Yahoo Finance Ken Griffin just donated $2.1 million to a South Florida private school. What’s it for?
Ken Griffin has been supporting the Cristo Rey network of Catholic high schools for years since learning about them in Chicago. He has now added the Miami school to his list.
Cristo Rey Miami High School, which opened two years ago in North Miami, received $2.1 million from the 55-year-old billionaire founder and CEO of Citadel, who relocated his financial empire’s headquarters to Miami from Chicago in 2022. The donation will fund a new three-story building, enabling the school to expand beyond its current freshmen and sophomore classes to junior and senior students.
The building will include 12 classrooms, four multi-use science, technology, engineering, art and math labs and several faculty offices.
“By providing high-quality, college-preparatory education, particularly for underserved communities, Cristo Rey Miami High School is changing lives,” Griffin said in a statement to the Herald. “I am honored to support its innovative integration of academics with work experience to empower students with the skills they need to be successful.”
Cristo Rey Miami High School is the 39th school in the Cristo Rey Network, a nationwide association of Catholic high schools that integrate rigorous academics on a college preparatory level with real-world work experience. The school serves students, who do not have to be Catholic to attend, with limited financial means.
“I have more opportunities here than I would have at a different school,” said sophomore Arianna Salazar on Wednesday. “We have more teachers and more ways to reach out for help with our grades.”
Growing to a four-year high school
Cristo Rey Miami, 125 NE 119th St. in North Miami, opened its doors to students in August 2022 with a freshman class of 80. Last year, it added a sophomore class, bringing the school’s enrollment up to 140 students. Griffin’s gift will enable the school to grow to about 425 students and 55 faculty and staff.
Construction is expected to be done by January 2025, with students scheduled to attend classes in the new building by March 2025. The school will use portable classrooms to accommodate the influx of students until the building is ready.
“The building is a symbol of opportunity for our students,” said principal Cesar Muñoz, who graduated from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago in 2007. “The strength of the building is not just brick and mortar, but it will be seen for years to come with our students being building blocks for their communities and beyond.”
Since moving his firm to Miami, Griffin has been busy with his checkbook. He’s donated $50 million apiece to Baptist Health South Florida and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, among other local institutions.
READ MORE: Ken Griffin has opened his checkbook to South Florida. Here’s where his money has gone
Last September, he launched Griffin Catalyst, which focuses on six philanthropic categories — education, science and medicine, communities, upward mobility, freedom and democracy and enterprise and innovation.
Work-study program amid the classes
Cristo Rey schools operate on a unique schedule: Students attend academic classes four days a week and work in jobs one day a week as part of the school’s corporate work-study program (CWSP). Partnering with companies like Baptist Hospital, Amerant Bank and Boston Consulting Group, the school provides students with professional work experience.
The work experience is a selling point for many of the students.
“Growing up, I had trouble a lot with communicating and getting up and talking to people because I was very nervous and shy,” said sophomore Emely Climaco. “Since working at the HR department at Jackson Memorial Hospital, I’ve been able to improve my communication and socialization skills with employees that come in every day and ask for help.”
Tuition at the Miami school is $15,800 a year. Each student receives a scholarship from Florida Step-up program that covers about 30% of tuition. Another 50% of the tuition is covered by the work-study program, and the rest is paid out of pocket by the student’s family and other philanthropic donations. On average, families pay $75 a month for tuition, far below tuition rates at South Florida’s private schools.
Tuition covers uniforms, breakfast, lunch and transportation.
The school’s acceptance rate is about 68% and students go through a series of interviews in lieu of a standardized test as an entrance exam.
“We know that our students, based on their prior educational options, may have not really had the opportunity to be successful in their grade level,” said Amelie Ferro, the Miami school’s CEO and president. “So what we’re looking for is that the students have drive, grit, determination and want to go to college.”
Students who attend a Cristo Rey High School have a college acceptance rate of 98 percent, and graduates are eligible to receive up to 85% of demonstrated financial need at one of their 79 university partner schools, which include Georgetown, Marquette and Franklin & Marshall.
