Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

Due to the current state of the coronavirus in Sacramento County and the requirements imposed by state officials, Jesuit cannot reasonably plan for in-person learning by the start of the school year. We are sure this comes as no surprise given the new school guidelines and 14-day COVID status timeframe we shared last week. 

Jesuit Sacramento will temporarily begin the fall semester in Distance Learning and is ready to make a return to on-campus in-person instruction when Sacramento County is off the state’s COVID monitoring list.

We are confident the program Jesuit Sacramento is providing your son is the most robust of any school in the region: a full-day, five-day-per-week, real-time, teacher-led Distance Learning education, with all courses being held—and, one with a framework that allows a quick transition back into the classroom as soon as allowed. As this comparison graphic shows, this will be a much different experience than the crisis Digital Learning Days done in the spring. Fall Distance Learning will follow the standard bell schedule, with students attending all classes —and it includes morning prayer, breaks, and the afternoon Examen with live instruction that leverages the technological improvements Jesuit has made and the preparation and training our dedicated teachers will have participated in to replicate the classroom environment. Our faculty, staff, coaches, and moderators are also committed to maintaining all counseling services, academic support, campus ministry programming, service and justice opportunities, visual and performing arts engagements, electives, academic teams, clubs, and athletics.  More of the highlights and detailed schedules of our fall semester Distance Learning plan and student life events are included below.

Our Safe Return Task Force, administration, and leadership did not come to this decision lightly;  we are all disappointed that we cannot be on our beautiful campus for the first day of our new school year. We miss our students and we want to be with them in person, but we believe that the current situation calls us to protect our students, faculty, and staff by following the guidelines provided to all schools, practicing virus mitigation, and maintaining our distance from one another.

Even as we now confirm, our start of the school year will be temporarily in Distance Learning, the Jesuit Sacramento traditions of back-to-school events, orientations, Freshman welcome, and some Marauder fun will still continue! Please make sure to read the important sections below for updated schedules and activities. The semester will begin on Monday, August 17, with a series of orientations for students. But our faculty and staff are already hard at work planning and training to maximize the instructional time for our college-prep curriculum and co-curriculars. 

As you review all of the opportunities Jesuit Sacramento is providing for your son, we are confident that you will come away assured that the faculty and staff are trained, prepared, and motivated to work directly with their students each day, and that we are committed to providing the enrichments, spirit, and camaraderie that makes Jesuit Sacramento the best high school in the region.

On this day, the feast of our founder and patron saint, St. Ignatius Loyola, let us share the motto of the Jesuits — Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (AMDG), a Latin phrase meaning For the Greater Glory of God.  May this motto continue to guide all of us to live with a spirit of gratitude, generosity, and commitment to the common good of all women and men in the world, and to come together as we begin the school year.

Together in faith,

Dr. Michael Wood, Ed.D., Principal | JHS Class of 1999

Rev. John P. McGarry, S.J., President