Profile of the Jesuit High School Graduate at Graduation
Jesuit High School,  Portland,  Oregon

We, the community of Jesuit High School, have great hopes for the young men and women who graduate from our school.  We have been inspired by the four-century tradition of St. Ignatius to prepare young people to be thoughtful, responsible Christian leaders.  Ignatius challenged us to do more than average work and to instill in our students the desire to lead and serve their fellow persons for the greater glory of God.

When students leave Jesuit High School, we know that their growth is not completed.  However, we want our program and community to help them mature to enable them to grow more confident in themselves and in their ability to affect positively their community.  We know that life will hold many challenges for our graduates, and we desire to make young men and women intellectually capable, spiritually aware and physically strong.  It is our contention that these abilities will permit them to lead and serve others for the greater glory of God.

The document that follows is our guide.  It helps us to be clear in our purpose and directed in our actions. We have identified five general categories to describe our ideal graduate:  Open to Growth, Intellectually Competent, Religious, Loving and Committed to Doing Justice.  These five categories contain the specific characteristics we want to instill in our students so they can continue the mission of St. Ignatius.

I.    Open to Growth

Jesuit High School students at the time of graduation have matured emotionally, intellectually, physically, socially and religiously to a level that reflects some intentional responsibility for their own growth.  In the tradition of Jesuit High School’s motto Age Quod Agis (“Do well whatever you do”), the graduate is at least beginning to stretch mind, imagination, feelings and religious consciousness.  Although still very much in the process of developing, the graduate already:

1. is developing responsibility for growth as a person.
2. desires integrity, commitment and excellence in all facets of life.
3. is conscious of feelings and can communicate them well.
4. accepts the consequences of one’s actions without blaming others.
5. is open to a variety of aesthetic experiences and continues to develop one’s   imagination
   and creativity.
6. is becoming more flexible and open to other points of view; recognizes how much can be
   learned from a careful listening to others.
7. is developing a habit of reflection on one’s own experiences in the areas of academics, 
   religion, co-curricular activities and personal relations.
8. is not afraid to seek new growth experiences which may involve some risk and thereby the  possibility of success or failure.
9. is exploring career and lifestyle choices within a value framework..
10. is becoming more informed and responsible in considering issues.
11. recognizes a responsibility to care for the body, mind and spirit in order to maintain good health.
12. has begun to handle criticism as a tool for personal growth and knows how to criticize constructively.
13. is learning how to accept both the talents and limitations of oneself and others.

II.           Intellectually Competent

By graduation the Jesuit High School student will exhibit a mastery of the fundamentals of the academic requirements for higher education.  While these requirements are organized into departmental subject matter areas, the student will have developed many interdisciplinary skills and understandings which go beyond academic requirements for college entrance.  The student, moreover, is beginning to see the need for intellectual integrity – particularly the need to integrate the spiritual values of the school with all aspects of life.  By graduation the student already:

A.   Academic Requirements

1. has mastered the fundamental skills of language.
2. has mastered the fundamental skills of mathematics.
3. can read and summarize material at a beginning college freshman level.
4. has begun to ethically and effectively use technology.
5. has mastered the fundamentals of those academic subjects required for graduation from  Jesuit High School and for entrance into college.

B.   General Skills and Attitudes

1. is developing mastery of logical skills and critical thinking.
2. is developing greater precision and personal style in thought as well as in written, oral and
   artistic expression.
3. is developing a curiosity to explore ideas and issues.
4. is developing the ability to apply knowledge and skills to new situations and can adjust to a
   variety of learning formats.
5. is developing an organized approach to learning tasks.
6. can present a convincing argument in written and oral form.
7. is taking pride in and ownership of one’s school accomplishments.
8. is beginning to enjoy intellectual and aesthetic pursuits.
9. is honest and understands the importance of integrity.
10. is beginning to recognize that the spiritual values learned in the school need to be
    incorporated into all endeavors.
11. can generate creative options for problem-solving and knows how to make decisions.
12. is beginning to realize that a logical goal of educational experiences at Jesuit (beyond
    personal growth and formation) is service to others.
13. has developed personal talents and shared them with the school community and larger
    community.

C.   Substantive Knowledge

1. has begun to develop a general knowledge of central ideas and methodologies in a variety of
   intellectual disciplines.
2. has begun to relate current issues and perspectives to some historical antecedents.
3. is growing in appreciation of one’s cultural heritage.
4. has begun to understand some of the public policy implications of the uses of science,
   technology and capital.
5. has begun to understand an individual’s rights and responsibilities both as a citizen of the United States and as a member of the world community.
6. is beginning to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the United States’ form and practice of government as well as the form and practice of government in other countries.
7. drawing from many sources, has become more hopeful and compassionate toward the human condition.
8. is developing the critical consciousness to analyze contemporary issues and to evaluate diverse viewpoints.

