Verbum Dei Jesuit High School

Last updated

Verbum Dei Jesuit High School
Location
Verbum Dei Jesuit High School
11100 South Central Avenue

Los Angeles
,
California
90059

United States
Coordinates 33°56′5″N118°15′12″W / 33.93472°N 118.25333°W / 33.93472; -118.25333
Information
Type Private, Jesuit, Catholic, Cristo Rey, College Prep
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established1962;62 years ago (1962)
FounderSociety of the Divine Word
Oversight Society of Jesus
PresidentTravis Russell, SJ
PrincipalJesse Rodriguez (as of June 2023)
Grades 9–12
Enrollment325
Average class size17
Student to teacher ratio13:1
Color(s)Blue and Gold   
SloganWork Hard. Play Hard. Pray Hard.
Athletics conference CIF Southern Section
Santa Fe League
Sports
List
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Soccer
  • Cross Country
  • Track and Field
MascotEagle
Nickname The Verb
Accreditation Western Association of Schools and Colleges [1]
NewspaperPresent Dei
Tuition$2,700
Affiliation Cristo Rey Network
Website www.verbjesuit.org

Verbum Dei Jesuit High School, nicknamed the Verb, is a private Catholic all-boys college preparatory school sponsored by the Society of Jesus in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1962 by the Society of the Divine Word to serve students from the Watts neighborhood and the surrounding communities who are economically and academically under-served.

Contents

Verbum Dei is known for sending its graduates to some of the more selective colleges in the United States and has held a 100% success rate for sending graduating seniors to college. [2] [3]

History

Verbum Dei was founded in 1962 by the Divine Word Missionaries with the permission and recommendation of Cardinal James McIntyre to serve the educational needs of the black community of South Los Angeles. The school was named after one of Jesus' epithets, Verbum Dei ("the Word of God"). Bishop Joseph Francis, S.V.D., led the founding team and was the school's first principal. The Society maintained a presence at the school until December 2006, when the long-time Verbum Dei faculty/staff member Br. Richard "Rich" Morrill, S.V.D., [4] left because of terminal illness.

At some point, the school expanded its mission in order to also serve the educational needs of the Latino community of South Los Angeles.

Verbum Dei's performance began to decline in the 1980s and suffered further during the neighborhood gang wars of the 1990s; it experienced declining enrollment and instability within the administration. However, it received significant financial help in the mid-1990s and improvements were made in various buildings on campus and new buildings were added.

In 2000, Cardinal Roger Mahony asked the California Province of the Society of Jesus to assist in the administration of the school, asserting that the school had to improve significantly by 2006 to avoid permanent shutdown. Verbum Dei became recognized as a Jesuit school at that point. [5] Leading the Jesuit team was Fr Bill Wood. The school became a member of the Cristo Rey Network and adopted its current scholastic model (see Corporate Work Study Program below) in 2002.

On July 1, 2022, the school changed its name to Verbum Dei Jesuit High School to reflect fully transitioning to a school solely sponsored by the Jesuits. The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary have also been providing a sister to the Verbum Dei staff.

Accreditation

The school has joint accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA). Verbum Dei also has accreditation by the USA West Province of the Society of Jesus.

Corporate Work Study Program

Like other members of the Cristo Rey Network, Verbum Dei assigns students to jobs that are "donated" by local white-collar companies and non-profit entities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. This experience is intended to acclimate students to corporate culture, build their character and provide a motive for seeking higher education and productive careers.

The money earned by the students defrays the cost of the students' education. Participating organizations give one "full-time equivalent" student internship for a fee of $28,000. The position is filled by carefully selected young men from low-income families with an average work attendance of 99 percent. Each student works five full days a month on a rotational basis, and they attend classes and participate in extracurricular activities the remaining days. Ninety-seven percent of the student interns receive a performance evaluation of good or excellent. While almost all students benefit from various internship experiences, 37 percent of seniors have remained at the company they were placed with in their freshman year. [6]

Verbum Dei provides transportation, insurance, workers' compensation, and work permits for its student interns. The CWSP staff has a program coordinator to co-manage the students. [7]

Activities

Verbum Dei High School's teams have won national championships in various sports, including basketball. [8]

Students can choose from 22 extracurricular activities, [9] including working to produce films in partnership with Underground film company with the assistance of J. J. Abrams and Will Smith. [10]

Notable alumni

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California)</span> Catholic high school in Santa Ana, California

Mater Dei High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Santa Ana, California, located in and administered by the Diocese of Orange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Francis High School (La Cañada Flintridge, California)</span> Private school in La Cañada Flintridge, United States

St. Francis High School is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in La Cañada Flintridge, California, USA. Founded in 1946 by the Capuchin Franciscan Friars, St. Francis High School is a Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades 9-12 and is fully accredited by WASC and WCEA. St. Francis High School of La Canada-Flintridge, a non-profit religious corporation, is operated by the Board of Directors under the sponsorship of the Capuchin Franciscan Order of the Western America Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyola High School (Los Angeles)</span> School in Los Angeles, California, United States

Loyola High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school for boys in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was established in 1865 and is part of the Society of Jesus. It is the oldest continuously run educational institution in Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crenshaw High School</span> Public school in Los Angeles, California, United States

Crenshaw High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located on 11th Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crespi Carmelite High School</span> Private, day, college-prep school in Encino, Los Angeles, California, United States

Crespi Carmelite High School, shortly known as Crespi, is a private Catholic all-boys four-year college preparatory high school located in Encino District, Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaminade College Preparatory School (California)</span> Private Catholic high school in Los Angeles

Chaminade College Preparatory, formerly Chaminade High School for Boys, is a private Catholic preparatory school with two campuses in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, California.

