While new facilities were being constructed the primary school met in the chapel and the Baccalaureate at Central American University (UCA).

Externado San José was long considered a school for the elites, but after the Second Vatican Council and the Conference of Latin American Bishops at Medellin in the 1960s, the Jesuits and staff determined to make education more accessible to the poor.

At the same time, Christian Formation courses took on the goal of forming men and women devoted to serving their society.

Its graduates include many prominent Salvadoreans, among them former presidents Armando Calderón Sol and Mauricio Funes, and the internationally acclaimed poet Roque Dalton.

The lower left has the coat of arms of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and the bottom right has the letters "AMDG" taken from the Latin for the Ignatian motto, "To the greater glory of God."

The parrot is the mascot of the school, usually portrayed by a cute rendering of a parakeet, a very common bird in Central America.

[9] In line with the Jesuit objective of training men and women for others,[10] throughout the year various activities are carried out such as coexistence, retreats, Christian formation classes, and community celebrations (Pentecost, Easter, Confirmations...).

Festivals and cultural contests discover, promote, and reward the creative and artistic talents of students, through writing (composition, poetry, and narrative), speaking (oratory and declamation), and performing (music, drawing, theater, and dance).

[14] Students in ninth grade through high school take physical education, which teaches swimming, basketball, volleyball, soccer, and fitness.

Intramural tournaments are also conducted for students from first grade through high school, in soccer, swimming, volleyball, basketball, kickball, and track and field.

[15] The more skilled students compete at various levels in interscholastic sports in basketball,[16] as well as in soccer and volleyball which also have national championships.