[CHICAGO, IL] – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $300,000 in federal funding to purchase and install technologies and materials for the Library and Technology Center at Cristo Rey High School.

“Adding a full-service computer lab will help students at Cristo Rey gain the technological experience needed to compete in today’s global economy,” Durbin said. “The new Library and Technology Center will also better equip community groups to serve the residents of Pilsen and Little Village by providing access to badly needed meeting space, information technology, health care information and other resources.

“Industries from financial management to healthcare to construction need employees trained in the latest technologies. The Library and Technology Center will help Cristo Rey students gain the valuable skills they need to become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and community leaders.”

The Library and Technology Center will serve 500 students at Cristo Rey. After school hours, the center will be open to area residents.

Durbin secured the funding in the Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations bill for the Labor, Health and Human Services Departments. The bill has passed the Senate Appropriations Committee and now awaits full Senate approval.

Founded by the Jesuits in 1996, Cristo Rey provides a college preparatory education to Latino youth living in the Pilsen and Little Village communities who otherwise would not have the financial means to afford a private education. Through the school’s Corporate Internship Program, all Cristo Rey students work five days a month in entry-level jobs in downtown Chicago firms—earning 65 percent of the cost of their education.

Cristo Rey’s education/business model is now nationally recognized as an innovative solution for urban education. The success of Cristo Rey’s students has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Business Week, Newsweek, on “60 Minutes,” Univision and most recently on the BBC. With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation, the Cristo Rey Network has replicated the work-study model in 12 other cities across the United States. Additional Cristo Rey model schools are set to open in the coming years.