ST. IGNATIUS HIGH SCHOOL was founded as a result of an invitation from Bp. RICHARD GILMOUR to the Jesuits in Buffalo, NY, to provide advanced schooling for Cleveland's Catholic young men. Opened in 1886, it was a combined high school and college until 1902, when the latter assumed a separate existence leading to its eventual relocation to JOHN CARROLL UNIV. St. Ignatius High School remained at the original location on W. 30th St. at Carroll Ave., resisting the move toward the SUBURBS as a result of Fr. James O'Reilly's Cleveland Commitment Campaign in the 1970s. The school campus had been expanded to 15 acres. The principal 5-story Gothic edifice has been supplemented through the years by a library wing, Carroll Gym, Science Bldg., Loyola Hall, Field House, Fine Arts Dept., English wing, and Student Center, all grouped around a Student Commons planted atop the former roadbed of W. 30th in 1979. Since 1971 St. Ignatius has been governed independently of the Jesuits by a lay Board of Regents. Students provide community service through the Student Community Involvement Program (SCIP), the Sophomore Service Program, and the Arrupe Neighborhood Partnership Program. The school's academic reputation is exemplified by the statistic that 99% of the student body each year goes on to college. In 1995 student enrollment for St. Ignatius was 1,326, with 85 faculty.
Calahan, Nelson, with Jim Toman. Years in Passing: St. Ignatius High School, An Anecdotal History (1986).
Finding Aid for the Cleveland Urban Learning Community Records, WRHS.