St. Joseph Catholic School History 
Who We Are, Then & Now

Sacred Heart Academy was founded in 1863 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus
and Mary.  The historic three-story mansard roof school/convent stood on the corner
of Center and Cottage Streets until its demolition in 1972. St. Joseph School was
established in 1941 as the elementary-level extension of Sacred Heart Academy.
Archbishop Howard dedicated the original six-room St. Joseph School located on the corner
of Center and Winter Streets, on February 2, 1941. In the early 1950s, two classrooms
were added to the south end of the building, next to the church. In 1956, they gym and
two more classrooms were built facing Cottage Street.  In 1959, a two-classroom
annex was constructed next to the north side of the church.  The basement of the school was
remodeled in 1993, due to a fire. The annex was demolished in the summer of 1998
to make room for constructionof the Rev. Carl Gimpl Parish Center.

The charism of the Sisters of the Hold Names of Jesus and Mari is,
“In fidelity to the spirit of our Foundress, we collaborate in the church’s mission
of education with an emphasis on education in the faith.” The sisters’ early work was
primarily with girls. Over time, the school’s charism has developed into serving the
educational needs of the parish families as a ministry of the parish. In the long history
of the school, these two charisms are complementary, and have allowed
a steady continuous history.

Currently the school has ten classrooms, three offices, one practice room for the
parish Music Director, and a faculty room that is shared with Title 1 and Speech
therapists. There is an available cafeteria located in the adjacent parish center,
a gymnasium, and a media center (library/computer lab). The school facilities are used
extensively on the weekends and evenings for various parish ministries.