Cristo Rey Fort Worth has never been the kind of school to sit still. Nestled along\u00a0Altamesa\u00a0Boulevard, the college prep campus has spent the past six years rewriting what a small, mission-driven high school can\u00a0accomplish\u00a0in a city where\u00a0nearly one\u00a0in five students\u00a0grows\u00a0up in poverty. Now, with the unveiling of a $5.1 million STEAM Center, the school is making a bold statement: opportunity, creativity, and determination can reshape futures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new facility stretches across the south side of campus, adding 12 classrooms, a black box theatre, and a suite of\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0science labs. Designed by Javier Lucio of RPGA Design Group and constructed beginning in March 2025, the center is built for hands-on learning \u2014 from engineering prototypes to conducting experiments, from coding workshops to theatrical productions. Every corner of the building is intended to spark curiosity, creativity, and confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cristo Rey\u2019s approach has always been innovative. Students follow a rigorous college preparatory curriculum while gaining professional experience through the nationally recognized Corporate Work Study Program. That combination of academics and real-world work equips students with skills, connections, and confidence to pursue college and career pathways that might otherwise feel out of reach. The STEAM Center extends that philosophy to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics \u2014 preparing students for the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So far, enrollment has climbed\u00a0roughly 15 percent\u00a0each year, reaching 300 students, and more than 140 alumni are now enrolled at universities across the country, according to a release.\u00a0Within the next three years, Cristo Rey\u00a0anticipates\u00a0serving over 400 students. The STEAM Center ensures that expansion is met with the space, inspiration, and tools students need to thrive. For families and students who have faced systemic barriers, this\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0just a new building \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a tangible sign of possibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Christina Jimenez, Cristo Rey Fort Worth\u2019s Director of College Initiatives, the STEAM Center embodies everything the school strives for. \u201cThe STEAM Center is a symbol of what\u2019s possible when faith, determination, and opportunity come together,\u201d she said\u00a0in a statement. \u201cOur students are dreaming bigger, working harder, and achieving more than ever before.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside the classrooms and labs, students are discovering new passions and talents. The black box theatre hosts performances that blend creativity and collaboration. The science labs invite experiments that merge imagination with technical rigor. And beyond the classroom, students\u2019 corporate work placements reinforce lessons in responsibility, professionalism, and perseverance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The opening of the STEAM Center\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0simply a celebration of architecture and design.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a testament to what happens when faith, hard work, and opportunity intersect. It signals a commitment to breaking cycles of poverty and expanding horizons \u2014 not just for today\u2019s students, but for generations to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t just a building \u2014 it\u2019s a promise to our students,\u201d said Dani Ray Barton, President of Cristo Rey Fort Worth.\u00a0\u201cEvery new lab and creative space brings our students closer to achieving their dreams through education, experience, and faith.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cristo Rey Fort Worth has never been the kind of school to sit still. Nestled along\u00a0Altamesa\u00a0Boulevard, the college…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":379098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,21976,76681,407,15980,7371,7372,9730,3060,6214,22598,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-379097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-buildings","10":"tag-cristo-rey-fort-worth","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-expansion","13":"tag-fort-worth","14":"tag-fortworth","15":"tag-fwtx-staff","16":"tag-schools","17":"tag-students","18":"tag-teachers","19":"tag-texas","20":"tag-top-story","21":"tag-tx","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115549927170348360","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}