Mount Saint Joseph Academy (Boston, Massachusetts)
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Mount Saint Joseph Academy is an all-girls, Roman Catholic college preparatory school in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The school is located within the Archdiocese of Boston, and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
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[edit] History
When the Sisters of St. Joseph settled in Boston in 1873, they were eager to continue their educational ministry begun in Brooklyn, NY, and in 1884 under the leadership of Mother Mary Regis and Msgr. Magennis, they were able to purchase and remodel the Fresh Pond Hotel in Cambridge, converting the property into an academy for young ladies, known as Mount Saint Joseph Academy. Mount Saint Joseph Academy, a boarding school for elementary and high school girls, opened on September 7, 1885. The Academy was founded by the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston, to educate and prepare students with a sound secular education combined with Catholic religious instruction.
[edit] 1800s
When the school opened its doors, eleven students attended. These young ladies were taught by Mother Regis and three other sisters, S. Mary Agnes, S. Mary Genevieve and S. St. James. On June 29, 1886, the Mount held its first commencement exercises, graduating three students.
In May 1891, the Academy was forced to relocate. The City of Cambridge reclaimed the land at Fresh Pond by public domain, and the school moved to its present site in Brighton, Massachusetts in 1892. The formal opening and dedication of the new Academy in Brighton was held on the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1892. Since that date, the Mount has continued to grow.
The faculty, which initially consisted of just four Sisters of Saint Joseph, has expanded to include professional members of religious congregations and lay people. For the past one hundred seventeen years, the Sisters of Saint Joseph along with many dedicated lay women and men, have remained faithful to that mission of its founders, "to cultivate the intellect and make a special training of the heart."
[edit] 1900s
The classroom building, which opened in 1913, originally served girls from grades one through twelve, and had dormitories and private rooms for the seniors on the fifth floor, while on the fourth floor were two large rooms for elementary students. Large classrooms, an auditorium, music rooms, two science laboratories, dining and day student locker areas characterized this neoclassic structure. As the enrollment of the day students expanded, dormitories were converted into classrooms. In the early 1950s, the elementary school was closed, and by the end of that decade, all boarding was discontinued. Since that time, Mount Saint Joseph Academy has served as a day high school for young women in grades nine through twelve.
During the next several decades, as the school continued to grow, physical and program changes were made to serve the needs of the students. In 1964, the gymnasium and the cafeteria were built. In the 1980s, the science laboratory and the guidance facilities were restructured. In 1983, the Congregation separately incorporated Mount Saint Joseph Academy. A Board of Trustees was composed of nine lay persons together with six Sisters of Saint Joseph.
In the early 1980s, the religious identity of the student population become more diverse. In response to this change, the services offered by Campus Ministry were expanded to enrich students in their spiritual development and to maintain the Catholic identity of Mount Saint Joseph Academy. As part of the Academy's mission to foster its students' spiritual development, the chapel in the Motherhouse continues to be used for religious celebrations and important selected school events.
In the 1990s, a computer classroom was added to the school. Several years later, additional improvements to the computer room included Internet access and the installation of Internet connections throughout the school. As recently as 1998, the science laboratory was renovated. Further additions to the school in the 1990s included the installation of tennis courts and a softball field.
