Celebrating sixty years of spiritual and academic excellence, St. Joseph Catholic School was founded by St. Joseph’s Parish under the direction of its first pastor, Father Edmund Hartigan. Dedicated in September 1954, by Amarillo Bishop Lawrence J. Fitzsimon, the first day of school was September 8, 1954. Two Benedictine Sisters from Fort Smith, Arkansas, were on the first staff, and the Benedictine Sisters continued to serve St. Joseph’s School until 1996. In 1999, the School Sisters of St. Francis committed to serve St. Joseph School.
The school opened with an enrollment of 97. By the next year the enrollment increased to 125, requiring additional space and staff. In 1959, six additional classrooms and a science laboratory were added, and in 1960, the School had an enrollment of 280 in Grades 1-8. In December 1964, Bishop Lawrence DeFalco dedicated another addition to the school, a brand new gymnasium and parish hall on the north side of the school. This was a proud day for the parishioners of St. Joseph’s, as they had given of their time, treasure, and talent to voluntarily construct the new building. The school was first accredited by the Texas Catholic Conference in cooperation with the Texas Education Agency in 1966. Since that time the school has had three additional accreditation visits in 1987, 1995 and 2007. The school has remained fully accredited since 1966.
In January 1996, St. Joseph’s added a Montessori Preschool for children ages 3 through 5. This program has been well received and enrollment has steadily increased.
Beginning in 2000, and ending in the summer of 2001, St. Joseph School was remodeled through the generosity of the parish and with the willing and able hands of many parishioners who gave of their time and talent.
In the spring of 2007, a 4-year-old transitional Pre-Kindergarten class was opened to prepare our Montessori children for a traditional Kindergarten setting. In 2011, we began offering parents a choice between our Montessori Program and our Prekindergarten program, both excellent choices.
St. Joseph Elementary School and Montessori Preschool primarily serve the families of St. Joseph’s Parish; however, many students come from other parishes throughout the diocese and Amarillo.
Committed to teaching doctrine, building community, and providing service, St. Joseph School, since it’s founding, has provided and continues to provide a quality education both spiritually and academically. The liturgy of the Eucharist is not only the foundation of faith for our students but the foundation for our school as well with the students attending three times weekly. Students are regularly involved as acolytes, lectors, song leaders, and gift bearers at Holy Mass. All students engage in service learning activities, which are planned to help them experience the joy of helping the poor, the elderly, or anyone else who may have special needs. While deeply committed to academic excellence and community service, total Christian formation is our overarching curricular goal and it is at the heart of all we do.
Currently, our enrollment is 138 and we continue to grow year after year.