Verbum Dei High School is a Catholic college preparatory for young men who are economically and academically underserved in Watts and the surrounding communities. The faculty and staff are dedicated to promoting the intellectual, personal, spiritual, physical, and social growth of students, encouraging in students a positive self-image and fostering the holistic formation of their full potential.
The school provides a student-centered, college preparatory curriculum that promotes an honest exchange of ideas and opportunities for leadership and service. The academic program is designed so students will be college-ready by their senior year, even though most students enter freshmen year a grade level or two behind. For the past three years, all graduating seniors have been accepted into college, 70% into four-year colleges and universities.
Verbum Dei is a member of the Cristo Rey Network of schools whose mission is “to transform urban American one student at a time – all students will graduate from high school and college.” As a Cristo Rey school, every student participates in a Corporate Work Study Program – students work five days per month to help cover the cost of their education, to see the practicality of what they are learning in the classroom, and to realize future vocational possibilities for themselves, as well as develop skills for lifelong success.
Owned and operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the school’s mission is co-sponsored by the California Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). The school is staffed by the Jesuits and lay partners in mission.
As a Jesuit school, students are expected to be “men with and for others.” Community service and reflection on service (service learning) are essential to students’ pursuit of a more humane and just world. Knowledge of the suffering of the world’s poor, next door or thousands of miles away, and responsible participation in activities that address the needs of the poor are the woof and warp of Jesuit education.
Co-curricular activities—athletics and student clubs—play an important role in the development of students’ self confidence and ability to work with others. Various social opportunities and cultural programming enhance the learning experience and help form a cohesive student body.
Verbum Dei supports the efforts of families to help form their sons as responsible gentlemen and caring members of our society. Recognizing that parents are the primary educators of their children, faculty and staff serve as facilitators to assist parents and students in the educational process and hold high expectations for students, believing that all students can graduate from high school and college. Faculty and staff success is measured by how the school serves the economically and academically underserved. The school serves Catholic and non-Catholic families and provides aid to families who cannot pay the minimal tuition.
The young men at Verbum Dei take best advantage of every opportunity they have – a safe campus and learning atmosphere, a work experience that gives them access to entry level clerical positions in corporate offices they thought were inaccessible to them, and college-readiness.
