HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH PARISH SCHOOL
Under the leadership of Father Leo Taeyaerts, SS.CC., St. Joseph School was established in 1946 in an abandoned Japanese Language School. Father Leo sought the help of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet. Sister Mary Aloysia Dugger, Sister Louis Martin Bereswill, and Mother Mary Anne Dalton were sent to staff the school. Mother Mary Anne Dalton served as the superior and principal of the school when it opened in September with an enrollment of 128 students in kindergarten, first, and second grades. Father Evarist Gielen, SS.CC. replaced Father Leo in 1946.
As the school continued to grow, Father Gielen planned for a new school and convent.
Bishop Sweeney blessed the convent on June 30, 1947. The school, which is the
Administration building today, was completed in December of the same year. With the growing enrollment, Father Henry Boeynaems SS.CC. broke ground on March 17, 1952, for a kindergarten classroom and auditorium complete with kitchen facilities. Today, the building houses the cafeteria, P.E. room, and Development Office. Two other new buildings have been built since then; the J building was completed in 1967 and the N building was added in 1986. A Pre-Kindergarten class opened in the N building in 2001.
The Sacred Hearts Fathers were the administrators of St. Joseph School for forty years. Since 1986, the school has been under the guidance of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette (MS). In the 2013-2014 school year, St. Joseph School has changed its name to St. Joseph Parish School.