St. Joseph Notre Dame High School
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| St. Joseph Notre Dame High School | |
| Established | 1881 |
|---|---|
| School type | Parochial |
| Principal | Anthony Aiello |
| Location | Alameda, California, United States |
| Students | 525 |
| Mascot | Pilot |
| Website | http://www.sjnd.org |
St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California is a coeducational Catholic high school. It is one of the few Catholic high schools in the world to boast an on-campus basilica. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and by the Western Catholic Educational Association.
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[edit] History
In 1881, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur founded an academy for girls, grades one through twelve, on a plot of land on the corner of Chestnut Street and San Jose Avenue in Alameda. Four years later, Saint Joseph's became a parish, and the parish opened an elementary school in 1922. In 1935, Saint Joseph High School, a school for boys, was founded by the Marianist Brothers on the same city block as the elementary school and Notre Dame Academy, the girls' school. In 1983, plans were set in motion to staff the parish with the Congregation of the Sacred Heart and consolidate the two schools. These plans were completed in 1985 with the consolidation of the two single-sex schools into the coeducational St. Joseph Notre Dame High School.
[edit] Students
The student body is relatively small, with around five hundred students in the entire school. 68% of students are students of color. Nearly all of SJND graduates pursue an advanced degree at a college or university. Every year, multiple SJND students are admitted to some of the nation's top colleges and universities.
[edit] Curriculum
St. Joseph Notre Dame has a college preparatory curriculum. The school offers honors level courses in English, Math, Science, and Foreign Language and offers Advanced Placement courses in U.S. History, English Literature & Composition, American Government & Politics, Calculus AB, Physics, Biology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, and Art Studio. St. Joseph Notre Dame requires that each student take at least six academic courses every semester. Each day has seven periods, and no student is permitted to have a "free period" or have more than one "study hall" or "teacher/office assistant" period. For the 2006-2007 school year, SJND is switching to a block schedule much like the one that is already in place at quasi-rival Bishop O'Dowd High School.
[edit] Athletics
St. Joseph Notre Dame offers interscholastic sports teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.
Despite being a small school, SJND has a reputation as a basketball powerhouse. Former players include NBA star Jason Kidd '92, UCLA standout Ray Young '98, Stanford standout Justin Davis '99, and UCSB star player Alex Harris '04. Under coach Frank LaPorte and his successor Gordon Johnson, the school has had many successes in basketball, including Division I state titles in 1992 and 1993, despite having a student body less than half the size of virtually all California Interscholastic Federation Division I schools. SJND reached the Boys' CIF Division I Finals two more times in 1997 & 1998, but lost to Crenshaw High School and Westchester High School, respectively. Most recently, SJND won the Boys' CIF Division IV state title under Coach Don Lippi.
St. Joseph Notre Dame's mascot is the Pilots, in reference to the now-closed Naval Air Station Alameda.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Jason Kidd, professional basketball player
- Mark Curry, comedian/actor, star of the popular 1990s television show Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
- David Dupart, professional pianist.
