Work-for-Tuition Proposal Floated in Chicago

By Laura Miller

Roman Catholic educators in Chicago may have found a new way to help parents pay for school: Make students work for it.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is considering starting a Catholic high school for low-income children that would give students a tuition break for working outside jobs. If the plan is approved by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, the archbishop of Chicago, the school could open by next September.

If such a school is started, it will be an oddity among all private schools, not just Catholic schools, according to Brother Donald Houde, the director of administrative affairs for the archdiocese's education office. While many schools have formed partnerships with local businesses, the Chicago school would rely on students' jobs with such companies...