Bishop Montgomery High School is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Conventual Franciscans, and lay faculty. The 24-acre (97,000 m2) campus is located in Torrance, California, in southwest Los Angeles County, one mile (1.6 km) from the Pacific Ocean and the Del Amo Mall. The coeducational student body is approximately 900 students in grades 9 through 12, making BMHS the sixth largest private high school in Los Angeles County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Francis High School (Mountain View, California)</span> Private school in Mountain View, California, United States

Saint Francis High School, founded in 1955 by the Brothers of Holy Cross, is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory secondary school located in Mountain View, California, United States. The Brothers of Holy Cross serve both on the faculty and on the Board of Directors. The school is located in the Diocese of San Jose in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John Bosco High School</span> Private school in California, United States

St. John Bosco High School (SJBHS) is a Salesian all-boys college preparatory high school located in Bellflower, California, and is operated by the San Francisco Province of the order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Servite High School</span> Private, all-boys school in Anaheim, Orange County, California, United States

Servite High School is a private, Catholic, all-boys college preparatory high school in Anaheim, California founded in 1958.

Hardy Otto Nickerson Sr. is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker for four teams over 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1987 to 2002. He played college football for the California Golden Bears. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 1987 NFL draft. Nickerson spent the prime of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The hiring of head coaches Sam Wyche and Tony Dungy allowed him to play in the middle in a 4–3 defense for both coaches; Nickerson played in a 3–4 defense with the Steelers. While playing in the 4–3, he went to five Pro Bowls, and was selected for the National Football League 1990s All-Decade Team.

St. Joseph Notre Dame High School (SJND) is an independent Catholic high school in Alameda, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cristo Rey High School (Sacramento)</span> Private, coeducational school in Sacramento, California, United States

Cristo Rey High School Sacramento is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Sacramento, California, situated on the corner of Jackson and Florin-Perkins Roads. It is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento.

The Cristo Rey Network is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2000 to increase the number of schools modeled after Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, which was founded in 1996 to prepare youth from low-income families for post-secondary educational opportunities.

Established in 1950, Junípero Serra High School is a four-year, private, Roman Catholic, coeducational, college preparatory school in Gardena, California, with an alumni body of more than 6,000 located throughout the United States and abroad. Honored as a California State School of the Year, Serra is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed O'Bannon</span> American basketball player (born 1972)

Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins on their 1995 NCAA championship team. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the ninth overall pick of the 1995 NBA draft. After two seasons in the NBA, he continued his professional career for another eight years, mainly playing in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston</span> Private, coeducational school in Houston, Harris, Texas, United States

Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston is a Roman Catholic secondary school located on 6700 Mount Carmel Drive in Houston, Texas, United States. It was founded by the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus and continues to be a sponsored work of the Jesuits. It is a part of the Cristo Rey Network and also affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Father T. J. Martinez, S.J., was the founding president.

Sierra Canyon School (SCS) is a private, coeducational university-preparatory day school located in Los Angeles, California. Sierra Canyon enrolls students in preschool through grade 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Booker</span> American basketball player (born 1948)

Kenneth Arnold Booker is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 1969 to 1971, winning a national championship in each of his two seasons of play. He played two seasons professionally in Europe.

References

  1. ↑ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools" . Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Verbum Dei Celebrates National Commitment Day", Los Angeles Sentinel, May 27, 2011
  3. ↑ "Every Student at This L.A. High School Got Accepted to College". Time. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Flickr". Flickr. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Jennings, Angel. "Next stop for Verbum Dei High's disadvantaged students: college". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ "A Model for Success". www.verbumdei.us. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Quick Facts about the Corporate Work Study Program" Archived February 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , Verbum Dei website
  8. ↑ "Verbum Dei CIF Championships" Archived July 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , Verbum Dei website
  9. ↑ "Activities". www.verbumdei.us. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Underground's High School Mentorship Takes Aim at Hollywood Diversity". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  11. ↑ "L.A. Basketball Legend: Raymond Lewis" at raymondlewis.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  12. ↑ Player biography, UCL Bruins website. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Sean Waters, "State Crown Signals Verbum Dei's Return to Glory : In the 1970s, the Eagles Soared With Some of the Greatest Squads Ever to Compete in the Southern Section", Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1995. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  14. ↑ Kenny Fields at basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ Kenneth Miller, "Hardy Nickerson: Former Steeler living the hearty life after football", Los Angeles Sentinel, January 29, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  16. ↑ Profile at nba.com
    "Against All Odds, Miller Marked for Success" Continuum, Vol. 9 No. 1 Summer 1999, University of Utah. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  17. ↑ Profile at nfl.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  18. ↑ at espn.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  19. ↑ Profile at nfl.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.

Further reading