Cristo Rey Brooklyn Receives $600,000 Advancing Excellence Grant

After a highly competitive application process, Cristo Rey Brooklyn has been selected as a recipient of the Advancing Excellence: Supporting Schools Poised for Transformation grant from the Cristo Rey Network. This three-year, $600,000 award supports schools that demonstrate a strong readiness to catalyze bold, sustainable improvements and achieve transformational growth.

Cristo Rey Brooklyn was one of 27 Cristo Rey schools nationwide to apply and was selected as one of just three recipients.

The award comes on the heels of this year’s launch of the InsureFutures Program, an innovative partnership among Cristo Rey Brooklyn, Student Sponsor Partners, the Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science at St. John’s University, and 10 corporate partners in the insurance industry. The program currently provides 22 work-study jobs for CRB students, receiving national attention and sparking interest from other higher education institutions.

Grant funding will support strategic investments in academic support, student professional training, and expanded mentorship for both students and alumni—within the InsureFutures Program and across the broader CRB community. It will also fund the development of a school-wide education-to-employment curriculum, equipping students to succeed in their work study positions and postsecondary pathways. In addition, the grant will help strengthen CRB’s admissions pipeline through its new SPARK summer program for middle school students.

The Advancing Excellence grant recipients were announced on April 15, as the CRB leadership team presented on the InsureFutures Initiative at the Cristo Rey Network’s Directors Gathering in Las Vegas.

“We are thrilled to be named an Advancing Excellence grant recipient and proud of Cristo Rey Brooklyn’s commitment to innovation and collaboration,” said Michael Motyl, President of Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School. “The work happening in Brooklyn is both urgent and transformative. This investment allows us to build on that momentum—scaling what works, expanding access, and ensuring our students are equipped to lead and succeed in the future. The impact of this support will be felt for years to come.”