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T O D AY, T O M O R R O W, F O R E V E R

FORWARD, FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS WASHINGTON JESUIT ACADEMY OPENED ITS DOORS IN 2002. The setting: borrowed space that included five rooms and no play area. The faculty: four dedicated teachers. The student body: 20 sixth grade boys whose families entrusted their hopes for their sons’ futures to a nascent educational model that promised more. THE HUMBLENESS OF THAT BEGINNING BELIED THE MAGNITUDE OF THE INGENUITY, FORTITUDE, COMMITMENT, AND TRUST THAT SPAWNED IT. The Academy was founded on the belief that the socioeconomic limitations of a child’s family too often and unfairly determine their life trajectory, that too many children in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, especially boys and young men of color, were denied an education that would equip them to transcend those economic barriers, and that the status quo was morally unacceptable. The idea of meeting this injustice by founding a school designed to prepare middle school boys from economically disadvantaged families for the best high schools that the local area has to offer — and the futures that those schools would help them claim — emerged. That idea resonated from the onset with the educational philosophy of significant Jesuit communities and fostered partnerships with a network of early investors, served as a springboard for the broader community of donors, and expanded educational opportunities that WJA now connects to its students. THE EARLIEST CONVERSATIONS RECOGNIZED THAT SCHOOL AS USUAL WOULD BE INADEQUATE TO THE MISSION. The founders envisioned instead a tuition-free school that would support the spiritual, intellectual,

emotional, and physical growth of boys from low-income communities through an expanded school year format of 11 hours a day, 11 months a year. THROUGH A SERIES OF STEPPED DECISIONS, INFORMED BY EXPERIENCE AND UNDERWRITTEN BY PHILANTHROPIC REVENUE FROM ANNUAL FUNDRAISING AND A COMPLETED CAMPAIGN, WJA STRATEGICALLY GREW ITS PROGRAMMATIC OFFERINGS. The school expanded first to include all three middle school grades, and in two later expansions added fifth and later, fourth grade and became one of the youngest schools to receive accreditation. This growth also incorporated a permanent home on Varnum Street, alongside new and augmented student resources such as a counseling program; enrichment and athletic activities; emotional support from social workers; and meal provision both during the academic day and beyond. As an increasing number of students completed their WJA education and progressed through high school, graduate support needs emerged and a comprehensive graduate support program was initiated in response. AS WJA NEARS ITS TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY, 116 YOUNG MEN IN GRADES FOUR THROUGH EIGHT ENROLL EACH ACADEMIC YEAR. Their parents and families consistently partner with the WJA team, serving as an important variable in the foundation and commitment to seeing students through to graduation and beyond, to moving forward.

CHANGE AGENTS AS ALUMNI YEAR AFTER YEAR, WJA DEMONSTRATES SUCCESS IN EMPOWERING ITS STUDENTS TO IMAGINE AND SHAPE THEIR OWN LIFE TRAJECTORIES, CREATING ONE CHANGE AGENT AT A TIME THROUGH THE HOLISTIC, COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH OF EDUCATING EACH STUDENT. The Academy currently boasts an alumni group of 338 (as of March 2021). 90 percent of its post-high school alumni are enrolled in college, enrolled in trade school, or in the workforce. The alumni serve as contributing members of society, a new generation of potential leaders, and exemplars of an ended cycle of poverty. The transformative impact of their WJA education extends beyond the individual students to their families, friends, and broader community. The dozens of graduates who show up for WJA commencement each year bespeak the strength of alumni connections and appreciation of their WJA experience.

IN 2020, THE WJA GRADUATING CLASS EARNED A 100 PERCENT ACCEPTANCE AND ENROLLMENT RATE INTO CATHOLIC, INDEPENDENT, AND CHARTER HIGH SCHOOLS WHILE THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATING CLASS (WJA CLASS OF 2016) BOASTED A 100 PERCENT ACCEPTANCE AND ENROLLMENT RATE INTO A FOUR-YEAR OR COMMUNITY COLLEGE.

SUCCESS ON A NATIONAL SCALE THROUGH BOTH EVIDENCE AND PERSONAL NARRATIVE, THE ROLE OF WJA AS A TRAJECTORY CHANGER FOR ITS STUDENTS IS WELL DOCUMENTED. The success of WJA students in relation to peers in underserved communities is demonstrable, at both the local and the national level.

LOCAL SCALE ASSESSMENTS SHOW THAT FEW STUDENTS WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN BOTH WASHINGTON, DC AND PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MD ACHIEVE ACADEMIC PROFICIENCY AND RESEARCH INDICATES THAT YOUNG MEN FALL EVEN FURTHER BEHIND COMPARED TO YOUNG WOMEN.

NATIONAL SCALE

20%

ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE

67TH

PERCENTILE ACADEMIC PROFICIENCY

After launching a test prep program to arm students with exceptional test scores, WJA students beat the national average of High School Placement Test scores by 20 percent.

WJA students consistently score above the 67th percentile on national assessments of academic proficiency across subjects within the High School Placement Test.

The graduation rate from high school for WJA graduates is 99 PERCENT, compared to the national high school graduation rate of 84 percent, which includes students from all schools — both well resourced and under-resourced — nationwide. WJA graduates today boast a HIGHER GRADUATION RATE FROM COLLEGE than the national average for all students and even more impressive in comparison to graduation rates for students from low-income communities. These impressive statistics suggest the success of WJA’S HOLISTIC, COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL APPROACH in preparing and empowering students to succeed in the many aspects of their lives.

INVEST IN TODAY, TOMORROW, WE INVITE YOU TO

NOW, THE ACADEMY LOOKS TO AMPLIFY ITS IMPACT AND THE TIME TO DO SO COULD NOT BE BETTER ALIGNED WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF AMERICAN SOCIETY. Since its founding, WJA has remained laser focused on social justice and equal opportunity for its students. This is a fulcrum moment to ensure the growing number of successful WJA students and alumni bolsters the movement for equity, equality, and justice. In 2019, the WJA Board recommended engaging Bellwether Education Partners to conduct a study to determine how WJA can do even greater good. This consideration stemmed from the Academy’s strong footing on an admissions front with annual applications routinely surpassing available spots, and on a financial front with its Varnum Street campus paid for in full. With these elements in place, WJA can now turn its attention to the future. Key recommendations from the Bellwether report which maps out a 10-year plan include expanding enrollment to up to 160 students through incremental growth each academic year. To do so will require an initial investment of $25 million in the ﬁrst three years.

FOREVER

For WJA, to serve more students means more of everything – a lens through which to determine necessary philanthropic investments. Currently, WJA incurs expenses of $19,400 per student above average benchmarks for DC public charter schools. These costs are attributed to the unique, integral parts of WJA that include nutritious meals, small class sizes, low faculty to student ratios, comprehensive support resources, extended day, extended year, and a tuition-free education. To not address growth in the WJA way is to threaten the integrity of the WJA way and what defines the uniqueness and success of the Academy — today, tomorrow, and forever. 05

TODAY

TOMORROW

AT WJA’S INCEPTION, A STRONG INAUGURAL BOARD COMPRISED OF CORPORATE LEADERS, GENEROUS PHILANTHROPISTS, AND COMMUNITY ICONS HELPED TO CRAFT AND SUPPORT A BUSINESS MODEL DESIGNED TO UPHOLD THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE ACADEMY’S AMBITIOUS MISSION. These early believers defined and worked to realize the challenging differentiating factor for WJA — a successful fiscal model almost entirely dependent on philanthropic activity.

IF TOMORROW LENDS ITSELF TO 160 WJA STUDENTS, THEN TOMORROW REQUIRES A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT ACROSS FACULTY, NUTRITION, ENRICHMENT, ATHLETICS, GRADUATE SUPPORT, AND THE VARNUM STREET CAMPUS — THE DEFINING ELEMENTS OF THE WJA EXPERIENCE.

One early idea, the student-centric sponsorship initiative, remains a cornerstone of both STUDENT FORMATION and ORGANIZATIONAL FUNDING. Through Sponsors’ generous pledges of interpersonal and financial support to individual students, every student is invited to forge meaningful connections with supportive community members and to attend the Washington Jesuit Academy on a full scholarship. To invest for today is to rally the community of committed supporters and to SUSTAIN this extraordinary model on which WJA was built. It keeps the doors of the Varnum Street campus open; the nutritious meals on the table; the faculty in the classrooms; the students wellresourced; and the tuition-free model intact. Philanthropic support from annual fund donors, Sponsors, and additional visionaries has an IMMEDIATE IMPACT on the Academy and is critical to moving forward its established, strategic priorities.

The DEDICATED FACULTY AND STAFF of WJA serve as the backbone of the Academy. WJA’s teachers and administrators maintain an unwavering commitment to the educational model; passion for the success of students; and purpose in their work to support students, alumni, and the greater community. An increased number of faculty will maintain an ideal student to teacher ratio as the student body grows. Attracting and retaining the strength, quality, tenacity, and diversity of faculty that move the WJA education model forward calls for competitive salaries and the provision of professional development and professional growth opportunities. Alongside faculty needs is an increase in support staff. These critical positions include additional social workers, classroom assistants, graduate support staff, and admissions professionals. Every student added to WJA represents an extra three meals a day, as well as additional meals for families facing food insecurity, so NUTRITION PROGRAMS such as meal service and meal delivery will be revamped and expanded. To provide diverse and meaningful enrichment experiences for additional students will necessitate an investment in the programs that already exist to accommodate additional participants. It will also require support for NEW PROGRAMS — including the

arts which are currently limited in their offerings — to meet the diverse needs of a growing student body. WJA also seeks to expand its ATHLETIC OFFERINGS to include more competitive sports each season, matching the rest of the robust WJA experience. An increase in students also equates to an increase in alumni. Additional investments will sustain the Office of Student and Alumni Success support that was set in motion years ago and is core to the longterm success of WJA students. This is a critical differentiator and core to alumni success as support of students does not stop after the eighth grade but extends through high school and beyond and includes test prep for SATs, college application assistance, financial aid application completion, and additional GRADUATE PROGRAMMATIC SUPPORT. WJA’s students remain connected to the Academy for life as WJA is not simply a school, but a relationship-based institution that creates lasting and deep connections. Varnum Street has served as the ideal setting for WJA for more than fifteen years. It serves as a home for current students and as a place of pride for alumni to return. Its location is accessible from most parts of the metropolitan area, further creating community from across the region.

FOREVER TO INVEST IN FOREVER IS TO CREATE A WELL-DEFINED ENDOWMENT THAT SUPPORTS THE INDIVIDUALS, ACTIVITIES, AND RESOURCES OF THE ACADEMY IN PERPETUITY. GROWTH OF THE ENDOWMENT THROUGH INVESTMENT RETURN AND PHILANTHROPIC GIVING ENABLES THE ACADEMY TO ENDOW SCHOLARSHIPS AND PROFESSORSHIPS, ENSURING TOP TALENT IN THE WJA CLASSROOMS. It also allows the Academy to launch new programs and initiatives for students, and to support a wide range of significant needs and opportunities as they arise. To support WJA’s endowment — to invest in forever — is to SHAPE THE FUTURE of WJA, to honor the morals on which the Academy was founded, and to secure WJA’s position as the Academy that truly empowers change agents.

While the footprint of the VARNUM STREET CAMPUS can accommodate the proposed growth and increased number of students, the building requires re-outfitting to do so. Investments will ensure the building maximizes efficiency, offers flexible spaces, allows for multipurpose functions, and meets the evolving needs of an expanding student body. This will also include critical updates to LEARNING PLATFORMS and TECHNOLOGY NEEDS to preserve the WJA education for tomorrow.

WJA FORWARD, WITH YOU WJA has been fortunate to cultivate a group of committed philanthropic supporters, even before the first student was enrolled in the Academy. For two decades, the number of donors has continued to grow as our mission consistently brings together individuals who are inspired by the good that we are doing. Our supporters are diverse in their interests, backgrounds, and connections to WJA, yet they all feel a deep connection to WJA as a place and a difference maker. As we celebrate 20 years, we move forward at a critical moment for our community and our nation. WE KNOW WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO MORE. WE KNOW WE HAVE THE PLATFORM TO DO MORE. WE KNOW WE HAVE THE MORAL OBLIGATION TO DO MORE. We know that philanthropy is the pathway for us to do more. We know that with our powerful mission, we are poised to inspire the philanthropic revenue that will launch WJA into the next era. And, finally, we know that through a successful campaign, we can more fully answer the call to serve as a thought leader and champion for education reform. We can stand on a national platform and live up to our moral obligation to inspire and support other like-minded institutions seeking our same transformative results. We invite you to partner with us as we amplify our impact, build on the successes of our two decades, and continue the work of empowering life transformations, one child — one change agent — at a time.

FORWARD

To move WJA forward, inquire about a philanthropic opportunity, or learn more about supporting the campaign for Washington Jesuit Academy, please contact:

LISA PARO

MARCUS WASHINGTON

BILL WHITAKER

CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER

HEAD OF SCHOOL

FOUNDER

LPARO@WJACADEMY.ORG

MWASHINGTON@WJACADEMY.ORG

WWHITAKER@WJACADEMY.ORG

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