III.    Religious

By graduation the Jesuit High School student will have a basic knowledge of the major doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church.  The graduate will also have examined personal religious feelings and beliefs in order to choose a fundamental orientation toward God and to establish a relationship with a religious tradition and/or community.  The level of theological understanding of the Jesuit High School graduate will be limited by the student’s level of religious and human development.  More specifically the graduate:

1. is developing an understanding and acceptance of the central role of God in human life.
2. has had opportunities for some personal experience of God, in private prayer, while on a retreat, in liturgical prayer or in some other experience.
3. is learning how to communicate with God in various methods of prayer.
4. has studied the Gospels and encountered the person of Jesus Christ as He is presented in the Bible.
5. has a basic understanding of the Church’s teaching about Jesus Christ and His redeeming mission, as well as an understanding of the Church’s past and present role in that mission.
6. is beginning to understand Christ and His redemptive mission as sources of hope.
7. has had some exposure to various world religious traditions.
8. is beginning to take more responsibility for exploring, developing and validating personal faith.
9. is beginning to form a Christian conscience and evaluate moral choices, and can reason through moral issues with increasing clarity.
10. has begun to appreciate how a vibrant Christian community and the celebration of the Eucharist complement each other.
11. is learning through one’s own failures of the need for healing and reconciliation.
12. is beginning to understand the relationship between faith in Jesus and being “men and women for others.”

IV.    Loving

By the time of graduation, the Jesuit High School student is well on the way to establishing one’s own identity.  The graduate is also on the threshold of being able to move beyond self-interest or self-centeredness in relationships with God and other people.  In other words, the student is beginning to risk deeper involvement in relationships by disclosing oneself, accepting the mystery of another person, and cherishing that person.  Nonetheless, the graduate’s attempts at loving, while clearly beyond childhood, may not yet reflect the confidence and freedom of a mature person.  More specifically, the Jesuit High School graduate:

1. is learning to trust the fidelity of family, of some friends and of some adults of the school community.
2. has had opportunities to experience God’s love.
3. is learning to accept oneself as lovable and to understand that a person is loved by God and others.
4. has begun to come to grips with personal prejudices and stereotypes; communicates more easily with others, especially with peers of other races, religions, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds.
5. has experienced the support of the school community.
6. has made specific contributions to building the school community.
7. is able to communicate and express feelings with persons of the opposite sex.
8. is beginning to understand sexuality as an integral part of one’s personality.
9. has begun to appreciate deeper personal friendships but is also learning that not all relationships are profound and long-lasting.
10. through service to others is beginning to appreciate the satisfaction of giving and thereby finding life enriched.
11. is more capable of putting oneself in another person’s place and understanding what that person is feeling.
12. has begun to develop a compassionate response to all forms of human suffering and need.
13. has begun to form a basic attitude of “solidarity with the poor”; has developed awareness of and empathy for the poor and understands the need to relieve the suffering and indignity of the materially dispossessed.
14. is more sensitive to the beauty of the created universe and is more caring about life and the natural environment.

V.    Committed to Doing Justice

The Jesuit High School student at graduation has achieved considerable knowledge of the many needs of local and wider communities, and is preparing to take a place in these communities as a competent, concerned and responsible member.  The graduate has begun to acquire the skills and motivation necessary to live as a “person for others.”  Although this attribute will come to fruition in mature adulthood, some predispositions will have begun to manifest themselves earlier.   By graduation the Jesuit High School student:

1. is more aware of selfish attitudes and tendencies which lead one to treat others unjustly; consciously seeks to be more understanding, accepting, and generous with others.
2. is beginning to see that Christian faith implies a commitment to justice in one’s personal life and throughout the world.
3. is growing in awareness of the global nature of many current social problems (human rights, energy, ecology, food, population, terrorism, arms limitations, etc.) and their impact on various human communities.
4. is beginning to understand the injustices found in the structural roots of some social institutions, attitudes and customs.
5. recognizes the needs of the disadvantaged segments of the community through working with some of them and has gained some empathetic understanding of their living conditions.
6. is developing both a sense of compassion for the victims of injustice and a concern for those social changes which will assist those people in gaining their rights and increased human dignity.
7. through reflection and study is becoming aware of alternatives in public policy which impact social justice.
8. has begun to reflect on service aspects of career choices.
9. is beginning to understand a Christian obligation to build a harmonious community that respects the diversity of that community.
10. is beginning to see the importance of public opinion and voter influence on public policy in local, regional, national and international arenas.
11. is beginning to understand the complexity of many social issues and the need for critical reading from diverse sources.
12. is beginning to confront some of the moral ambiguities imbedded in values promoted by Western culture.
13. is beginning to realize that the values of a consumer society are sometimes in conflict with the demands of a just society and, indeed, with the Gospel.
14. is familiar with the Church teachings on social justice.