Verbum Dei Jesuit High School, also known as the Verb, is a private

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

all-boys college preparatory school sponsored by the

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Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was founded in 1962 by the

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

to serve students from the

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neighborhood and the surrounding communities who are economically and academically under-served. 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.

History

Verbum Dei was founded in 1962 by the

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 Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

epithets An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

, ''Verbum Dei'' ("the Word of God"). Bishop

Joseph Francis Joseph Francis (March 12, 1801 – May 10, 1893) was a 19th-century American inventor who devoted his life to improving shipping, maritime equipment, especially life-saving tools. His most famous invention, the metallic life-car, rescued tho ...

, 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., left because of terminal illness. At some point, the school expanded its mission in order to also serve the educational needs of the

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

community of South Los Angeles. Verbum Dei's performance began to decline in the 1980s and suffered further during the neighborhood

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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 , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

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. 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 The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (known in the United States as the RSHM and in other parts of the world as RSCM) are a global Roman Catholic community of about 900 apostolic religious women. Today the diversity of ministries include educ ...

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 The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...

(WASC) and the

Western Catholic Education Association Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA) is an educational accreditation agency for Roman Catholic schools in part of the United States. It is based in Fullerton, California. See also *History of Catholic education in the United States * ...

(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. 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.

Activities

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

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

: CIF champions – 1969 through 1974, 1979, 1994-1995, 1998-1999, 2002-2003; runners-up – 1978, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2004 *

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

: CIF champions – 1981, 1982, 2006 *

Track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

: CIF champions – 1993, 1997, 1998; runners-up – 1979, 1983 Students can choose from 22 extracurricular activities, including working to produce films in partnership with Underground film company with the assistance of

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as ''Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' For ...

and

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

Notable alumni

Raymond Lewis Raymond Lewis (September 3, 1952 – February 11, 2001) was an American basketball and streetball player. After playing college basketball for Cal State LA, he was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 1973 NBA Draft. He nev ...

, 1971, Cal State Los Angeles basketball athlete * Donny Daniels, 1972, assistant basketball coach, UCLA Bruins * Roy Hamilton, 1975, NBA athlete (retired)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. *

David Greenwood David Murphy-Kasim Greenwood (born May 27, 1957) is an American retired professional basketball player whose National Basketball Association (NBA) career spanned 12 years from 1979 to 1991. Greenwood made his NBA debut on October 13, 1979 and was ...

, 1975, NBA athlete (retired) * Ken Austin, 1979, NBA Athlete (Detroit Pistons) * Vernon Maxwell, 1979, NFL athlete (retired) * Kenny Fields, 1980, NBA athlete (retired) *

Hardy Nickerson Hardy Otto Nickerson Sr. (born September 1, 1965) is an American former football coach and professional player. He played as linebacker for four teams over 16 seasons, from 1987 to 2002, in the National Football League (NFL). Nickerson spent ...

, 1983, NFL athlete (retired) and coach * Andre Miller, 1994, NBA athlete (retired) *

Kenechi Udeze Kenechi Nduka Udeze (; born March 5, 1983) is an American football coach and former player who is the assistant defensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the linebackers coach a ...

, 2000, NFL athlete (retired) *

Amir Johnson Amir Jalla Johnson (born May 1, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League. He has previously played for the Detroit Pistons, the team that selected Johnson in the second rou ...

, 2003, NBA athlete (Philadelphia 76ers) * Akeem Ayers, 2007, NFL athlete (Los Angeles Rams)Profile
at nfl.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013. * Reggie Dunn, 2007, NFL athlete (New England Patriots)

References

External links

Verbum Dei Jesuit High SchoolLocal School Directory - Verbum Dei High School

''Partners'' - Cristo Rey Network

Fr. John P. Foley honored with Presidential Citizen's Medal60 minutes

Boston Globe - With sense of purpose, students cut class for a day

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - Success of Innovative Urban Catholic School Sparks Major Investment
{{authority control Boys' schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1962 Roman Catholic secondary schools in Los Angeles County, California Jesuit high schools in the United States Cristo Rey Network High schools in Los Angeles Watts, Los Angeles Catholic secondary schools in California 1962 establishments in California