The Abridged version:
- Jesuit High School in Sacramento will accept girls in 2027, raising questions about the impact on the city’s all-girl St. Francis High School.
- Enrollment in parochial schools continues to decline, and concerns played a part in the change.
- News of the change sparked social media chatter, and parents, students and alumni have been invited to informational meetings this week.
Jesuit High School of Sacramento, historically an all-boys Catholic institution, will in less than two years begin admitting female students, raising concerns about competition with another established Sacramento school.
The first cohort of girls to attend Jesuit Sacramento in its more than 60-year history will arrive on campus in fall 2027. Applications open in 2026.
The board of trustees for Jesuit Sacramento approved the change overwhelmingly, according to a press release Sunday announcing the decision.
But opinions among parents of the 935 currently enrolled boys were much more varied, and reactions spilled far beyond the Jesuit school community.
Enrollment, finances factored in
Opening the school’s doors to more students was driven in part by “a desire to offer an experience of a Jesuit education to young women in Sacramento,” said Chris Alling, president of Jesuit Sacramento.
But enrollment and financial concerns were also a part of the conversation.
A report in April from National Catholic Educational Association showed enrollment in Catholic schools has continued to decline nationwide, with 1.7 million students in the U.S. in 2025.
“I wish we were alone in this,” Alling said.
Classes will still not be co-ed
Starting in 2027, Jesuit Sacramento will educate male and female students. But they will not be doing so in the same classrooms.
The school’s new model will combine genders for extracurriculars but have a boys’ division and a girls’ division when it comes to academics – “preserving the benefits of single-sex education while offering vibrant, integrated co-curricular experiences,” according to the press release.
Alling said the decision was also made with students’ and parents’ comfort in mind.
“For our young men, being in a classroom with all boys, that brings them a level of comfort,” he said.
“And for young women,” Alling added, “I do think there are benefits to being in a classroom with other young women.”
Parents of daughter will have another option
News of Jesuit’s decision sparked online chatter that the change may cause declining enrollment at St. Francis Catholic High School, an all-girls school open since 1940.
Christiana Dominguez, parent of a St. Francis sophomore, said she was disappointed by that assumption.
“I don’t know why anybody would assume that if they wanted to choose single-sex education for their child they would elect to send their daughter to Jesuit over an institution that’s been doing it for 85 years,” Dominguez said.
Alling said many of Jesuit’s teachers have experience at coeducational or codivisional schools. And, he said, current facilities have the existing space for these additional enrollments.
“We’re prepared to make the best beginning that we possibly can to welcome these young women to campus,” Alling said.
The school plans to host informational sessions for parents, students and alumni starting Tuesday, as well as an open house Oct. 19.
Jesuit, St. Francis have established relationship
Dominguez said the two schools, though under different leadership, have often acted as “buddy schools.”
“To wake up and find out that Jesuit is now a competitor, I think, is a bit of a shock,” she said.
Students from Jesuit and St. Francis often audition for one another’s theater productions, she said. And traditionally they have sat on the same sideline for the annual Holy Bowl, a rival football game between Jesuit and Christian Brothers High School, a coeducational Catholic school in Sacramento.
“What happens with that in 2027?” Dominguez said. “Does St. Francis sit in the middle? Do we stay home?”
Dynamics between the schools may shift, Alling acknowledged, “but I think the relationship will by and large still be the same.”
For instance, Alling said their visual and performing arts program welcomes students from not just Jesuit or St. Francis but also surrounding public schools.
And, he said, “Holy Bowl – I’m not really sure if Christian Brothers or Jesuit can claim to own that. I think Holy Bowl is more of a Sacramento thing now.”
Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.