Academic and intellectual rigor with attention to reflection and cura personalis are pillars of Jesuit education across institutions from K-12 to post-secondary. This framework is often embodied in similar elements (e.g., retreats, academic excellence) and contextualized within the specific history, structure, and context of the particular school. In the current moment, one challenge with which all schools are grappling is the anxiety teens face about who they are and where they are headed. This stress impacts their ability to learn and fully engage in their education.
…we make a case for more closely bridging Jesuit secondary and higher education institutions in creating clear and guaranteed pipelines that can offer students and their families eight years of formative, rigorous, and secure education to launch young people into fulfilling careers and lives.
In this article, we make a case for more closely bridging Jesuit secondary and higher education institutions in creating clear and guaranteed pipelines that can offer students and their families eight years of formative, rigorous, and secure education to launch young people into fulfilling careers and lives. In making this argument, we look to shift from a more limited though important focus on academic rigor to a more expansive understanding rooted in cohesive and coordinated developmental supports through an eight-year commitment to formation. We believe Jesuit high schools and colleges are positioned to create a bridge that would improve a student's sense of self and mitigate college admissions stressors, thus providing more time for self-discovery, inquiry, and depth of learning.
The Context: Our Current Educational Landscape
Jesuit education has been marked by academic rigor throughout much of its history (Combs & Schmidt, 2013). Yet, deep into the 2000s, young people and educational institutions find themselves at an inflection point. Ample evidence suggests considerable generational shifts: increased focus on career and job preparation, as well as the educational opportunities that will get students there (Twenge, 2023); instability in higher education admissions (including in relation to the value and meaning of “diversity”) and a general devaluing of college (Levine & Van Pelt, 2021); the ubiquitous nature of social media and its connections to decreased attention spans and increased mental health challenges (Weir, 2023); and more broadly the rising rates of anxiety, stress, and depression that feed into academic challenges (American Academy of Pediatrics et al., 2021). These dynamics are all contextualized within the social and academic reverberations of the COVID-19 pandemic that continue today. There is broad concern about grade inflation and weakened academics in secondary schools, particularly in reference to challenges and adaptations during these last several years (e.g., Hess, 2023). A narrow idea of “lost rigor” in academics may miss other broader developmental impacts as well. Our own research during these last few years with young people in high schools and transitioning to Jesuit colleges has found they feel like they missed out and had to re-imagine themselves and their futures (Velez et al., 2022; Velez & Herteen, 2023; Velez et al., 2023). The ruptures to typical developmental trajectories were profound, as young people had less opportunity to explore their identities, faced instability in building visions of their futures, and faced economic pessimism and instability.
At the same time, there is space for hope, particularly for students in Jesuit educational communities. First, attention to cura personalis roots Jesuit institutions in caring for the students beyond their academics, which includes supporting their holistic psycho-social well-being and finding a sense of purpose and meaning (Peters, 2022). Second, there were clear silver linings in our research with adolescents during and after the acute phase of the pandemic. Many noted valuing time with family or having a break from the daily academic grind. Others mentioned reimagining their social identities or coming to appreciate aspects of themselves and their lives (Velez & Herteen, 2023; Velez et al., 2023). It is worth mentioning that many of the students in these studies attended Jesuit high schools or were beginning at Jesuit colleges.
…we think one way to address the current challenges to young people and Jesuit education is to move from a lens solely focused on academics to creating more structured and integrated formation across secondary and post-secondary institutions.
While the four years of high school or college are formative experiences for students, the potential to structure their meaning and purpose, engagement, and well-being is amplified if we consider stronger fluidity and connections across the eight years. In this light, we think one way to address the current challenges to young people and Jesuit education is to move from a lens solely focused on academics to creating more structured and integrated formation across secondary and post-secondary institutions.
