Verbum Dei was founded in 1962 by the Society of the Divine Word with the permission and recommendation of Cardinal James McIntyre to serve the educational needs of the black community of South Los Angeles. The school was named after one of Jesus' epithets, Verbum Dei. Bishop Joseph Francis, S.V.D., led the founding team and was the school's first principal. The Society maintained a presence at the school until December 2006, when the long-time Verbum Dei faculty/staff member Br. Richard "Rich" Morrill, S.V.D., left because of terminal illness. It remains to be seen if the Society will provide another of its members to Verbum Dei. At some point, the school expanded its mission in order to also serve the educational needs of the Latino community of South Los Angeles. Verbum Dei's performance began to decline in the 1980s and suffered further during the neighborhood gang wars of the 1990s; it experienced declining enrollment and instability within the administration. However, it received significant financial help in the mid-1990s and improvements were made in various buildings on campus and new buildings were added. In 2000, Cardinal Roger Mahony asked the California Province of the Society of Jesus to assist in the administration of the school, asserting that the school had to improve significantly by 2006 to avoid permanent shutdown. Verbum Dei became recognized as a Jesuit school at that point. Leading the Jesuit team was Rev. Bill Wood, S.J. The school became a member of the Cristo Rey Network and adopted its current scholastic model in 2002. The school has joint accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Western Catholic Education Association. Verbum Dei also has accreditation by the West Province of the Society of Jesus. The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary have been providing a sister to the Verbum Dei staff for several years.
Like other members of the Cristo Rey Network, Verbum Dei assigns students to jobs that are "donated" by local white-collar companies and non-profit entities in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. This experience is intended to acclimate students to corporate culture, build their character and provide a motive for seeking higher education and productive careers. The money earned by the students defrays the cost of the students' education. Participating organizations give one "full-time equivalent" student internship for a fee of $28,000. The position is filled by carefully selected young men from low-income families with an average work attendance of 99 percent. Each student works five full days a month on a rotational basis, and they attend classes and participate in extracurricular activities the remaining days. Ninety-seven percent of the student interns receive a performance evaluation of good or excellent. While almost all students benefit from various internship experiences, 37 percent of seniors have remained at the company they were placed with in their freshman year. Verbum Dei provides transportation, insurance, workers' compensation, and work permits for its student interns. The CWSP staff has a program coordinator to co-manage the students.
Activities
Verbum Dei High School's teams have won national championships in various sports, including basketball.
Basketball: CIF champions – 1969 through 1974, 1979, 1994-1995, 1998-1999, 2002-2003; runners-up – 1978, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2004
American football: CIF champions – 1981, 1982, 2006
Students can choose from 22 extracurricular activities, including working to produce films in partnership with Underground film company with the assistance of J. J. Abrams and Will Smith.
