Gonzaga College High School

Founded in 1821, Gonzaga is a Catholic college preparatory school for boys in grades 9-12. The only Jesuit high school in the District of Columbia, Gonzaga draws inspiration from the spiritual vision of St. Ignatius Loyola and the apostolic and educational tradition of the Society of Jesus. Our mission is to offer a values-oriented and academically challenging curriculum to young men of diverse backgrounds from all over the Washington area.

Because he believed that God can be found in all things, he learned to approach reality in a very intentional way so that he might maximize his own direct, personal experiences of God. His “way of proceeding” became the basis of Jesuit spirituality and the driving force behind Jesuit education. It is this spirituality of St. Ignatius that makes Jesuit education not just a great education, but a life-altering experience.

At Gonzaga College High School, it is not enough for us to simply teach students what they will need to be successful in college and beyond. It is not enough for us to develop students’ athletic and extracurricular abilities to their fullest. For an education to be truly Jesuit, it must always point in some meaningful way to the ongoing presence of Christ in our world. To be faithful to the tradition of St. Ignatius, we must help our students encounter, engage, and reflect upon their world in a way that helps them see the underlying presence of Christ, who loves them personally, calls them individually, and invites them to labor by his side in his plan of salvation. This is the mission of Jesuit education. This is the spirit of Gonzaga College High School.

Excellence is part of the culture of Gonzaga. It is not, however, merely excellence for its own sake. A Jesuit education challenges students to pursue their potential to the fullest, and then to confront the question, “and now what?” What do I do with all that God has given me? What do I do with the talents that I have developed?

Through religious studies, retreats, opportunities for prayer, and service, a Jesuit education seeks to help students answer these questions—as well as the three pivotal questions of St. Ignatius: “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What will I do for Christ?” The answers to these questions, central to Jesuit spirituality, are the four-year quest of a Gonzaga student—a quest which then continues for life.

Gonzaga College High School is a Catholic college preparatory school for boys operated by the Society of Jesus and its colleagues under the governance of an independent Board of Trustees. Drawing its inspiration from the spiritual vision of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the apostolic and educational tradition of the Jesuits, it offers a values-oriented and academically challenging curriculum to young men of diverse backgrounds from all of the Washington metropolitan area.

Gonzaga views its urban setting in the heart of the nation’s capital as a significant advantage in fulfilling its goals, allowing its students to interact with the larger Washington community and to learn leadership skills and civic responsibility as part of their overall development. Moreover, Gonzaga strives to create a dynamic and caring learning environment which it unites with its academic, extra-curricular, and athletic programs to help form Men with and for Others.

Saint Ignatius tells us that we ought to “act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God.” You’ll find that is the way things work at Gonzaga. We are a community of believers guided by God and dedicated to one another. Gonzaga is a place rooted in deep tradition and unwavering faith. It is a place where prayer and service are as important as any other facet of life. It is also a community where everyone knows what it means to work hard. Our alumni give generously of their time, treasure, and talent. Our parents plan and execute countless activities and events, often, it must seem, spending more time at Gonzaga than at home. Our faculty, coaches, and staff work tirelessly to mold minds, strengthen bodies, and warm hearts. They work to keep our school beautiful and our students safe.

Each student at Gonzaga fashions that identity through a continuous process of development – a “rising spiral” that supports him and helps him to overcome fear of failure and the unknown through the steady acquisition of skills, experiences, and values. At Gonzaga, we understand that this process is immeasurably enhanced by a community that is racially, culturally, and socio-economically diverse.