About Our School

Loyola College Prep offers a faith-based high school experience rooted in Catholic tradition and dedicated to forming students in conscience, character, and compassion. Our mission is to help students grow academically, spiritually, and personally while preparing them to lead with purpose.

Students of all faith backgrounds are welcomed into a close-knit community where faith is lived daily. The entire student body gathers for weekly Mass at the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, located just steps from campus. With 28 student organizations, Loyola provides countless opportunities for service, leadership, and involvement, encouraging students to put their faith into action and serve others with integrity and love.

Academic excellence is a cornerstone of the Loyola experience. Students benefit from individualized college advising, 15 Advanced Placement courses, 10 dual-enrollment opportunities, and standardized test preparation. These offerings allow students to earn college credit, explore their interests, and confidently prepare for life after graduation. Providing a high-quality, values-based education that develops well-rounded individuals remains a top priority at Loyola.

Loyola prides itself on a caring environment where every student is known, supported, and encouraged to shine. Our dedicated faculty, including 28 alumni and past parents, fully embrace the Loyola Family and are committed to student success. From athletics and clubs like Fishing Club and F.Ai.T.H. to service-based organizations and fine arts, students have endless opportunities to discover and develop their talents.

At Loyola College Prep, students are challenged to grow, inspired to serve, and supported every step of the way. We look forward to partnering with you as you begin the next chapter of your journey.

THE NAME

Before the only Catholic high school within a 100-mile radius became Loyola College Preparatory School, it was an all-male institution ranging from seventh to twelfth grade. St. John's College opened on November 3, 1902. This initial title was chosen in conjunction with the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans in honor of him, a saint who appeared to a dying nun in the 1850s at the Sacred Heart Convent in Grand Coteau and restored her to health. It was renamed Jesuit High School in July 1, 1960, before becoming Loyola College Preparatory School in 1982 to honor the founder of the Jesuit order, St. Ignatius of Loyola. The school became co-educational in 1987 with 104 girls enrolling immediately.

The school mascot has always been the Flyers, and the colors have also always been Columbia blue, navy and white.

THE BUILDING

Four priests, thirty-two students and a three-story building at 1564 Texas Avenue is where it all began. The building was primarily intended to house the faculty with the priest occupying the upper two stories and the school functioning on the bottom floor. A temporary altar was constructed on the second floor.

The Walter B. Jacobs Sr. estate on the 900 block of Jordan Street was purchased by the Jesuits as a new church, residence and high school in 1924. The Depression ruined any immediate chances for expansion and in 1929, classes began in temporary buildings.

In 1938, the first half of the present high school building was completed, and 11 years later the second half would be finished. On September 12, 1938, the school held its first classes in the new and permanent building on Jordan Street, where is stands today.

THE MISSION

For two decades the school led a year-to-year existence, but the Jesuits were devoted to growing youth grounded in faith with a quality education. An early school catalogue indicated, “They endeavor to show themselves worthy of the confidence placed in them by evincing on all occasions a fatherly care for the physical, mental and moral advancement of those entrusted to their charge. The exercise of their authority is mild though not amiss in enforcing that regular discipline and good order so essential to the proper education of mind and heart.”

The school began offering Advanced Placement courses (AP) in 1981-82, giving students the opportunity to receive college credit while in high school.

THE STUDENTS

In 1956, the seventh grade was discontinued, and in 1980, the graduating class of 104 was the largest in school history as it had an enrollment of 425.

Shreveport is one of the largest cities in Louisiana with a population of about 250,000 and is the site of seven institutions of higher learning. Located in the heart of the Ark-La-Tex region along the banks of the Red River, Shreveport and its neighbor, Bossier City, are made easily accessible by their proximity to I-20 and I-49. 

SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER

Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana, is a metropolitan area of about 350,000 people. It is ideally situated in northwest Louisiana about 15 minutes from the Texas border on the west and 30 minutes from the Arkansas border on the north. 

The Red River connects the two cities and, since Shreveport’s early inception, the riverfront has served as the hub of the city’s commercial life. What began life as a log-jammed river port has now become home to a splendid convention center, six riverboat casinos, year-round festivals and a riverfront shopping/dining/entertainment venue. 

Historically, the area has thrived because of its active river port, rail network, oil and gas industry, agricultural crops such as cotton and timber, and an abundance of recreational lakes. Manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, tourism, agriculture, educational institutions, medical facilities, service industries, and oil and gas exploration and production have been vitally important to the Shreveport-Bossier economy. Today, the area has moved away from its dependence on oil and gas and is prepared to meet the challenges of the future with a progressive business attitude and diversification into other areas of production and distribution of goods and services.

Designated as a Customs Port of Entry and Foreign Trade Zone, the Shreveport-Bossier area offers advantages for importing, exporting, and transacting international business. Numerous institutions of higher education, hospitals, nursing homes, and a growing health care industry are represented in the area. Christus-Schumpert Health System and Willis-Knighton have in recent years undergone multimillion dollar expansion projects. LSU Medical Center is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the South. The Virginia K. Shehee Biomedical Research Institute is a 10-story, 160,000 square foot, $37 million regional research facility located adjacent to the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport. Opened in 1994, the Institute's 56 state of the art wet labs are occupied by more than 200 scientists, technologists, and support personnel from LSU School of Medicine working to find cures for such diseases as stroke, cancer, arthritis, and Alzheimer's. This regional medical center/bio-med research center has a huge impact on the area's economy.

The area is home to one of the largest air bases in the United States, Barksdale Air Force Base. Barksdale is headquarters for the Eighth Air Force and the 2nd Wing, an employer of nearly 9,000 military, reserve, and civilian personnel, with one of the largest Air Force retirement communities in the United States. The base has an economic impact on the area of almost $500 million, according to the GSCC. Barksdale Air Force Base has been selected as the provisional home for the new Global Strike Command Center. As this mission becomes more defined, it is anticipated that more personnel will be relocating to the Bossier City-Shreveport area. North Louisiana has taken the next big step toward entering the world's newest economic frontier with the Phase One groundbreaking of a new Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) and National Cyber Research Park (NCRP) in Bossier City to bring together academia, defense contractors, research, and technology to assist the Department of Defense on this newGlobal Strike Command project.

The people are charming and the dining is unparalleled mixing the wide-open Texas spirit with the spicy Louisiana Cajun attitude. The area has a lively arts, craft brewery and music scene. The diverse museums tell the story of famous musicians, galaxies, cultures and explorers. The festivals showcase Louisiana’s traditions of good music, great food and all-night entertainment.