From High School to College
The transition from high school to college can be a disruption, especially for Jesuit high school students who were in a tight-knit, mission-driven educational community. Going to college means leaving a place where one has developed relationships, been known or seen (for many students), and established an identity (Azmitia et al., 2013). The new start can be refreshing in some ways, but the independence and rupture it presents may be unsettling and perhaps challenging for many young people. Academics do not have to be forgotten, but can be deeply impacted by the social and emotional dynamics around the transition. There is additional anxiety produced by the college admissions process, with its uncertainty and competition (Espeland et al., 2016). These feelings may be amplified for students who may be also dealing with added cultural incongruity related to their identities (e.g., racial/ethnic minoritized, low-income, first generation students (Zapata-Gietl et al., 2016).
The uncertainty about college, the drastic changes, and the ability to connect and excel in the first nine weeks on campus are critical for success and personal thriving (Thomas et al., 2017). The students for whom this transition is the most challenging are both those we are called to serve at Jesuit institutions and also those who are growing in numbers with demographic shifts (Fawcett & Zeisner, 2023; Grawe, 2018). All in all, we cannot simply hold students to quantitative markers of academic rigor without doubling down on the Jesuit lens to formative and personal development in education (O’Keefe, 2018).
Moving Forward: Aligning And Integrating Jesuit Education
As we continue to emerge from the pandemic and consider the generational and societal shifts that have taken place over the last few decades, we have the opportunity to better support young people’s thriving through more closely aligning Jesuit education across the transition from adolescence to early adulthood. Young people have diverse needs and there are indicators that they more broadly struggle with academic excellence. Still, ample evidence suggests that many face acute challenges right now in relation to belonging, engagement, feeling isolated or disconnected, and stress about their educational, personal, and career futures. All of this feeds into their academic and intellectual development.
We propose building on the strengths and mission of the education provided in these settings by solidifying the pipelines and communication across the transition from secondary to postsecondary education. The goal of such efforts would be to harness the value that Jesuit education offers to guide and provide supports for holistic development by structuring the experience as an eight-year formative project. In general, transition programs and bridges between high school and college offer a guided and smoother experience for young people (Castleman & Page, 2020). By fostering a clearer and stronger pipeline across Jesuit institutions, students could feel secure in their future trajectories and more fully draw on the formal developmental potential these schools offer.
Concretely, this initiative would involve greater communication, robust financial supports, and guaranteed resources linking Jesuit high schools and colleges. It would begin with more explicit connections not just institutionally, but also between instructors and student affairs staff. Networks of Jesuit high schools and colleges serve as vibrant communities for getting a pulse on what is going on at peer institutions, but the vertical linking across is often siloed into specific offices like college counseling and admissions. One way to accomplish this goal is building a robust network across secondary and postsecondary Jesuit institutions. Another is developing innovative partnerships for college preparation programming that include more pipelines for dual credit opportunities. The latter should engage Jesuit college professors in mentoring high school teachers and students, bolstering college readiness rigor in the high school curriculum. The bridge can be further strengthened by increasing admissions pathway programs and dedicated financial aid for students from Jesuit high schools.
At our institutions, such programs exist in part. Marquette University, for example, has agreements in place to provide support for accepted Cristo Rey and Marquette University High School (MUHS) students. Regis High School’s REACH program offers a wider example by providing middle school students with a rigorous experience on college campuses. Jesuit institutions across the country engage in similar collaborations and bridges, particularly among local partners. But even here, the potential is deeper. We can address concerns about academic rigor by structuring a clear, more stable program of holistic development for almost a decade of the most formative time in young people’s lives.
Given the current moment and needs of young people today, Jesuit educational institutions can build a more supportive, formative experience through stronger, better resourced connections. We can expand further on the foundations that exist to build an 8-year branded experience setting up young people for academic and personal thriving and their families for consistency and support.
American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, & Children’s Hospital Association. (2021, October 19). Declaration of a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. http://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/child-and-adolescent-healthy-mental-development/aap-aacap-cha-declaration-of-a-national-emergency-in-child-and-adolescent-mental-health/
Azmitia, M., Syed, M., & Radmacher, K. (2013). Finding your niche: Identity and emotional support in emerging adults’ adjustment to the transition to college. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 23(4), 744–761. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12037
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Hess, R. (2023, November 27). Grade inflation teaches students we don’t mean what we say. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-grade-inflation-teaches-students-we-dont-mean-what-we-say/2023/11
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