St. Joseph High School (Kenosha)
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| St. Joseph High School | |
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| Motto | "The wisdom of tradition the vitality of today with faith for tomorrow" |
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| Established | 1957 |
| Type | private, grades 9-12 |
| Head | Robert Freund |
| Location | Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA |
| Campus | single, urban |
| Enrollment | 300 |
| Faculty | 30 |
| Colors | Blue and Yellow |
| Mascot | Lancers |
| Homepage | Homepage |
St. Joseph High School is a Catholic High School located in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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[edit] Founding
Founded in 1957, St. Joseph High School was owned and operated by the School Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis in Milwaukee until 1991 when ownership was transferred to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Catholic parishes in Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie sponsor the school.
[edit] Notable people
Many St. Joseph's graduates have gone on to fame including numerous artists, musicians, athletes and performers. Some of the graduates of St. Joseph include Jim Rygiel - an Academy Award winner for his work on Lord of the Rings, Dominic J. Cibrario, author of The Pomelo Tree and numerous books, Michael Schumacher, author of Mighty Fitz and numerous books.
Former St. Joseph athletes include: John Lattner, Heisman Trophy winner - University of Notre Dame, NFL Hall of Fame, Nick Van Exel - NBA All-Star, University of Cincinnati, Jarvis Brown - Outfielder, 1991 Minnesota Twins World Series Champions, current Head Baseball coach - University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and Dick Versace - Head Coach of several NCAA college basketball teams, NBA head coach, NBA television broadcaster.
[edit] Staff
One staff member, Frank Matrise, was there the morning in September 1959 when St. Joseph High School in Kenosha threw open its doors for the first time. He was part of the faculty, which at the time included 55 nuns and five lay teachers. After giving the Lancers 48 of the best years of his life, as the school's athletic director, guidance counselor, social studies teacher, wrestling coach, assistant football coach and even golf coach, Frank Matrise retired from the school on July 1, 2006 a month short of his 69th birthday.
Matrise, a Kenosha native who earned a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin during his summer vacations, was the state athletic director of the year in 1988 and the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association man of the year in 1996. Matrise said he thought he was the only athletic director in the state who has had schools in the old Wisconsin Catholic organization, the WISAA and the WIAA.
Matrise focused on hiring the best coaches he could find to run the school's various athletic programs and he found some great ones like basketball coaches Dan Chubrilo (won state championships in Illinois and Wisconsin), Dick Versace (who later coached in the NBA), Dr. Ray Knight (coached and developed over 50 Division One college players in 15 year career) , and football coach Bob Freund (won state championship, developed over 100 players who went on to play collegiate football in 10 year career). As a fitting tribute to Mr. Matrise the St. Joseph baseball team won back to back state baseball championships in 2005 and 2006.
[edit] Academics and Athletics
Of the 2005 St Joseph students that took the ACT, the average ACT score was 24 (the national average is 20), 57 percent of the students from St Joseph scored 24 or higher . Graduation rates for St. Joseph students has averaged in the 90th percentile since the school began operations. Of the seniors attending St Joseph, 75 % will attend and graduate with a 4 year college degree. Academically, graduates of St. Joseph High School are strong in the social sciences and english.
St Joseph currently is a member of the Lakeshore athletic conference. Many of the schools in the conference are 2 or 3 times the enrollment of St Joseph yet the Lancers have dominated the conference leading to charges of "recruiting". The most infamous recruiting charge was for 2004 Wisconsin All State football player Dan Freund. Several of the larger schools in the conference questioned how Dan ended up at St Joseph. The matter was brought to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association for investigation by several schools. The WIAA ruled that Dan's father - Robert - was hired in 1992 as principal of St Joseph so it was natural assumption his son would attend St Joseph. Many charges of recruiting are usually baseless, lack proof and appear as a sign of jealousy.
Schools in the conference have typically treated St Joseph very poorly. Many locker rooms have been closed or basic needs such as parking or drinking water have been refused. One football game the host school refused to allow St Joseph to refill water bottles or use a locker room during a rainy night. Many athletic events have resulted in the cheer "St Joes Sucks" over and over with adults and staff encouraging the cheer on. In 2008 St Joseph will move to a larger and more balanced conference due in large part to the animosity of current conference schools.
[edit] Current and Future Plans
Current enrollment stands at just over 300 students, with anticipated population growth St. Joseph could grow to enrollments of 1000 or more that St. Joseph had in the 1960's. Current plans keep St. Joseph students on a 10-1 student to teacher ratio.
St. Joseph is one of the few Catholic schools in the area to offer a limited program for students with special needs. About 25 students with mild learning disabilities have access to a resource center and two special-ed staffers, who provide assistance in test and note taking, reading and other needs. As the world around changes St. Joseph still remains unchanged in its beliefs of the wisdom of tradition, the vitality of today with faith for tomorrow that the School Sisters of St Francis taught.
[edit] External links
- St Joseph High School website[1]
