St. Genevieve High School

School History

Since World War II, the San Fernando Valley has experienced a continuing population explosion. In response to this growth, Saint Genevieve parish was founded in 1950 to care for the spiritual needs of Catholics in the residential areas of Panorama City and Arleta. The desire of parents of St. Genevieve Elementary School students, as well as those of neighboring parishes, for Catholic secondary education resulted in the establishment of St. Genevieve High School. December 7, 1958, marked the ground breaking and beginning of construction for the home of the Valiants.

Conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, St. Genevieve High School welcomed its first students in September 1959. These pioneer teachers and students shared quarters with the adjacent elementary school until January 4, 1960, while final touches were being added to the newly constructed high school. James Francis Cardinal McIntyre formally dedicated St. Genevieve High School in May 1960. In 1960 a new building program resulted in the completion of the east wing.

In June 1996 a new gymnasium was completed along with a new weight room and music room.

A state of the art technology lab was dedicated. The Silver Script, the school newspaper was brought back into print after an absence of several years. For the first time in the history of Saint Genevieve, a Development and Alumni program was established, and by the summer of 2000, the first edition on The Valiant Spirit was published and mailed to more than 2300 alumni, parents and friends.

Lessons Learned From Columbine was the birth of the JOURNEYS program, St. Gen’s cutting edge approach to character education. The program began in August 1999, and on October 17, 2003, St. Genevieve became the first Catholic school in the nation and the first high school in California to be named a National School of Character by the Character Education Partnership in Washington, DC. As part of their annual retreat, the faculty and staff flew to Washington that autumn to accept the award on behalf of the school community. On November 2, 2003, St. Genevieve held a grand Celebration of Character in the gymnasium. It was an incredibly spiritual day of celebration and reflection; the keynote speaker the event was Mrs. Beth Nimmo. Mrs. Nimmo is the mother of Rachel Scott, who was the first student murdered at Columbine High School in April 1999.

Smart and Good High Schools is a report to the nation published in 2005 by Thomas Likona, Ph.D. and Matthew Davidson, Ph.D. St. Genevieve High School was among the 24 schools in the nation that was studied and chronicled as an exemplary school which integrates excellence and ethics for success in school, work and beyond.

Former President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn welcomed four St. Genevieve High School students to their hometown of Plains, Georgia in October 2005. Students had been in Atlanta as presenters at a National conference on Character Education. After learning of JOURNEYS, the Carters invited the students to be their guests at their church, the Maranatha Baptist Church.

St. Genevieve High School currently enrolls approximately 700 students from over 20 San Fernando Valley parishes and LA parishes too. The student population consists of Asian (30%), Hispanic (40%), White (15%), Native American (20%), and African American (10%). Since 1963, over 4,000 young Catholic men and women have graduated from St. Genevieve High School who can be found in practically every career and in many colleges and universities throughout California, and the nation.

Mission statement

To Know God,
To Live With Honor,
To Change the World.