Our History

St. Joseph School opened in October 1954. The school consisted of grades one through four accommodating 42 children. By 1956 grades seven and eight we added bringing the enrollment to 358 students. An early childhood program for four-year olds was added in 1989 and remains in effect today. Today, our student population is over 400.

The newest addition to our campus includes the 7th and 8th grade classrooms, conference room, science lab, library and computer labs which were completed during the summer of 1993.

While remaining a parish school, St. Joseph's is the only Catholic school in Manatee County and serves the surrounding parishes of Holy Cross, Palmetto; Our Lady of Queen of Martyrs, Sarasota; Saints Peter and Paul, Bradenton; Sacred Heart, Bradenton; Saint Bernard, Holmes Beach; Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Longboat Key; Our Lady of Angels, East Bradenton; Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Bradenton; and Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini, Parrish.

Parent participation in school activities has been evident since the early years of our operation. The Home and School Association, founded in 1958, has been extraordinarily active in providing financial support to St. Joseph's. At the present time it provides more than $165,000 per year to assist in the budgetary operation and renovations of the school.

The Advisory Board was formed in 1971 to provide administrative assistance in areas of financial and physical operations. Representatives of each of the above named parishes are voting members on this board.

Still continuing to give witness to the values and teachings of Jesus Christ, St. Joseph school provides a curriculum and social environment structured according to the pastoral message on Catholic education, TO TEACH AS JESUS DID: message, community, and service.