FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 28, 2021

 

Item:               Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School Leadership Announcement

 

Contact:        Joe Acciarito

                        Director of Business Development, Corporate Work Study Program

                        Email:  jacciarito@cristoreybrooklyn.org

                        Office: (718) 455-3555

                        Cell: (646) 236-7053

                                                                                                                                                                                                    William (“Bill”) P. Ford III

 

Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School appoints William (“Bill”) P. Ford III as President

Effective July 28, 2021

 

BROOKLYN, N.Y. Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School’s (CRBHS) Board of Directors has unanimously and enthusiastically selected William (“Bill”) P. Ford III as the next President of CRBHS.  This change is effective July 28, 2021. 

 

Located in East Flatbush, Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School is a member of the nationally recognized 37 school Cristo Rey Network (CRN), the largest network of secondary schools in the country that exclusively serves students and families of limited economic means.  Accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) and drawing students from more than 80 different zip codes, CRBHS is a Catholic college preparatory high school partnering with families of all creeds to educate deserving young people from underserved communities to become men and women of faith, purpose and service.  By integrating a rigorous curriculum, a unique work-study experience (Corporate Work Study Program) and the support of an inclusive school community, CRBHS enables students to succeed in college and beyond with the values essential to a fulfilling life.

 

Ford brings over 30 years of highly effective performance in a broad range of academic and operational roles, including two decades with the Cristo Rey Network and NYC sister school, Cristo Rey New York (CRNY). Bill led the initial study to establish the first Cristo Rey school in New York City, which was also one of the first in the country.  Ford recruited initial Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) employers to hire students, raised the seed funding to launch the school, secured the approval of the Cristo Rey Network, the New York Archdiocese and the endorsement of three separate religious orders.  He designed an initial curriculum, found a temporary site for the school, incorporated and obtained a provisional charter from the New York State Education Department and secured the school’s not-for-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service.  He then became the founding principal of Cristo Rey New York, growing it to approximately 400 students and leading it to become one the most successful academic schools within the Cristo Rey Network. 

 

With Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School at a particularly exciting and challenging juncture in its own illustrious history, emerging from the pandemic, poised to launch a strategic campaign to make permanent its own success of the last decade-plus, Ford returns to his Brooklyn roots and will lead that charge together with committed faculty, staff, board members and countless partners and supporters on behalf of the young people the school serves. 

 

The search for a new President, led by an inclusive Search Committee, was a comprehensive and excellent process which yielded more than a dozen qualified candidates.  The Committee consisted of members of the Board, staff leadership and the President of the Cristo Rey Network, Elizabeth Goettl.  The Network provided tremendous support and guidance throughout the entire process.  Bill will be an inspiring, spiritual and compassionate leader who will uphold and extend the values of the Cristo Rey mission and provide the stewardship needed to lead CRBHS into an exciting and successful future.

 

To learn more about Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School contact advancement@cristoreybrooklyn.org.