Tuesday, June 16, 2015

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

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 AngelesCalifornia
United States
Coordinates33°56′5″N118°15′12″WCoordinates33°56′5″N 118°15′12″W
Information
TypePrivateall-male
MottoWorking in the JesuitTradition;
Ad majorem Dei gloriam
(For the greater glory of God.)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic;
Society of Jesus
Established1962
PresidentRev. Michael Mandala,S.J.
PrincipalDaniel O'Connell, Ed.D.
Asst. PrincipalBrandi Odom Lucas, Ed.D.
Faculty51
Grades9-12
Enrollment325
Average class size17.8
Student to teacher ratio12:1
Color(s)Blue and gold         
SloganThe School That Works for the 21st Century!
NicknameVerb
Team nameEagles
AccreditationWestern Association of Schools and Colleges[1]
NewspaperPresent Dei
Tuition$2,700
AffiliationCristo Rey Network
Dean of Counseling & Student AffairsMartinique Starnes
Dean of AdmissionsLorenz Willis
Athletic DirectorDavid Banuelos
Corp Work Study Program DirectorCristina Cuellar Villanueva
Football CoachDavid Banuelos
Website
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).

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 JesusepithetsVerbum 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]


See also[edit]

Greater Los Angeles portal
Schools portal
Catholicism portal

List of Roman Catholic high schools in Los Angeles County, California
References[edit]

Jump up^ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". RetrievedJune 5, 2009.
Jump up^ "Verbum Dei Celebrates National Commitment Day", Los Angeles Sentinel, May 27, 2011
Jump up^ "Quick Facts about the Corporate Work Study Program", Verbum Dei website
Jump up^ "Verbum Dei CIF Championships", Verbum Dei website
Jump up^ "L.A. Basketball Legend: Raymond Lewis" at raymondlewis.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Jump up^ Player biography, UCL Bruins website. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
^ Jump up to:a b 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.
Jump up^ Kenny Fields at basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Jump up^ Kenneth Miller, "Hardy Nickerson: Former Steeler living the hearty life after football", Los Angeles Sentinel, January 29, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Jump up^ Diane Haithman, "Watts' Pop stars", Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Jump up^ 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.
Jump up^ Profile at nfl.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Jump up^ Profile at sportingpulse.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Profile at sportingpulse.com Hawks pages. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Jump up^ Profile at nfl.com. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
Jump up^ http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=526069
External links[edit]
Verbum Dei High School
Los Angeles Business Journal article about Verbum Dei's Corporate Work Study Program
Local School Directory - Verbum Dei High School
Art Schobey Interactive - los-angeles-usa.net - Verbum Dei High School
Charity Checks - video clip about Verbum Dei High School's participation in its Charitable Literacy program (from KCAL-TV)
National Jesuit Review newsletter, October 2001

Verbum Dei High School - Los Angeles, CA Quick Facts About Verbum Dei High School • Verbum Dei is a Jesuit college and career preparatory high school that serves economically and ...


[edit]
6/16/2015

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