CWSP Overview

WE ARE A SCHOOL THAT WORKS!

The Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) makes CTK and the Cristo Rey model unique. Through CWSP, students work a day a week for a corporate partner, gaining work experience and exposure to career options while earning up to 50% of the cost of their CTK education.  

The Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) is a separately incorporated entity within Christ the King Jesuit College Prep that places every student in a professional job one day per week, all four years of high school.  CTK students are employees of CTK CWSP, not of your company. Corporate partners pay a competitive, annual service fee to the program which is applied directly to the students’ college preparatory education. CTK CWSP operates similarly to a temporary staffing agency with the explicit awareness and approval of relevant state agencies and the U.S. Department of Labor.

HOW IT WORKS 

CTK students traditionally work in a four-person job sharing team to fill one full-time equivalent position during standard daily business hours, Monday through Thursday, for the entire academic year.  Some partners choose instead to have each of their four students in a different role or even a different department.  Academic schedules are structured so that students work without ever missing class. Our integrated academic and CWSP experience is the distinguishing characteristic of CTK’s Cristo Rey education model.

For more details about how it works, click HERE.

WHY PARTNER?

Here are some reasons companies choose to partner with our students:

• Advance equity and economic opportunity in Chicago’s West Side communities.
• Help students with limited financial means earn tuition for their college-prep education.
• Improve college enrollment and success for students of underrepresented identities.
• Expose students to opportunities in different industries and career paths for their future.
• Provide work experience that builds confidence, self-esteem, and ambition.
• Help students gain valuable social and technical skills along with professional mentorships, that cannot be accessed in the traditional classroom.
• Invest in the diversity of your team today while helping you build a pipeline of diverse talent for the future. 

VIDEO

Want to glean insights into the experience of one of our students at work? Watch the video below to hear more about Makhi's story.