Arrupe Jesuit High School

Arrupe Jesuit High School is a Jesuit Catholic college preparatory school that offers students with limited economic resources a premier educational experience through rigorous academics, formation in faith and discernment, and a unique work study program, all of which foster community, opportunity, leadership and personal growth.

The school’s vision is to strengthen the competence, confidence, and aspirations of our students by igniting their spiritual growth and empowering them to achieve their dreams. In turn, this formation leads to greater job security and economic mobility as adults, breaking the cycle of poverty present in our students’ lives.

 Low-income and minority students in the Denver metropolitan area seeking pathways to higher education encounter few options and outlooks are often bleak. According to federal data, just 13% of the low-income population completes a Bachelor’s degree.  Overall, students from the lowest-income families (11%) are seven times less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree by the age of 24 than their peers from the highest-income families (79%) and Latinos 2.5 times less likely than white young adults to have a bachelor’s degree. (Education Trust) According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW), adults with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $2.8 million during their careers, $1.2 million more than the median for workers with a high school diploma. The Colorado Talent Pipeline Report shows 90.7% of jobs with a living hourly wage that can support a family of three require a credential past high school, while 73% of those require a four-year degree. Colorado’s existing labor force has a credential attainment rate of only 55% while Hispanic Coloradans only have a rate of 25%. 

Addressing barriers to equal opportunity is essential to the health of individuals and communities across the metropolitan area and to building a sustainable economy. Philanthropic investment in Arrupe Jesuit helps to reverse these patterns by providing an affordable college preparatory education to hundreds of students, uncompromising on its founding vision of creating access and opportunity for students living in poverty who are otherwise underserved and often overlooked.