Mission / Philosophy

MISSION STATEMENT

JSerra Catholic High School is a private roman Catholic college preparatory institution. We strive to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Magisterium of the Church and to guide our students to become leaders who live in accordance with Gospel values. JSerra is a faith-filled and sacrament-based community that educates and nurtures the whole person. We seek to provide our students with the highest quality academic, spiritual, and co-curricular education; to inspire the pursuit of excellence; to affirm the dignity of each individual; to encourage faith; and to foster a commitment to service. JSerra is directed by parents who participate in all levels of school governance to enable the administration and faculty to achieve the school’s mission.

PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT

JSerra Catholic High School is a private, coeducational college preparatory high school located in historic San Juan Capistrano. JSerra is named after Father Junipero Serra, who founded the Catholic missions in California during the eighteenth century. Fr. Serra’s central mission was education and promulgation of the faith. Likewise, JSerra’s mission reflects the educational charge of the Church described in the pastoral letter To Teach as Jesus Did. Following Jesus’ example, JSerra reflects the four central dimensions of Catholic education: message; community; worship; and service.

Our central message is that each student from conception is a child of God, bestowed with infinite dignity and with a divine plan. Accordingly, we hold that the educational process of each student must be seen as a chapter in God’s divine plan. At heart, we believe that God is uniquely revealed in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. JSerra’s students see Jesus Christ as the model upon which their thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors should be based. Thus, our students are taught to live in accordance with Gospel values, knowing that their lives bear witness to a Catholic education. JSerra also affirms that truth exists in all academic disciplines. Our students relentlessly pursue such truths in their courses of study. Gospel values are evident in the lives of our faculty, as well. Their love of teaching is observed as they both model and encourage self-formation in the context of the JSerra community.

Indeed, community is an integral part of our Catholic identity and is at the heart of Christian education, not merely as a concept to be taught, but as a reality to be lived. JSerra establishes its identity by forming community among its students, teachers, administrators, parents, and board members. We recognize that the most significant community for students is their family. As such, we believe that God has made parents stewards of their children and has bestowed upon them primary responsibility for their children’s’ education. JSerra Catholic High School exists to support parents in this important role and therefore encourages parental participation in all aspects of school life.

Together with parents, JSerra strives to help students grow spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. JSerra promotes and fosters our Catholic identity through religious instruction, faith formation, and spiritual development, in an environment enriched by students from other faith backgrounds. As Catholic educators, we demand that our academic standards meet the needs of every student. We are committed to develop students who pursue academic excellence in the classroom and who thirst for knowledge throughout daily life. JSerra students are taught to be critical thinkers and creative problem solvers. We strive to instruct our students to be successful communicators who can utilize their knowledge and technological prowess to address the problems that plague the modern world. Along the same lines, we encourage our students to become collaborative workers, cognizant that the most difficult challenges in life are rarely solved in isolation.

JSerra believes that education is not limited merely to the development and realization of intellect. We strive also to develop in our students a moral, spiritual, and physical awareness that will enable them to be responsible Christian citizens. JSerra therefore is committed to the development of the whole person, since in Christ, the Perfect Man, all human values find their fulfillment and unity. Following Christ’s example to be a minister of hope, we intend our graduates to enter the world with the knowledge that one’s fullest potential can only be realized through a life of service. Indeed, we believe that the essential element of the gift of each student is charity, which can best be realized through service to our fellow man. Above all, we imbue our students with the notion that all things are possible with God, through faith, hope, and prayer.