Saint Joseph Academy (Brownsville, Texas)

Saint Joseph Academy, sometimes referred to as St. Joe or SJA, is a private school conducted by the Marist Brothers of the Schools. It is located in Brownsville, Texas, United States, and serves junior high and high school students of the lower Rio Grande Valley and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The school is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville.

Saint Joseph Academy
Address
101 St. Joseph Drive

Brownsville
,
(Cameron County)
,
Texas
78520

United States
Coordinates25°55′7″N 97°30′.57″W
Information
TypePrivate, Coeducational
MottoAd Astra Per Aspera
(To the Stars through Difficulties)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Marist Brothers
Established1865
PresidentMichael Motyl
PrincipalMelissa Valadez
Faculty72 full-time
Grades7–12
Enrollment752 (2011-12)
Average class size24
Student to teacher ratio15:1
LanguageEnglish only campus
Campus typeopen
Color(s)Red and White   
Athletics conferenceTAPPS
MascotBrutus the Bloodhound
Team nameBloodhounds
AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools
PublicationPAW (literary magazine)
NewspaperHound Collar
Athletic DirectorBen Sandoval
WebsiteOfficial school website

History

St. Joseph Academy was founded in 1865 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the downtown area of Brownsville, Texas. The school closed and re-opened many times under the Oblates in its earliest years.[1] In 1906, however, the Marist Brothers arrived from Mexico and re-opened St. Joseph Academy, and it has remained open ever since.[2] Initially, SJA was an all-male elementary school; and in 1926 a three-story building was constructed, known as the "Old Saint Joseph", where the International Bank of Commerce now stands in downtown.[1]

In 1930, the first high school class graduated from St. Joseph, and by 1940, the Sisters of the Holy Ghost assumed the administration of the elementary school. The new campus, found on 101 St. Joseph Drive in Brownsville, Texas,[3] relocated in 1959 from its historic downtown campus to its current campus on the wooded and picturesque banks of a resaca (a regional Spanish word for oxbow lake), serving boys from 7th to 12th grade. In addition, the original site became the parochial school for Sacred Heart Church (established 1912), under the direction of the religious order now known as the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate.[1]

The new campus contained many architectural innovations, including: separate low-profile classroom buildings centered around a large garden area of native flora, reminiscent of Mexican Alameda Central urban parks; unique offset vents and jalousie windows designed to maximize the cooling effect of southerly breezes; and the gymnasium with its award-winning design (highly unusual at the time) by which the entire weight of the structure is supported by four curved roof beams that meet at the center of the building.[1]

The school had been all-male until 1970, when Saint Joseph became co-educational and admitted its first female students into the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. In 1998, the school switched from now-defunct TCIL to TAPPS,[4] and by 2004, the construction of the new administration and middle school buildings began. On October 27, 2005, the buildings' dedication took place in the middle school gymnasium.[1]

On 8 April 2008, the Mexican pop group, RBD, played at a private concert in Saint Joseph Academy's gymnasium after several students won a competition sponsored by Verizon Wireless.[5]

By June 2012, the whole campus in SJA got wireless network connection.[6]

Mission statement

St. Joseph Academy, conducted by the Marist Brothers with the mission to serve the children of the lower portion of the Rio Grande Valley, dedicates to provide a "religious and moral formation" and a college preparatory education under the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.[7] According to the official page of the school, the SJA "endeavors" to form students that will succeed in their university studies, understand and love Jesus Christ, and participate in the mission of the Church, including Catholic social teaching on the preferential option for the poor.[7]

Every year, about 100 students and more than a dozen faculty members travel to several rural communities to do community services and conduct religious classes.[8]

The school also has a community service requirement for each student during the school year, and that chore is set up by the religion professors.[8] In the early 2000s, the missions program at St. Joseph travelled to Tula, Tamaulipas every year; in 2012, they traveled to a Native American reservation near Gallup, New Mexico on a 10-day trip.[8][9]

Athletics

At a high school level, SJA has baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dance team, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track and field.[10] In junior high, which is only from seventh to eighth grade, basketball, football, cross country, track and field and volleyball are available.[11]

Communities represented

Students attending Saint Joseph Academy come from the following communities in the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan area.[12]

Cities in Mexico
Cities in the U.S. (Texas)

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. "School History: Celebrating Over 100 Years of Marist Presence". Saint Joseph Academy. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  2. Perry, Daniel (January 31, 2006). "Diocese planning third Catholic high school in Valley". The Brownsville Herald. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  3. "Address: Saint Joseph Academy". Google Maps. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  4. Hess, Roy (June 11, 2012). "Brownsville St. Joseph's Vallejo enjoying title". The Brownsville Herald. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  5. "Rebelde performs for SJA crowd". The Brownsville Herald. April 9, 2008. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  6. "SJA going, going, gone ... 100 percent wireless!". Hound Collar. July 20, 2012. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  7. "Mission Statement". Saint Joseph Academy. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  8. Espinoza, J. Noel (August 24, 2003). "Brotherly Love". The Brownsville Herald. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  9. "Missions 2012: Seeking God and finding Him". Saint Joseph Academy. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  10. "High School Athletics". Saint Joseph Academy. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  11. "Jr. High School Athletics". Saint Joseph Academy. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  12. "School Profile: Communities Represented". Saint Joseph Academy. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  13. "Dancer with Brownsville ties now starring in musicals". The Brownsville Herald. July 31, 2003. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  14. "About Commissioner Garcia". Railroad Commission of Texas. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  15. Brito, Victoria (November 21, 2014). "Author to Watch: Rudy Ruiz". Valley Morning Star. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  16. Schiller, Dane; Gonzalez, Patricia A. (September 27, 2013). "Twenty years later, recollections of wilder than fiction South Texas murder". The Houston Chronicle.
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