Jesuit Verbum Dei High School in Watts Sends 100% To College

Outstanding school focused on educating the black community in Los Angeles is famous for sending poor minority students who enter 1 or 2 years behind and send 100% to college. It emphasizes hard work and academic exellence and christian values rather than political activism. It serves 330 students 15 students/teacher. By race: White, non-Hispanic 7% Hispanic 63% Black, non-Hispanic 30%

Verbum Dei High School is an all-male Catholic,Jesuit, college and career preparatory school in Watts area of Los Angeles. Verbum Dei was founded in 1962 by the Catholic Society of the Divine Word to serve the educational needs of the black community of South Los Angeles Only 2.9 percent of Watts adults have a four-year degree. According to ABC-7, the students are all one to two years behind academically when they arrive at the Catholic Jesuit all-boys school, which is located next door to a public housing project.

Watts demographics: Hispanics make up 61.6% of the population, with blacks at 37.1%, non-Hispanic whites 0.5%, Asian 0.2%, and others 0.5%. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common places of birth for the 34% of the residents who were born abroad, an average percentage of foreign-born when compared with the city or county as a whole.

Inner-City All Boys School Sends Every Graduate to...
www.socio-political-journal.com Verbum Dei, an all-boys Jesuit school in Watts, ... Verbum Dei's students entered highschool about

Students At All-Boys High School In Inner City LA Are Making Headlines For All The Right Reasons IJ Review BY JENNIFER VAN LAAR The Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles is one of the roughest neighborhoods in the city. Only 2.9 percent of Watts adults have a four-year degree

But 100 percent of Verbum Dei’s graduates are heading to college in the fall.

Image Credit: Twitter/DaveMechamTime

Almost all of the boys will be the first in their family to go to college. Juan Perez, Jr., is headed to St. John’s University in Minnesota....Students at Verbum Dei participate in an innovative work study program with corporate partners, working one full day a week and attending school the other four days.... working for their tuition, students are invested in their schooling and determined to succeed, according to school officials.

Verbum Dei High School - Official Site
www.verbumdei.us Verbum Dei High School is a Catholic, Jesuit, ... Verbum Dei High School: Developing Men for Others (Video) What's Happening! School Calendar. Contact ...

Ratings and Reviews for Verbum Dei High School in...
www.zillow.com/los-angeles-ca/schools/verbum-dei-high.
The principal of Verbum Dei High School is Rev. William Muller, 330 students 15 students/teacher

White, non-Hispanic 7% Hispanic 63% Black, non-Hispanic 30%

Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles, CA
high-schools.com

Verbum Dei High School - Welcome to the Society...
After the Jesuits took over Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles in 2000, the school began accepting only low-income students and doubling up on core classes.

Verbum Dei High School - Wikipedia Verbum Dei High School, colloquially referred to as "the Verb”, is an all-male Catholic,Jesuit, college and career preparatory school complemented by a corporate ...

Verbum Dei High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Verbum Dei High School
Address
11100 South Central Avenue Watts, Los Angeles, California United States
Coordinates	33°56′5″N118°15′12″WCoordinates: 33°56′5″N 118°15′12″W
Information
Type	Private, all-male
Motto	Working in the JesuitTradition; Ad majorem Dei gloriam (For the greater glory of God.)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic; Society of Jesus
Established	1962
President	Rev. Michael Mandala,S.J.
Principal	Daniel O'Connell, Ed.D.
Asst. Principal	Brandi Odom Lucas, Ed.D.
Faculty	51
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	325
Average class size	17.8
Student to teacher ratio	12:1
Color(s)	Blue and gold
Slogan	The School That Works for the 21st Century!
Nickname	Verb
Team name	Eagles
Accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges^[1]
Newspaper	Present Dei
Tuition	$2,700
Affiliation	Cristo Rey Network
Dean of Counseling & Student Affairs	Martinique Starnes
Dean of Admissions	Lorenz Willis
Athletic Director	David Banuelos
Corp Work Study Program Director	Cristina Cuellar Villanueva
Football Coach	David Banuelos
Website	www.verbumdei.us

