St. John of God School was established in 1953 under the parish’s first pastor, Father Louis Buechner. Sisters of the Holy Faith and two lay teachers staffed the school composed of double grades one through four. By 1958 the school plant was expanded through the use of temporary structures and a parish hall to include a sixteen-classroom facility. In 1964 the new eight-room building to accommodate grades five through eight was completed, eliminating the need for temporary classrooms and use of the hall.
In 1971, because of substantial parish debt and following a directive of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the school decreased enrollment with the ultimate goal of one class per grade. This phase-out was completed in June 1978. Realizing that an effective educational program must begin with very young children, a kindergarten was opened in September 1983. In 1989 the kindergarten program was extended to full day. Reading and math programs were developed between 1984 and 1986, which allowed the division of classes into two groups. A computer lab was opened in 1989, beginning with the Writing- to- Read Program for grades kindergarten through two. The lab was eventually expanded to serve grades three through eight. By 1993, the school consisted of ten homerooms, including a licensed Pre-Kindergarten Program. Extended Day Care was established in 1996 to provide supervision and activities as a service to working parents. The Pastoral Center was built in 1996 to help facilitate the growing number of ministries and parish school activities. About this time a phone system was put in to connect the parish and school for better communication.
In 2004-2005, the first lay Principal was hired in the place of the Sisters of the Holy Faith who had served as administrators for fifty years. During this time, the parish and school partnered with DeVry University to provide the school with a brand new computer lab equipped with 36 Dell computers and servers networked with the parish system to help further develop and integrate technology throughout the curriculum.
Beginning 2007-2008 there was a significant decline in enrollment; this seemed to be a precursor to the declining enrollment in Catholic Schools throughout the United States. In 2009-2010, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles mandated that all schools and parishes implement a salary and pay freeze for all employees. Despite low enrollment and financial challenges, the focus at St. John of God School continues to be on providing a strong program of faith formation and academic excellence.
In 2016, the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross were assigned to minister at Saint John of God Parish. The charism is as follows: “Impelled by the love of Jesus of the cross, we the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross, draw strength from the compassionate and all embracing love of the Father, the humble service and solicitude of the Son, especially for the youth and the prisoners, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that animates and fires us for our missionary work. We courageously stand at the foot of the cross with Mary, our Mother and model of discipleship, the woman of joyful obedience and faith”.
In October of 2020, St. John of God School went through an administrative change. With the new Principal, came a few major developments which have had a positive effect on the school. The Principal ensured that we accessed all of our Title Funding and also began applying for both small and large grants that significantly improved how we met our previously selected critical goals. Because of the access to these funds, the development of a schoolwide intervention program, and through the active use of technology, we were able to immediately address our three critical goals. These goals focused on high student achievement, Archdiocesan standards, Next Generation Science Standards, the SLE’s, and governing authority expectations. The licensed Preschool program also re-opened in 2021 with only 7 students, but just a year later, began the academic year with 15 students in 2022.
