant meeting place for school dances and opportunities to bring the community together [00:40:00] so we can say thank you.

So, that second building is the big dream. That, that's, that's what I think might be on the horizon, but it's, it's still a dream. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, not everybody even has that capacity. You've got it. You get to look at it at least. Yes. It's every, every day that dream is in front of you. 

Father Christopher: Absolutely. And most of the times it's a carrot, but sometimes it's staring at me in 

Jeff Holden: the face.

Not to mention it does need to be maintained at least minimally so you don't want it to go into, uh, you know, disrepair. Back to reality. You did mention that one of the funding concerns is work study, but what's keeping you up at night? What is the greatest need? 

Father Christopher: It's, it is that. So. Work study funding, it relies so heavily on work study so that we can keep the lights on, so that we can invest in our students vis a vis faculty salaries, etc, etc.

If we don't do that, I'm afraid we'll have to get smaller. If work study isn't, if our work study partners don't expand, if we don't have more opportunities for our students, [00:41:00] I worry what that will do to the quality of our education. And what we have right now is solid. But it could be better so that we can serve more students, not more than 400, but to serve our students.

Well, the The, the struggle is it's not just financial. I want our kids to have access to spaces where they can be exposed to incredible leaders in our community, where they can collaborate with offices that are teaching them that they have a voice that's worth listening to at 14 to 18 years old. So we could.

Fundraise all of our needs and that would be incredible. Don't get me wrong. Putting our kids in those spaces helps them dream in a way that complements what we do in the classrooms in profound ways. And that is the secret sauce of Christopher Ray. So it's academic. Yes, it's co curricular certainly, but that work study program because of those relationships helps [00:42:00] our kids think.

big and not just dream and like a sense of whimsical fancy, but really concrete goals that they know they can accomplish. And so what keeps me up at night is, will I have enough spaces for our kids to go to work? And yes, that. equals being able to pay my bills. But I don't want our kids to come and, like this year, our freshman class, half of them at the beginning of the year had no place to go because we didn't have enough jobs.

And they look at us like, why am I here? I thought I was going to work. We've done our best to chip away through non profit support and we're grateful to those partners, but we want them to have access to the C suite. We want them to, to, to. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, that exposures everything. Absolutely. In, in so many different ways, not only to our community at large, to the people who visit those offices and see a Crystal Ray student, to the leadership of those firms, to all their leadership, not just the executive leadership.

Everybody sees what the key is. that that firm is [00:43:00] supporting, and they get to know those students. And those students become almost as if their own children. They really embrace those students. I've seen that so many times. And when the student graduates, it's as if your own son or daughter is graduating.

Father Christopher: Absolutely. We invite our work study partners. We invite our supporters. to, to graduation and it's incredible how many of them will show up. They're not, I, I tell people over and over again, if you look at our donor walls, you come to campus, you see these people have supported us and we're grateful for them.

None of them have had children or grandchildren come through our school. All of them give because they believe in our kids and what we do. And so when they come to graduation or when they come to a soccer game and cheer our kids on it's, it's, you're right. It's Papa Bear, Mama Bear pride, even though the kids might, might, might not be theirs.

They're theirs. 

Jeff Holden: Yes. Yes. Deadlines for application. What is the, the cycle in the school? Because this podcast will be running, [00:44:00] you know, in a few weeks. I don't know when it is, but because it has a shelf life of a couple of years, for anybody that listens, they know, Oh, it's going to be coming up when?

Father Christopher: Absolutely. So typically the first week of September will open applications and there are a variety of pieces to that puzzle, right? So the application itself, we have to make sure people are eligible financially. Interviews and letters of rec transcripts, all that. We will take those up until usually the first week of December.

Start to vet and, uh, the interview process on campus. The high school placement test will take place usually the, uh, second half of January, first half of February in two cycles. Transfers, their numbers or their timeline is a little different just because they're transfers. But then notification happens by the beginning of usually the first week of March, depending on how that week falls.

So students are notified by then, asked to commit by April. And then that [00:45:00] way we can prepare to build a class and understand who's coming to us and what we need to do to welcome them well. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And geographically, where are they coming from? 

Father Christopher: They're coming from all over. We have students mostly from South Sacramento, but we have students that are coming from Natomas.

