School Board

Message from Our Past Board Chair

As parents, we have the formidable task of preparing our children for life and all of its challenges. We provide protection, guidance, spiritual enlightenment and wisdom while we navigate our careers, relationships and personal goals. Fortunately, we have help. Saint Joseph Catholic Schools’ mission is to educate the whole person, while promoting self-esteem, confidence, respect, honesty, humility and compassion. The Saint Joseph education focuses on values that allow our students to grow in faith and leadership. It codifies educational beliefs within the mission statement, “Saint Joseph Catholic Schools of Utah inspire a life-long love of learning within the context of the Catholic education tradition. The schools form an integrated pre-K through 12th grade system that provides each student with the opportunities to excel through exemplary spiritual formation and academic, social, and physical education.” This mission statement drives the St Joseph curriculum, the type of educators it hires, and the environment it creates.

Rooted in everything at Saint Joseph is Catholic education. This time-proven tradition is the foundation to its methods in educating, leading and inspiring our children and young adults. Every class and event begins with a prayer. This Catholic education fosters a safe, inclusive and interactive education experience. Our teachers and administrators truly care about all of our students. Many of our parents were taught by some members of our current faculty; the relationship between student and teacher at St Joseph often lasts a lifetime.

One of Saint Joseph’s core focus is on college preparation. St. Joseph Catholic schools prepare its students for admission and success in higher education, including the nation’s top universities. The tailored curriculum allows for significant Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and the faculty is very involved with each of our students as they navigate their college acceptance and selection. Besides admittance into Utah’s universities, in the past two years, a substantial percentage of our graduates have been accepted to the nation’s most prestigious universities: Dartmouth, Brown, NYU, Johns Hopkins, University of Notre Dame, California Poly-technical University, Tulane, United States Naval Academy, United States Coast Guard Academy are a few. St Joseph has, in many cases, average students being accepted to extraordinary institutions.

A significant element of the Saint Joseph Catholic education are the extracurricular activities, with 75% of the High School student body participating in at least one organization: sports and extracurricular. St. Joseph has a “no-cut” policy, ensuring that any student may participate in whatever they wish to try. It’s robust assortment of activities and allows every student to pursue a diverse selection of interests.

I am very proud to be a parent in the Saint Joseph Catholic school system. All three of the core competencies above have shaped my family. The partnership that I am blessed to share with both principals and all of their faculty has been wonderful for my children, my most precious gifts. I am still witnessing the significant benefits as they navigate their lives away from St. Joseph and embark on their own careers, relationships and personal goals.

Pat Wade,
Past Board Chair