Background & The path ahead

Board of Trustees

• Xavier Jesuit Academy has assembled a diversified and talented Board of Trustees with a wide complement of expertise.  In the Jesuit tradition, a Member Board of three Jesuits oversees The Academy’s Board of Trustees.

Fr. Nathan Wendt, SJ   

Founding President

Mr. Kyle Chandler

Founding Principal

The Midwest Jesuit Province and the Cincinnati Jesuit Community sponsor and manage the new school within its Jesuit Schools Network. 

As part of their commitment, the Jesuits have: 

• Formally sponsored Xavier Jesuit Academy as a Jesuit school.

• Agreed to provide start-up financial support to the school and  The Church of the Resurrection Parish.

• Missioned a Jesuit priest, Fr. Nathan Wendt, S.J., to serve as The Academy’s first President following a national search by The Academy’s Board.

• Missioned three Jesuit priests to serve as a Member Board which has, among other tasks, met, reviewed, discussed and approved organizational documents of the school and The Academy Board of Trustees members.

• Offered support through the resources of Xavier University, St. Xavier High School, St. Xavier Church, St. Robert Bellarmine Parish and The Jesuit Spiritual Center of Milford, OH.

• Grades 3-5 to begin, adding a grade level each year, with initial class sizes of 10 - 15 students, with the possibility of increased students/class size over time.

• Ultimately, achieving a full complement of grades (3-8).

• The Academy aims to be a neighborhood school, serving adolescent boys in the heart of Bond Hill and accessible for nearby neighborhoods.

• Xavier Jesuit Academy will be financially accessible for all families.

As the Xavier Jesuit Academy is preparing for its first school year, there are many ways to provide assistance, including: 

Spiritual Support: 

• Prayers for the President, the Board and future students and families as we begin this transformational journey together

Financial Support for: 

• School renovation Academic supplies (science, reading or math labs) Extracurricular supplies (music, art, sports) Sponsoring a student 

Time and Talent Support: 

• Design and implementation of extracurricular and co-curricular programs Design and implementation of summer programs Design and implementation of student mentorship programs 

Xavier Jesuit Academy is the culmination of a bold vision, an unrelenting passion, and a significant investment in the most at-risk children in our community.  

• Mabe Rodriguez, former Executive Director of CISE, was approached by  donors Toone Burchenal and Beth Jones with a transformational gift to assist children most at risk. 
  • CISE leadership identified Bond Hill as a neighborhood with high levels of poverty, without a faith-based grade school, and a closed Catholic grade-school building (former St. Agnes) where a school could be formed to assist in the education and formation of adolescent boys.

• In February 2021, a working group was assembled and began aligning support from:
  • CISE
  • The Church of the Resurrection
  • Cincinnati and Midwest Province Jesuit leadership, as well as the Superior General of the Jesuits in Rome
  • The Archdiocese of Cincinnati 
  • Bond Hill pastors and community members