The Key Biscayne Community Foundation has hired four Cristo Rey Miami High School students in its first year as a corporate work-study partner, connecting an island organization with a North Miami school where students help fund their education through professional jobs.

KBCF employs three 14-year-olds and one 16-year-old through the Cristo Rey Corporate Work Study Program, according to the Islander News.

Students attend classes four days a week and work five full days each month in professional settings. Their earnings help cover a significant portion of the cost of their education. Cristo Rey Miami serves students whose families demonstrate financial need and who otherwise might not be able to afford a private college-preparatory education.

"This isn't charity," said Ana Gloria Rivas-Vazquez, vice president for advancement and strategic partnerships at Cristo Rey Miami. "The employer is paying for the student supplying a job. We get them ready to walk into the workplace and offer value right away."

Rivas-Vazquez is also a co-founder of KBCF.

Andrew Britton, KBCF's director of donor relations and special projects, said the foundation believes it is the only community foundation among Cristo Rey's nonprofit corporate partners. He said the students' orientation included a walk through the Key Biscayne Community Center and local parks.

Cuban residents along the route stopped to praise the students in their blue blazers, telling them they had attended Cristo Rey schools themselves, Britton said.

School graduated its first class in May

Cristo Rey Miami opened in 2022 and graduated its first class in 2026. The school's founding class earned more than $41 million in cumulative merit-based scholarships and grants, and every senior earned a college acceptance, according to the school. Graduates received acceptances to 145 colleges and universities across 36 states.

The school's college counseling materials identify Vassar College among the destinations for its graduates.

The island's support extends beyond the work-study positions. The Dominos for Education fundraiser, a partnership involving the Liberty City Scholarship Fund, KBCF and the Rotary Club of Key Biscayne, has pledged $30,000 to Cristo Rey Miami. KBCF also hosted a reception at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club earlier in 2026 to introduce the program to potential supporters.

The fifth annual Dominos for Education event is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16, 2027, at the Key Biscayne Beach Club. The event features a double-nine domino tournament, live music and Cuban and tropical dishes prepared on-site.

The first four events raised more than $400,000 in total. As of late 2025, the event had helped send 50 students to Miami Dade College on scholarships, according to the KBCF website.

Work-study program has more than 70 partners

Toby Rohrer, who founded the Liberty City Scholarship Fund with her husband, Bill Rohrer, said real-world work experience gives students an advantage as they head to college. Islander News publisher Justo Rey, a co-chair of the event, called it one of the most rewarding fundraising efforts he has been part of.

Cristo Rey Miami has more than 70 corporate work-study partners across South Florida. Students work in fields including health care, finance, technology, law, construction, education, nonprofit service and business administration.

Under the program, four students typically share one full-time position, allowing an employer to have a student worker Monday through Friday without students missing academic classes. The students are employees of Cristo Rey Miami's separately incorporated Corporate Work Study Program rather than the participating organization.

The Jan. 16 domino tournament at the Key Biscayne Beach Club is the next fundraiser on the calendar.