Students at Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School set sights on success

Overcoming challenges on the path to success is all in a day’s work for the students at Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School. Students were displaced when torrential rains flooded the school in August 2016, shortly after the school was inaugurated. The students and teachers were forced to relocate to makeshift classrooms at the Bon Carre Technology Center.

“These young men and women demonstrate perseverance and passion for the long-term goals they have set for their lives,” explained Brian Moscona, president at Cristo Rey. “Years from now, we will look back on these students as the ones who refused to back down in the face of adversity.”

Strong community support brought Cristo Rey to Baton Rouge, and is helping the school continue to recover from the loss of its building. Through the generosity of businesses and industry leaders, ACE Scholarships was able to step in to immediately help provide for 60 children to afford to attend Cristo Rey.

“Cristo Rey Baton Rouge would not have been able to continue operations without organizations like ACE Scholarships, which offered incredible encouragement and support throughout our recovery from the flood,” said Moscona. “They made sure our students continued to receive scholarships, which made all the difference for them.”

Flood damage at the former Catholic high school that provided facilities for Cristo Rey was so severe that the Diocese of Baton Rouge made the decision to demolish the buildings and donate the property to Cristo Rey as the future site of their high school.

The majority students in the area served by Cristo Rey hail from families with incomes below the federal poverty threshold, and 30,000 students in the area attend public schools designated by the local school district as “failing.”

“The business leaders we work with are amazed at the quality and maturity of our students,” Moscona said. “Our students come from families who often have experienced several generations of poverty – Cristo Rey gives these young men and women the opportunity to see themselves as being successful in the workplace, which is a life-changing experience for them.”

Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School is part of the Tuition Donate Rebate Program, which equips thousands of low-income Louisiana families with the financial resources to choose the school that will best prepare their children for college and careers. The Tuition Donation Rebate allows for a 95 percent tax rebate to individuals, corporations, and nonprofits that donate to the program.

The rebate will now be replaced, starting the first day of 2018, by an exciting new tax credit for companies and individuals that have Louisiana income tax liability. The new Louisiana scholarship tax credit gives taxpayers an uncapped, dollar-for-dollar credit toward their state income taxes for donations made to school tuition organizations (STOs) like ACE Scholarships. The donor is also able to claim the federal tax deduction. The credit will prove to be an incredible tool to fund scholarships for deserving students at great schools like Cristo Rey.

For more information on how to donate to Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School through the Louisiana Scholarship Tax Credit or Tuition Donation Rebate, please contact Arthur Dupre at 504-710-1132 or [email protected]