Coastal Community Foundation (CCF) is contributing a $1.5 million impact investment to Cristo Rey Charleston for a new high school in North Charleston. This capital provided the final funding needed to close on the project.
This will be the 42nd school in the Cristo Rey Network, which operates Catholic high schools across 24 states and exclusively serves students with limited economic resources. The format incorporates a rigorous college-prep education with a four-year professional work study program. Students spend four days per week in the classroom and one day per week in an internship. Attendance is offered at little or no cost to students and is sustained through a blended funding model that includes philanthropy, public support, and business partnerships. Students are not required to be Catholic to attend.
The $1.5 million loan comes from CCF’s Place-Based Impact Investment (PBII) program, which strategically provides capital for projects that achieve both a measurable financial return and a positive social impact. This includes initiatives that create jobs in economically impacted areas, strengthen the nine coastal counties in CCF’s service area, or improve the social, health, and/or environmental conditions of the area.
“The Cristo Rey format aligns with two of CCF’s pillars for a vibrant community: education and economic mobility,” said Coastal Community Foundation President and CEO Darrin Goss, Sr. “This investment will expand educational opportunity for students in our region. Plus, the students who attend Cristo Rey will leave high school better prepared for both higher education and the workforce, setting them up for a more secure financial future.”
Cristo Rey Charleston will be located in the former Chicora Elementary School building, which will be renovated in partnership with Metanoia.
“We are deeply grateful for the generous support of the Coastal Community Foundation, which is enabling us to begin construction on our founding, permanent campus,” said Cristo Rey Charleston Acting President and CEO Joanna Wusinich. “Our state-of-the-art building will provide a transformative educational environment for our students. As a college preparatory high school with a unique corporate work-study program, we are committed to developing the future leaders of the greater Charleston area. Our new campus will allow us to serve more than 400 students, all of whom come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, and offer them a pathway to opportunity and success.”
The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, January 8, and the school is expected to open with its first freshman class in August 2027.