Seeds are the ultimate metaphor for hope – young and full of potential – and a fitting symbol for our students. Our young people are our future. With proper care and nurturing, they will grow to their full potential, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes...
Preston Kendall’s President’s Pen
April President’s Pen
This past October, the XQ Institute published an editorial entitled, “5 Ways to Support Student Mental Health” – you can find a copy on their website. Like our Cristo Rey Network of schools, XQ promotes their own educational model that rethinks the high school...
February President’s Pen
The New York Times ran a story this morning about classroom disruptions from COVID and how they have adversely impacted students. One quote that jumped out stated, “There is now a consensus that children learned much less than usual – and that their mental health...
January 2022 President’s Pen: ¡VIVA CRISTO REY!
My close friend and colleague, Fr. John P. Foley, SJ, retired last week. What “retirement” actually means for a guy like John is something that both he and we will discover over time. The biggest initial change is that he moved from his rooms in Chicago to the Jesuit...
December President’s Pen
Earlier in December, our principal let me know that our AP English Literature class would be using the new stage instead of their normal classroom because they planned to read aloud and act out scenes from Hamlet. So, a few minutes into seventh period, I wandered over...
November President’s Pen
Sometimes small occurrences combine in such a way that saying it is just a coincidence is an entirely insufficient explanation. In certain moments, Providence plays a hand and for a brief second you sense that God really is actively working in our world through those...
October 2021 President’s Pen
“We had no idea what we were doing!” is what my friend and colleague, Fr. John P. Foley, SJ likes to proclaim when asked about the founding of the Cristo Rey movement. What started as one school in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood has blossomed into thirty-eight schools...
September 2021 President’s Pen
“The value of life does not depend upon the place we occupy. It depends upon the way we occupy that place.” – Saint Therese of Lisieux Lately, people have been asking what it is like to be back in full-time classes at CRSM. My response is a single word, “Joyful.” It’s...
July President’s Pen: An Interview with Preston Kendall
In celebration of Cristo Rey’s 25th anniversary, “We Are CR” profiles will feature interviews with some of the many people who helped shape Cristo Rey Jesuit High School since its doors opened in 1996. Preston Kendall was part of the founding leadership team for...
June President’s Pen: Marking significant endings and beginnings
June at CRSM marks significant endings and beginnings. No sooner did we say goodbye to the class of 2021 at an in-person graduation – the first in our new gym – than we greeted our incoming 9th graders to their first week of training and assessments for the Corporate...