Future and History

In 1880, Rev. Robert Fulton, S.J. purchased for $7,500 the plot of ground at 83rd Street that was later to serve as the site for Loyola School. After breaking ground for construction in February 1899, under the leadership of Fr. McKinnon, Loyola School first opened its doors on Monday, October 1, 1900.  Advertisements had been running in The New York Times since September 18, heralding the rise of a new, private school for boys on Park Avenue, “Under the Direction of Fathers of the Society of Jesus.” Eight young men were enrolled in Loyola’s first year, paying a high (at the time) tuition cost of $300 per year. 

From its beginning, Loyola identified itself as a school dedicated to the care and concern of the individual. True to this end, the school maintained a student to teacher ratio of not more than ten to one. Some of the first student activities include football, hockey, the Oñaz Debating Society, and The Sodality of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The student body, faculty, and staff greatly expanded in size during the first 6 years, with 48 students enrolled in 1906-07. Loyola began to grow and develop its many traditions in the early years. The first ever JUG session occurred in 1923. 

In many ways, school life was marvelously unruffled by the storm clouds of political and social change gathering in the 1920s. After the stock market crash in 1929, however, the wealthy Loyola School families began struggling financially.  Many could no longer afford the tuition, but were reluctant to forfeit the quality of education for which Loyola had become famous. Both tuition prices and enrollment numbers took a hit, and the school was at risk of closure in the mid-1930s. Loyola began to include and expand the “Junior Division” (what we would consider middle school), which helped get the finances and enrollment numbers back on track.

As of September 1941, the five upper grades of the Junior School would offer Military Training.  In four year’s time, the entire student body would be wearing uniforms, drilling in the Quad (as the JUG yard now was called), and answering to the Cadet Code. Loyola Cadets followed The Corps Book. 

The war years in the 1940s proved to present more financial and enrollment hardships to Loyola, and cut some extracurricular activities as a result, such as the drama program, retreat program, and fall field day. Loyola still held 50th Anniversary celebrations during the 1949-50 school year despite the hardships. That same year, Rev. Peter J. Daly, S.J, the Headmaster at the time, ended Loyola’s Military program, which helped lower tuition costs (from about $950 to $750) and increase enrollment numbers. 

In 1950, Fr. Guterl, the school Chaplain, led the school’s second pilgrimage to the Vatican for an audience with His Holiness Pope Pius XII. This same year, under the leadership of Mr. Eugene Prior, S.J., The Loyola News and the yearbook publication team started to gain traction. Even amidst these exciting activities, the school was still struggling financially, which resulted in talk of moving the school’s location. Alumni engagement and softening the four-year Latin requirement aided in keeping Loyola in place, but ultimately the building’s expansion lifted the school’s financial struggles. In 1955, fundraising efforts allowed Fr. Gannon to build a new gym, library, and cafeteria. Enrollment more than doubled by the 1960s, going from an average of 15 graduates per year in the 1950s-60s, to 34 graduates in the Class of 1964, to 49 graduates in the Class of 1971. This caused Loyola to limit enrollment to grades 9-12 for the first time and slowly faze out the younger grades. 

More Loyola School traditions were founded in the 1960s, such as the first academic convocation, the first Loyola Medal awarded, and the first Annual Giving Campaign, which raised $33,000. In 1968, Michael Guerra became the first lay headmaster (principal). This marked a shift in the amount of Jesuits on the teaching staff, as Loyola began to hire more members of the laity to teach their students. 

In January of 1973, Loyola announced its intention to admit girls into its freshman class of 1973.  Fr. Haskins noted, “We must be able and willing to read the signs of the times.  No longer can we offer quality education to a single segment of the population, but, if we are going to fulfill a role in society, we must address ourselves to the whole of that society.” The first four-year co-ed class is the Class of 1977. Loyola was only the second Jesuit school in the United States to admit girls, the first being Scranton Prep.

In addition to its now co-ed student body, the 1970s brought considerable change to other aspects of Loyola.  The school was now independent and financially separate from the Society of Jesus, although retaining a strong Jesuit affiliation.  Its Board was its own, no longer a specifically Jesuit Board but one which had grown naturally out of the Advisory Council. A $450,000 fundraising effort funded the 5th floor Gannon Theater and art room, the science labs on the 4th floor, classroom renovations, and the rooftop tennis courts (now the rooftop turf field). Enrollment continued to climb, with numbers as high as 190 young men and women in grades 9-12 for the 1977-1978 school year. 

The 1980s boasted the development of Loyola’s Christian Service Program, boys and girls basketball championships, and the annual Alumni Dinner event. New headmaster and President, Fr. Fox, led Loyola to the economic viability still visible today by creating an endowment fund, and establishing an official Development Office to professionalize the school’s fundraising efforts. Loyola’s Admissions Office began to operate on a full-time basis, and annually since then the office has seen at least four times the number of applicants than spots in the class. Loyola also welcomed its very first computer, lovingly remembered as “Maxine.” By 1987, Loyola acquired 13 computers, noting a shift in technological creativity and innovation. The Knight, Loyola’s literary magazine, began to stand out for the students’ artistic and literary talents.

During Fr. Fox’s years, Loyola School was named a School of Excellence in the United States Department of Education’s 1988-1989 Secondary School Recognition Program.  On September 27 and 28, Fr. Fox, Fr. Prior, and Sr. Nora Cronin visited Washington to accept the award designating Loyola School as a “Recognized School of Excellence.” President George Bush hosted the reception at the White House to acknowledge the achievements of the 218 schools so designated.

Loyola’s athletics, speech and debate, and scholarship programs soared in the 1990s. The sports program began collecting championship titles and Loyola students began to earn spots on college-level teams. In the 1995-96 school year, leadership transitioned to Rev. Joseph Papaj, S.J., who renovated all of the science labs, creating new classrooms, and investing in new computer technology. In 1998, the Kairos retreat program began, marking the beginning of Loyola’s robust and spiritual retreat program. 

At the turn of the century, Loyola underwent considerable changes. Loyola held their Centennial Gala at Windows on the World atop the World Trade Center, just a year prior to the attacks and collapse of the World Trade Center. Loyola remembers and celebrates the alumni who lost their lives on September 11. After 50 years of service to Loyola, Fr. Prior passed away, and his memory remains ever-present in the halls of Loyola. 

Loyola’s identity as an independent school strengthened, as it became more closely aligned with other independent schools and underwent its first Independent School Review. More building renovations occurred, from a full renovation of the first-floor science laboratories and the gymnasium, to the transformation of the computer lab into the library Media Center. With growth in technology, Loyola students were now required to have an iPad to complete their coursework, and Loyola added a STEM requirement to the curriculum. Tony Oroszlany became the first lay President of the school. 

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Loyola to transition to remote learning in March of 2020. Classes were held in a hybrid fashion during the 2020-21 school year. Although it was a difficult time for the community in different ways, it was also an invitation for Loyola to be creative with academics, community building, and communication. There are many tools and lessons that Loyola will incorporate into the future as it draws nearer.

Loyola School renewed its dedication to its mission, focusing on inclusion initiatives and ensuring a commitment to provide an excellent education to all. Loyola strives to educate young people of conscience, competence, and compassion, its graduates are open to growth, academically excellent, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice.