Education Dive interviewed Megan Sweas about Cristo Rey model of education, December 21, 2015
It also named Putting Education to Work as one of six books educators should read.
During her time as an editor at U.S. Catholic magazine, journalist Megan Sweas saw firsthand what graduates of the Cristo Rey network could accomplish. One Cristo Rey student worked alongside her during the course of a year, as part of the private school’s work-study program.
“The Catholic Church has a long tradition of educating children in low-income urban communities, but this tradition has been threatened in recent decades by rising costs and declining enrollment,” Sweas says, noting that the Cristo Rey model started as a solution to that financial question. “I welcomed the opportunity to delve into this program that so many say is the bright spot of Catholic education, figure out how it worked and what lessons might be applicable to education more broadly.”
She went on to become the author of “Putting Education to Work,” a book profiling the 28 schools that comprise the Catholic private school network. Sweas spoke with Education Dive about her new book, her reporting on Cristo Rey, and what Catholic schools’ education model can offer the U.S. public education system.
Megan Sweas 
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