You Will Always Remember This Place I Washington Jesuit Academy

Bruce Johnson, Anchor & Reporter at WUSA 9 News, served as the Commencement Speaker for WJA's Class of 2014. In his remarks he encourages the graduates to use the skills and experiences gained at the Academy and give back to their families and community. He instructs them to always remember WJA and the impact it had on their development from young boys to men.

The Washington Jesuit Academy is a middle school for boys from low-income communities in grades 5th through 8th:

Our Mission

The mission of the Washington Jesuit Academy is to provide a high quality and comprehensive education to boys from low-income communities, offering them a safe, rigorous academic setting and advancing their spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical growth.

Our Vision

The guiding vision of the Washington Jesuit Academy is to create an education model that addresses the cycle of poverty that plagues our students' communities, and replaces it with a cycle of hope, determination and success. In order to challenge the city's widening achievement gap and bleak graduation statistics for low-income males, WJA incorporates the Magis ("the more") and asks the important question: What more can we do for our students, our families and our community to change the face of urban education?

We instill in our students the confidence to find "the more" in themselves, giving them the necessary tools of moral character and compassion. Through the principles of a WJA education, students become willing to be courageous, and just in their actions, as well as active in their acceptance of God, their own gifts, and others. We believe that every student will learn to lead purpose-driven lives as members of their communities, becoming reflective, action-oriented citizens whose focus will be improving the lives of those most in need.