Faith Development		Academic Excellence		Personal Growth

Mission

The mission of St. Joseph’s Academy is to educate young women as responsible and unifying members of the world community. In the spirit and charism of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, St. Joseph’s Academy offers opportunities for faith development in the Catholic tradition, academic excellence and personal growth.

Philosophy

St. Joseph's Academy is a secondary school for girls owned and operated by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille and staffed by the Sisters of Saint Joseph and dedicated laypersons. Primarily a college preparatory school, St. Joseph's strives for high standards of excellence in its academic program and its religious orientation within the Catholic tradition.

The school believes in being responsive to the times while being faithful to the best that tradition has to offer. It affirms the principles of American democracy and especially attempts to foster responsible freedom. By the development of a critical understanding of society and its values, the school hopes to prepare students to serve as responsible citizens who will make positive contributions to society. St. Joseph's Academy seeks to broaden the perspective of students so that they see themselves as planetary people and stewards of the earth's resources.

The faculty recognizes parents as the primary educators who extend to and share with the school the responsibility for the education of youth. The home and family are viewed as the basic educational environment where values are communicated and character formation is begun and continued. St. Joseph's affirms the importance of open lines of communication between parents and educators and sees cooperative collaboration as essential.

St. Joseph's Academy values education that is seeking the development of the whole person. It recognizes the importance of the quality of relationships among students, teachers, administration and the staff of the learning community. The faculty is concerned with learning that makes a difference, which makes for more sensitive living with a greater range, variety and richness because of the underlying confidences of the student in her own self-worth and her ability to live life fully.
The school's philosophy of education centers on the principle that the student, not the teacher, needs to be the primary agent in the educative process. The teacher's key role is that of organizing and designing effective learning experiences and facilitating the student's learning. Learning means acquiring cognitive skills (acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation) and affective skills (appreciating, valuing and responding).

The school recognizes that the gospel values Jesus taught and lived are the heart of its religious orientation and that these Christian values are often at odds with those of society. The faculty affirms the importance of personalizing the Catholic-Christian tradition and heritage in an atmosphere of community and service. The school endeavors to assist students in their moral development and in their becoming life-affirming, life-loving, life-sharing persons after the model of Jesus.

The program of studies, co-curricular activities, guidance program and total learning environment attempts to respond to the characteristics and needs of students as adolescents in their physical, emotional, intellectual, social, cultural and spiritual development; as members of an affluent society; as young women seeking to form realistic and personally fulfilling career plans within the context of becoming contributing members of society; and as persons living on the threshold of the 21st century.

St. Joseph's Academy offers a liberal arts curriculum that includes the theoretical and practical sciences, the arts and humanities and religious studies. The program of studies is planned so as to prepare students to continue their education in ways that best suit their needs and talents. A variety of methods and community resources are used in dealing with the various subject areas. The faculty recognizes the importance of both the content of a particular discipline and the processes that provide order, direction and opportunity for active learning. Faculty, parents and students of St. Joseph's are open to thoughtful experimentation and innovation, which promise more effective achievement of educational goals.

Co-curricular activities are provided for the development of interests and talents. Desirable outcomes of such activities are growth in leadership, initiative, responsibility and cooperation. Students are encouraged to use their gifts and abilities not only for their own enjoyment, but also in service to others.

The school's discipline system is designed to uphold the dignity of the individual, to provide an atmosphere conducive to study and to respect the needs of all members of the school community. What is essential and desirable at all times is that each student assumes mature responsibility for her own actions.

The faculty, parents and students of St. Joseph's Academy believe that those in the school are both capable of and responsible for creating a life-enhancing environment. They affirm the importance of giving attention to the quality of life for everyone in the school -- not just for the students, but for all who live there each day. They believe, finally, that striving to live the values of Jesus -- love, justice and service -- is truly the way to grow in the art of living.