St. John's College High School history

In 1868, the Brothers returned to St Matthew's parish at the request of Father Charles White, who had built a new school named St Matthew's Institute at the corner of 16th and L Streets NW.

In 1878, the Brothers purchased the property at 1225 Vermont Avenue NW from the estate of General Montgomery C. Meigs as the site for a new school building.

Father Gillett’s school opened its doors in 1887 with a grand total enrollment of twelve day-students and two boarders.

In February 1896, it moved from the Catholic Presbytery and changed its name from the Select School to St John’s College under the direction of Fr.

On July 17, 1917, the faculty and students moved to the campus known as the Loyola Park.

As the undergraduate departments of The Catholic University of America and Georgetown University expanded, it was decided in 1921 by the Board of Trustees of St John's to discontinue the college department and devote the school facilities to secondary education alone.

In 1931 on September 11, the country of Belize experienced a catastrophic Hurricane (Hattie) were 11 Jesuits died and the campus was deteriorated.

In 1947, St John’s College pioneered an adult evening education with the inauguration of an adult education program, called the Extension School.

In 1952 St John’s College finally moved to their new and current campus named after the Central American poet and renowned scholar, Rafael Landivar, S.J.

The new St John's opened to more than one thousand students in September 1959.

In the mid-1960’s, SJC broadened the program of studies so that it met the requirements of the Associate Degree awarded by junior and community colleges in the United States.

In 1977 a man wearing a blue parka with a fur-lined hood and a surgical mask entered the cafeteria and joined the lunch line, then attempted to rob the cashier.

In the year 2012 the school restructured, and The Extension Department was closed in September of that same year.