Saint Joseph Academy (San Marcos, California)

St. Joseph Academy
formerly Sierra Madre Academy
Address
500 Las Flores Drive
San Marcos, California, (San Diego County), 92078
United States
Coordinates 33°8′50″N 117°12′19″W / 33.14722°N 117.20528°WCoordinates: 33°8′50″N 117°12′19″W / 33.14722°N 117.20528°W
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1994
Principal Carol White
Grades K-12
Enrollment 250+ (2008)
Color(s) Blue, Black and White             
Team name Crusaders
Accreditation Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1]
Yearbook SMA Yearbook
Tuition 2013-14: $4,950 (K-8);
$7,950 (9-12)[2]
Athletic Director Kevin Allen
Website www.saintjosephacademy.org

Saint Joseph Academy is an independent Roman Catholic K-12 school located in San Marcos, CA. It is operated independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. Originally founded as Sierra Madre Academy, the school was renamed Saint Joseph Academy in September, 2008, when it moved to the new campus.[3]

Background

In 1995, Patricia Hansen and Barbara De La Torre were and are Catholic mothers longing for a school in San Diego North County that would provide their children with solid academics and faith formation with an integrated K-12 curriculum. The result takes to heart the fact that the Church recognizes parents as the primary educators of their children, and with the blessing of San Diego Bishop Robert Brom, they founded Sierra Madre Academy in a small commercial building in San Marcos.

During that first year, 25 students attended in grades one to through nine. There were four full-time paid teachers (two were volunteers), a volunteer secretary, and Patricia Hansen as principal and teacher. In the second year, with word of mouth as its only marketing tool, the school tripled its enrollment to 77 students. In 1997 the school leased additional space at another commercial building across a vacant field from the original school building to create at an "upper campus" to accommodate more students. Each year more space was leased at the upper campus until there was a classroom for each grade and one computer classroom. Enrollment leveled off at around 200 students with no more room to hold any more students.

In 2000, the school negotiated a lease for the vacant 3-acre (12,000 m2) lot between the two campuses. With all-volunteer labor and mostly donated materials, parents cleaned up and fenced in the area, installed irrigation, and planted grass. The result: a play field that allowed the school to expand its athletic and recreational opportunities. At the same time, portions of the upper campus parking lot were fenced off for a basketball court.

Sierra Madre Academy (SMA) housed grades K-3 in its original space, the "lower campus," while the upper campus was home to grades 4-12. In the 2004-05 school year, enrollment reached 189 students.

The school is the only complete K-12 school that provides a Catholic education in San Diego County. Parents enroll their children knowing that they can receive 13 years of education that will prepare students for higher education and passes on the essential teachings of the Roman Catholic faith.

Teachers and advisors

SJA has teachers that come from all over the country. This diversity enables them to provide for their students, varied styles of learning. The teachers have degrees from such colleges as Wayne State University in Michigan, Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, University of St. Thomas, University of Dallas- both in Texas, Jamestown College in North Dakota, Loyola Marymount, Thomas Aquinas College, California State University, San Marcos, UCSD - all in California, Purdue University, University of Notre Dame, Indiana University - all in Indiana, Gannon University in Pennsylvania, Universidad Hispano Mexicana in Mexico, and Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Italy.

The advisory board for Sierra Madre Academy also consists of people who bring unique experiences of their own to the school. Such advisors include Right Rev. Charles Wright, OSB, Rev. T. Henry, TOR, Deacon Ken Finn, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., Fr. David Morrier, Dr.Scott Hahn, Fr. C. John McCloskey III, STD, Tim Staples, Barbara McGuiggen, Karl Keating, Dr. John W. Galten, and Terri Barber.

Currently

St. Joseph Academy was recently named one of the top 50 Catholic High-Schools in the United States .

During the Summer of 2008, the school moved into its newly built campus on Las Flores Drive in San Marcos. September 2008 marked the start of the first school year in the new campus. This joyful event was something that the founders, teachers, volunteers and students had longed and prayed for since the school's inception.

St. Joseph Academy strives to create an atmosphere that is in keeping with the Roman Catholic faith while attempting to teach its students how to live exemplary lives in the midst of modern society. Graduates are expected to be strong and respectful adults who are capable of becoming the leaders of the future.

The school provides students with opportunities to join clubs and participate in extracurricular activities such as sports teams, a yearbook club, a drama club, student government, as well as volunteering to help homeless shelters and elderly homes.

Many former teachers have been hired as principals. Paul Kerekes, a teacher who has spent 9 years teaching at Sierra Madre Academy, served for a brief period as principal before returning to regular teaching in 2008. In 2008, Ms. Carol Kewell, a graduate of the University of Dallas and former teacher at JSerra High School replaced Mr. Kerekes as the new principal, and serves as the first head of the renamed St. Joseph Academy.

Graduates

Graduates have been accepted at universities such as the Rochester Institute of Technology, University of St. Andrews, University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh, Franciscan University of Steubenville, the University of Dallas, Thomas Aquinas College, Christendom College, Merrimack College, Purdue University, Cebu Doctors' University, Catholic University of America, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, various California State University schools, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and various community colleges. Other graduates have entered religious institutes and the priesthood.

New Campus

On September 10, 2008, St. Joseph Academy opened a new campus located on Las Flores Drive, San Marcos, California. The new, 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2), 13-classroom campus allows the school to increase enrollment to 350 students. The purchase and construction of the new campus was financed by a $4,800,000 loan. Academy officials plan to pay off the loan through increases in student enrollment, elimination of rental costs and additional fund-raising.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ SMA. "Sierra Madre Academy". Sierra Madre Academy website. Retrieved 2008-01-11.

External links