We have students that are coming from Fair Oaks. We have students that are coming from Elk Grove, but mostly South Sacramento is, is, is our region. 

Jeff Holden: And then if somebody's interested in getting that information, what's the, what's the best place to go? Where do they find it? 

Father Christopher: Our, our website is easy to find if you punch in crhss.

org or Google Christo Ray Sacramento, even if you misspell it.

And if you find us, it's one thing to visit the website, but give us a call and let's set up a time to visit, whether you're an interested parent or student or a business partner, a business owner out there that's like, I'm interested in this, you [00:46:00] call us, I will make time to welcome you to campus. I will create opportunities for you to see who we are.

And that's. As president of the school, one of my primary responsibilities is to create that space, but over the course of the last year and a half that I've been in this role, I've realized my number one role is to create opportunities to say thank you. So whether you're interested in being a part of what we're doing as a parent or student, or supporting us as a supporter, partner, just to be able to say thank you, that's a pretty wonderful place to live in.

We'll create opportunities for welcome. 

Jeff Holden: And I don't sense any lack of energy. I will say that you probably do all of that and then some. Well, you know, 

Father Christopher: at the end of the day, are the days long? Am I tired? Yes. But when you love what you do, when you know what you do is purposeful and that the people you're doing it with are all in, I think that's why our school is as successful as it is.

It's why we have a wait list. It's why we have parents that are asking. Thank you. It's why we [00:47:00] have faculty that are willing to put in long days because they love what we do. 

Jeff Holden: And they see the outcome. Absolutely. They know that that outcome is so significant and they made a difference. They really made a difference.

Father Christopher: In our 19th year, Jeff, we're finally seeing alums who have hit their strides. The first few years we were figuring it out and we didn't necessarily know how to track alums. We've gotten better over the last decade plus. And so we know. the successes. We've, I kid you not, a proud dad moment for me. We've had alums that have earned Emmys in sound engineering.

We've had alums that started as sophomores working in the state senate and are now employed supervising our students at the state senate. We have students that have returned to the law firms and have become really valuable voices in those spaces. We've had nurses. We've had people who, we have people who are aspiring to be doctors.

We have people who have gotten business degrees and taken their parents, small businesses, whether it's landscaping or housekeeping, [00:48:00] brought it, kicked it up a notch. And so they took those business degrees, those, uh, those management degrees and said, Mom, Dad, I got you. We can do this. 

Jeff Holden: Isn't that awesome?

It's amazing. Having had the privilege of being a board member from a very early stage in the school's life, I couldn't be more proud of the accomplishments of what's happening at the school today. And knowing some of the struggles we had early on, whether we were even going to make it, to see now that not only is it solvent, it's solid, it's thriving, it's in its own environment.

that's paid for, that there's not that threat of, oh my gosh, we don't have a place. 

Father Christopher: Right. 

Jeff Holden: Just all of those things, you know, the recipe for success that the school has set up, the changes in the community that it's provided, the students that we see day in and day out, either as high school students and or now college students and or graduates, as you were just mentioning, is so, so neat.

And, you know, what a blessing to be able to have [00:49:00] been a part of it for me. But what a blessing to the community to be able to have something like a Crystal Ray School because there's only 40 in the country. It's not like they're all over the place. And for Sacramento, you know, kudos to Sacramento to say, Hey, we figured it out.

We've got your back. We've supported the school. We're making it continue. And we're making that statement of breaking that cycle of poverty. So for you and for the entire team at Crystal Ray, thank you so much for what you do for the benefit of the students, the families. and our community. 

Father Christopher: Thank you, Jeff.

It takes a village and the village of Sacramento is ours and the success is ours. And so I, I'm grateful for all the opportunities to say thank you. And so whether it's on this podcast or any other space, we could not do it without the support of many. And again, it's why we are who we are. 

Jeff Holden: Well, thank you, Father Chris.

Father Christopher: Thank you.

Jeff Holden: Thank you for listening to the [00:50:00] Nonprofit Podcast Network. I hope you enjoyed the episode. If what you heard moved you, please reach out to that organization and do what you can to help. If you like and appreciate what we're doing to support local nonprofits, please give us a positive review, subscribe, and share.

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