It’s not Beverly Hills by any stretch,” said Paul Hosch, vice president of mission advancement at Verbum Dei High School, which boasts a 100 percent college acceptance rate.
“The neighborhoods that surround the students are underserved. There are very few grocery stores. There are lots of gangs. It’s not a place most people would want to raise their kids,” he added.
Still the all-male Catholic school in southern Los Angeles has managed to send its 70 seniors off to college this year, continuing its tradition. “It’s amazing. It’s hard work, and you see it every day,” Hosch said.
Verbum Dei enrolls about 120 students each year, the Watts school’s website says. More than 70 percent of its college-bound seniors go on to attend four-year schools.
“I came into high school with an agenda to do as best as I can,” senior Nicolas Bates, this year’s Verbum Dei valedictorian, told CBS. “The trick is we get people into this school who want to go on to the next level, who want to go onto collegiate endeavors.