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Christ the King Preparatory School names Fr. Robert Sandoz, OFM President
Newark Archbishop John J. Myers has appointed Rev. Robert J. Sandoz, OFM, to serve as President of Newark’s Cristo Rey high school, Christ the King Prep, effective August 1, 2009.
Christ the King Prep, which is now entering its third year of operation, is one of twenty-four Cristo Rey schools around the country that seeks to offer a quality, Catholic, college preparatory education to urban young people with limited financial resources. Christ the King’s unique program combines four days a week of rigorous academics with an innovative Corporate Internship Program that allows students to earn a portion of their tuition by working in an entry level office job one day a week.
One of Fr. Sandoz’ priorities at Christ the King will be to ensure the vitality of the Corporate Internship Program, which is the lifeblood of the school. Even though Christ the King already has strong support from such Greater Newark corporations as Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Gibbons PC law firm, Broadway House for Continuing Care, and the Office of the Mayor of the City of Newark, to name just a few, Fr. Sandoz is looking to expand that base of corporate and government partnership. “One of my first tasks will be to work with our CIP Director, Mrs. Sandra Lerner, to identify new possibilities for support.” He added, “While this is always a challenge, it is a bit more so in this economic climate.”
Still, Fr. Sandoz is confident that once people hear and understand the “Cristo Rey Message” they will want to be part of that vision. “From the business sector, through government and various service agencies, they all know the transformative power of this vision,” said Fr. Sandoz. He added, “For today, it is a noble undertaking; for tomorrow, it is a formula for success.”
Beginning in September, nearly 250 promising, motivated young people will be living that vision at Christ the King Prep as members of the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. In 2011, Christ the King Prep will graduate its first class of seniors from a program that, nationally, sends more than 95% of its graduating classes to colleges and universities.
Fr. Sandoz, who has served as pastor of both St. Joseph Parish in East Rutherford and Our Lady of the Holy Angels in Little Falls, has an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from St. Louis University and an M. Div from Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, IL. He has also served as an administrator at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, MA, an instructor at the Graduate School at Holy Trinity College in Harare, Zimbabwe, and as chaplain in the death row unit of the federal prison in Raleigh, NC. He will succeed founding President Rev. Edward Glynn, S.J., who stepped down last March.
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