Verbum Dei High School, colloquially referred to as "the Verb”, is an all-male Catholic, Jesuit, college and career preparatory school complemented by a corporate internship program, serving young men of Watts and the surrounding communities who are economically and academically under-served. It is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles with the sponsorship of the California Provinceof the Society of Jesus

Verbum Dei is known for sending its graduates to some most selective and elite colleges in the United States and has held a 100% success rate for sending graduating seniors to college.^[2] Verbum Dei alumni are at schools such as Stanford University, Georgetown University, Yale University, UCLA, UC Berkeley and USC. The school is located in the Watts residential district of the city of Los Angeles, California, a few blocks north of Interstate 105 (I-105) and a few miles east of Interstate 110 (I-110).

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History[edit]

Verbum Dei was founded in 1962 by the Society of the Divine Word 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. left because of terminal illness. It remains to be seen if the Society will provide another of its members to Verbum Dei.

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 — probably due to the urban decay of South Los Angeles that began in the 1970s — and suffered further during the neighborhood gang wars of the 1990s, experiencing 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 as well as the creation of new ones.

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. Leading the Jesuit team was Reverend Bill Wood, S.J.. The school became a member of the Cristo Rey Network and adopted its current scholastic model (see Corporate Work Study Program below) in 2002. The school has joint accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA). Verbum Dei also has accreditation by the California Province (CalProv) of the Society of Jesus.

The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary have been providing a nun to the Verbum Dei staff for several years at least.

Corporate Work Study Program[edit]

As a member 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 four highly motivated 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. 97 percent of the student interns receive a performance evaluation of good or excellent. Although most 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 takes care of all transportation, insurance, workers compensation, and work permits associated with the student interns. The CWSP staff is assigned to an account as a program coordinator to co-manage the students. This program also offers corporate partners significant social and strategic benefits by enabling them to make a very direct and tangible difference in the lives of young men seeking a better future through quality education and work experience in a corporate environment.^[3]

Athletics[edit]

Verbum Dei High School has a rich history of athletics success, including national championships in basketball.^[4]

Basketball: CIF champions - 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003; runners-up - 1978, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2004
American football: CIF champions – 1981, 1982, 2006
Track & field: CIF champions - 1993, 1997, 1998; runners-up - 1979, 1983

Notable alumni[edit]

Raymond Lewis, 1971, Cal State Los Angeles basketball athlete^[5]
Donny Daniels, 1972, assistant basketball coach, UCLA Bruins^[6]
Roy Hamilton, 1975, NBA athlete (retired)^[7]
David Greenwood, 1975, NBA athlete (retired)^[7]
Vernon Maxwell, 1979, NBA athlete (retired)
Kenny Fields, 1980, NBA athlete (retired)^[8]
Hardy Nickerson, 1983, NFL athlete (retired)^[9]
DeAnthony Langston, 1983, basketball coach^[10]
Andre Miller, 1994, NBA athlete (Washington Wizards)^[11]
Kenechi Udeze, 2000, NFL athlete (retired)^[12]
Michael Lay, 2001, SBL athlete (Perry Lakes Hawks)^[13]
Akeem Ayers, 2007, NFL athlete (New England Patriots)^[14]
Reggie Dunn, 2007, NFL athlete (New England Patriots)
Kenny Franklin, 1983, Pro Basketball Coach, (China)
Eric Colbert, 1994, College Basketball Coach, University of Nebraska^[15]

CampusQuest

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Jesuit Verbum Dei High School in Watts Sends 100% To College

Verbum Dei High School

Contents

History[edit]

Corporate Work Study Program[edit]

Athletics[edit]

Notable alumni[edit]

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Boston Globe: Asian College Applicants Coached To Be Less Asian