The Cristo Rey Network is pleased to announce the relaunch of the Cristo Rey Charleston Feasibility Study, which will explore the viability of a future Cristo Rey high school in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina.

Beginning in January 2024, the Cristo Rey Charleston Feasibility Study will resume efforts that were suspended in April 2021 because of the challenges presented by the COVID climate and the delayed passage of supportive school choice legislation.

“We are excited that students of limited economic means will soon have the opportunity to attend a rigorous academic high school with an innovative Corporate Work Study model right here in Charleston,” said Bill Hecht, Co-chair of the Cristo Rey Charleston High School Feasibility Study.

The Cristo Rey Network national office School Growth team, along with subject matter experts, will support and guide local leadership in Charleston through the Feasibility Study phase of the organization’s Replication Process. The Feasibility Study will assess community need and interest in a future Cristo Rey school, opportunities for a future site and Catholic sponsorship, as well as business and philanthropic support. A successful and approved Feasibility Study will have a target opening for enrolled operation in August 2026. 

Joanna Wusinich has been appointed as Executive Director to lead the Study. She comes to Charleston with a background in law, education, business development, and school leadership. As the Vice President of Corporate Work Study and Strategic Growth at Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, Wusinich brings nine years of leadership experience in building, growing, and sustaining a Cristo Rey campus. Prior to Cristo Rey Philadelphia, Wusinich was a teacher at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago and then became a civil litigation attorney in Philadelphia. Wusinich has a law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. 

“Joanna’s deep knowledge of the operations behind a Cristo Rey school and her determination and passion to lead the study makes her an ideal leader to launch our school,” Hecht continued. 

To learn more about the Cristo Rey Charleston Feasibility Study, or how to start a Cristo Rey school, please contact Samantha Lin, Associate Director of School Growth and Student Recruitment.