Staffed by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Xavier College Preparatory is a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school for young women located in the heart of central Phoenix. Xavier is a Catholic community whose mission is to prepare young women with knowledge, skills, and integrity to meet the challenges of a changing global society in a positive and productive manner.

When Xavier High School graduated its first class in 1947, eleven mature and confident young women left footprints of excellence for future generations of students to follow. From its founding in 1943, Xavier College Preparatory continues this tradition of excellence through its teaching of Catholic faith and values, innovative academic curriculum, superior athletic programs and diverse extracurricular and service opportunities.

Xavier was founded by Saint Francis Xavier Parish and in 1967, became a Diocesan school. Classes were held on the second floor of the Brophy building. In 1956, 224 students moved onto Xavier’s new campus and into the main building, which was renamed Fitzgerald Hall in 2001 in honor of Sister Joan Fitzgerald’s 40 years at Xavier. Since then, the Xavier campus has added Lutfy Hall (1973), the Activity Center (1981), Brown Hall (1983), the Virginia Piper Center for Science and Technology (1994), and the Virginia G. Piper Performing Arts Center and Steele Educational Complex (2003). In 2008 Xavier established the Legacy of Leadership Capital Campaign to construct a Chapel, Founders Hall, and athletic field. The field will be completed in Fall of 2011 and the Chapel and Founders Hall in the Spring of 2012.

Xavier has been blessed with the tremendous support of its loving community that includes 1200 students, their parents, nearly 9,000 alumnae throughout the world, alumnae parents, Xavier faculty, the Advisory Board, the Board of Trustees, the Xavier Foundation, Inc. Board, the Mothers’ Guild and the Dads’ Club. Especially integral to Xavier is principal Sister Joan Fitzgerald, BVM who has led the school with her continuity and leadership since 1974. Xavier’s success is truly a direct result of the members of this amazing community.

Xavier has consistently been recognized as an academic leader in Arizona, as further supported by the following accomplishments. In 1991 and 1996, Xavier was recognized as a U.S. Department of Education/Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, the first high school in Arizona to receive the Blue Ribbon distinction twice. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education awarded Xavier a Blue Ribbon for Excellence in Technology in 1996. Xavier was named one of the Top 25 in academics in America in 2005, 2006, and 2007 by the Catholic High School Honor Roll. In the 2007-08 school year, the Siemens Foundation and College Board ranked Xavier as the top high school in Arizona and in the top 50 high schools in the U.S. for Advanced Placement success.  Xavier received the National Catholic Education Association Award for Innovation in Education for its course: Financial Literacy: A Call to Stewardship.

Led by Vice Principal for Activities, Athletic Director, Sister Lynn Winsor, BVM ’61, CMAA, Xavier’s athletic program is unparalleled in the region and state. Xavier won the coveted Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Blue Cup Award, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield, for the 4A-5A athletic conference in 2006. This is the AIA’s highest honor, recognizing excellence in high school activities, scholastics and athletics.
Xavier also won the Arizona Interscholastic Association Tony Komadina Award for the Best Girls' Sports Program. The AIA awarded Xavier the prestigious H.A. Hendrickson Award in 2009 for overall excellence in interscholastic competition. Additionally, in the fall of 2009, Xavier won all five fall state championships in one season, a historic “five for five”, placing first in Badminton, Cross Country, Golf, Swimming and Diving and Volleyball.

Community service is a key component to Xavier’s Catholic faith and diverse academic curriculum. Xavier’s principal, Sister Joan Fitzgerald, BVM established the School’s Christian Service program, the first and now one of the largest youth service programs in Arizona. Xavier students collectively contribute over 30,000 hours in service annually to the poor, disabled, elderly, infirm, dying, and children in the Valley.

One hundred percent of Xavier graduates go to college. Members of the Class of 2011 were accepted at 284 colleges and universities, garnering over $27 million in college scholarships. The Xavier Class of 2011 included two U.S. Presidential Scholar Nominees, six National Merit Semi-Finalists, nine National Merit Commended Scholars, one Outstanding Participant Scholar for the National Achievement Scholarship Program for Black Americans, and seven National Hispanic Recognition Program Finalists.

Each day, it is the goal of the Xavier faculty and administration to develop generations of students into young women of faith who pursue excellence.