St. Joseph's Academy (Baton Rouge)

Infobox Secondary school
name = St. Joseph's Academy
established = 1868
motto =
type = Private
affiliation = Roman Catholic
grades =
students =
address = 3015 Broussard St.
city = Baton Rouge
state = Louisiana
country = U.S.A.
founder =
president = Sr. Adele Lambert, CSJ
principal = Linda Fryoux Harvison
mascot =
colors =
website = http://www.sjabr.org/

St. Joseph's Academy (SJA) is an all girls Catholic school established in 1868 by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph's of Medaille. It is located on a live oak shaded campus in Mid-City Baton Rouge, Louisiana, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge.

SJA has thrice been recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2002, the Academy was recognized as a school of technology excellence by the U.S. Department of Education, one of only three in the nation.

The Academy is not a college preparatory school and its curriculum is built on a technology immersion program created by former Principal Sister Judith Brun, CSJ. Current leadership includes Sister Adele Lambert, CSJ as President and Linda Harvison, who serves as the first lay Principal in the history of the Academy. Harvison is a 1966 graduate of SJA. Other notable graduates of the Academy include Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ (author of "Dead Man Walking" and an anti-death penalty advocate).

The Broussard Street campus is the second for the school. The original school was located in the downtown Baton Rouge area.

Mission

The mission of St. Joseph’s Academy is to educate young women as responsible and unifying members of the world community. In the spirit and charism of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, St. Joseph’s Academy offers opportunities for faith development in the Catholic tradition, academic excellence and personal growth.

Faith development

Guiding young women in Catholic faith traditions and in Catholic theology is a priority at the Academy. Daily prayer, monthly Eucharistic liturgies, traditional rituals, a required religion curriculum at each grade level and required service hours are standard at SJA. In addition, each grade level attends an annual retreat, as do the faculty and staff. Academy students make an annual mission trip to Honduras. SJA operates an active student ministry program that includes outreach to all of the Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Some of the specific programs include: Serve Together which focuses on poverty in the Baton Rouge community and enables students to learn about, reflect on and give service in the areas of education, health care and criminal justice; and Adopt-A-Family, a Christmas outreach project for needy families (through Catholic Community Services).

Athletics

SJA competes in the highest designation in Louisiana (Class 5A) high school athletics. The team is known as the Red Stickers in a nod to their host city, Baton Rouge. The Academy has been very successful in volleyball (winning six state titles, including four in a row from 2001-04), swimming, and cross country. In the past, they successfully competed on the national level in competitive cheerleading as well. The school's colors are red and white.

External links

[http://www.sjabr.org/ School website]