DETROIT — Detroit Cristo Rey High School announced Jan. 18 that for the second year in a row, all of its graduating seniors have been accepted into college. The announcement was made during a school assembly open to the media.

All 37 of Cristo Rey’s graduating seniors have been accepted, said John Doyle, director of development at the school. There are 240 students enrolled at the school.
Last year, all 46 graduating students in the new high school’s first senior class were accepted into college.

Detroit Cristo Rey opened in 2008 under the sponsorship of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Basilian Fathers as a private-school alternative for low-income families. Meaning “Christ the King” in Spanish, Cristo Rey is part of a national network of 24 schools operating under a similar model.

The concept started in Chicago in 1996.

The school is partially funded by students participating in professional atmospheres in various work-study programs that include Art Van Furniture, DTE Energy, General Motors and dozens of other local businesses and nonprofits.

Alyssa Avila, a member of the Class of 2013, told the school’s newsletter in the fall that her experiences at Blue Cross Blue Shield and General Motors helped prepare her for the college life.

She said she has enjoyed “seeing what happens behind the scenes to make the final product” during her GM assignment. She plans to pursue engineering in college, either at Notre Dame University, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan or Lawrence Technological Institute.

Detroit Cristo Rey operates from the building that used to be Holy Redeemer Catholic School on Detroit’s southwest side. Annual tuition was about $2,400 last year, but is based on income and ability to pay.