S. Side Catholic high school possible

A new Catholic high school could open on Tucson's South Side in fall 2003, according to local diocese plans.

The high school would be much different from Salpointe and Immaculate Heart, which are Tucson's two existing Catholic secondary schools.

What sets the South Side school apart is its partnership with local businesses. The school would require students to work at those businesses one day each week, reducing their tuition. The concept is modeled after the nationally renowned Cristo Rey Jesuit School, which is in the largely Hispanic low-income neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago.

Start-up costs of $700,000 for the Tucson project already have been secured by the West Coast Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation, and an invitation-only meeting with South Side community leaders about the school is scheduled for March 21.

"We are eager to do it. It's not a mere idea,'' said Gerald F. Kicanas, coadjutor bishop for the Diocese of Tucson. "We do need to get ownership on the part of the community."

Kicanas recently came to Tucson from the Archdiocese of Chicago, where Cristo Rey is located.

The South Side school would not scrap plans for a future Catholic High School on the East Side, which could be at the diocese's Regina Cleri Center, 8800 E. 22nd St., Kicanas said.

Kicanas said the South Side school would likely start out small, but eventually expand to 400 students - 100 in each grade. No site has been set for the school, which may start out in rented space but eventually get its own facility, church officials say.

"I think it would be a wonderful initiative for the South Side of Tucson, and it will bring together various segments of our society and community for a common purpose,'' Kicanas said.

The Diocese of Tucson is facing added debt as a result of the recent settlement of civil actions alleging abuse by local clergy. Estimates place the settlement at as much as $16 million.

But if Cristo Rey is any example, the new secondary school will not require any money from the diocese itself.

The Rev. John Foley, president of the 6-year-old Chicago high school, said Cristo Rey is self-sufficient. Every four students comprise a full-time position in the businesses where they work, and that money goes toward tuition. Families also are asked to pay $2,200 per year, but financial aid is available.

Tuition that families will be asked to pay at the Tucson South Side Catholic school is expected to be less than $2,000.

Cristo Rey's success in the community has led to generous donations over five years, Foley said.

"It isn't a question of making up jobs. We are in competition with employment services,'' said Foley, who says the students work in clerical jobs. "The jobs provide 74 percent of what the school costs. It's such a rich concept.''

Cristo Rey boasts that 78 percent of its graduates have gone on to college. Many were the first in their families to graduate from high school.

"We had to sell the idea as much as any employment agency has to sell themselves. We're not asking anyone to invent a job. We want to fulfill needs,'' Foley said. "The parents see the whole job thing as just so incredibly rewarding. The kids feel so much better about themselves when they realize they are holding an adult's job."

The success of Cristo Rey caught the eye of B.J. Cassin, a West Coast venture capitalist who in 2000 invested $22 million in a foundation to set up similar schools in low-income communities around the country. Tucson's South Side is one of the targeted communities, said Jeffrey D. Thielman, executive director of the foundation.

"We believe in the project and we believe in the people working on it. It's clear there's a need, and we want very desperately to help folks down there,'' said Thielman, who has made six trips to Tucson. "There are a lot of good things going on in Tucson's South Side. People and community groups have worked hard to improve things. We're excited to be part of that."

Organizers of the Tucson project say they already have had cooperation from car dealership owner Jim Click. Click was not available for comment Thursday.

"Before we talked about this particular model, a Catholic high school here seemed far out of reach,'' said the Rev. Ra£l Trevizo of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 602 W. Ajo Way. "Catholic high school tuition is high and there is a large concentration of working-class families on this side of town. If you are looking at a family earning $20,000-$25,000 it's prohibitive, especially if they have more than one high school child."

Tuition at the Northwest Side Immaculate Heart High School, 625 E. Magee Road, is $4,300 per year per student. At the Midtown Salpointe Catholic High School, 1545 E. Copper, tuition is $4,200 per year.

Diocese education

Diocese of Tucson Catholic school statistics:

Total enrollment: 7,237

Enrollment in secondary schools: 1,817

Total number of secondary schools: four

Number of secondary schools in Tucson: two

Enrollment in Tucson Catholic secondary schools: 200 at Immaculate Heart and 1,400 at Salpointe

The Catholic Diocese of Tucson stretches across nine counties

*Contact Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or at sinnes@azstarnet.com.

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