TOLEDO — St. John’s Jesuit High School is opening its doors wider, announcing a new program this week designed to give students with intellectual and developmental disabilities access to the full experience of a St. John’s education.
The Gonzaga Scholars initiative is a supportive program built around the idea that students with disabilities should share in school life rather than watch it from the sidelines. Its supports include mentorship from fellow students and independent living experiences alongside the academic program, with the details tailored to the students it serves.
Finding students willing to help did not take long. When the all-boys Catholic school in Toledo decided to start the program, administrators did not have to look far for volunteers, and students stepped forward to get involved. Junior Kelvin Briggs is among those who signed up to become a mentor to the new students, pairing an experienced Titan with classmates who are finding their way in a new school.
Mentorship is central to how the program is meant to work. Instead of separating Gonzaga Scholars from the rest of the student body, the school is building relationships into the structure — older students who can model routines, share lunch tables and activities, and help new students navigate the same halls, assemblies and traditions as everyone else.
The announcement also speaks to a practical question for families: cost. Information shared with the program points families to state support that can help with tuition, including Ohio’s EdChoice program and scholarship programs for students with special needs, such as the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship and the Ohio Autism Scholarship.
For Toledo families who have assumed a school like St. John’s was simply not an option for a son with a disability, that combination matters. A named program, named supports and a path to help with tuition turn a general welcome into something a family can actually plan around and ask questions about.
The Gonzaga Scholars name carries the school’s Jesuit identity — St. Aloysius Gonzaga is the patron saint of young students — and the initiative now becomes part of how the Airport Highway campus presents itself to northwest Ohio. How it grows will depend on the families who come forward and the mentors who keep volunteering, but the door, the school says, is open.