Saint Joseph Academy (Brownsville, Texas)
Saint Joseph Academy, sometimes referred to as St. Joe, is a private school conducted by the Marist Brothers of the Schools. It is located in Brownsville, Texas, United States, and serves the children of the lower Rio Grande Valley and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville.
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History
St. Joseph Academy was originally founded in 1865 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, in downtown Brownsville. The school closed and re-opened many times under the Oblates. In 1906, the school was transferred to the Marist Brothers, and it has remained open ever since.
In 1959 St. Joseph relocated from its historic downtown campus to its current campus on the wooded and picturesque banks of a resaca (a regional Spanish word for oxbow lake). The original site became the parochial school for Sacred Heart Church (established 1912), under the direction of the religious order now known as the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate.
The new campus contained many architectural innovations, including: separate low-profile classroom buildings centered around a large garden area of native flora, reminiscent of Mexican Alameda Central urban parks; unique offset vents and jalousie windows designed to maximize the cooling effect of southerly breezes; and the gymnasium with its award-winning design (highly unusual at the time) by which the entire weight of the structure is supported by four curved roof beams that meet at the center of the building.
The school had been all-male until 1970, when Saint Joseph admitted its first female students into the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. In 2004, the construction of the new administration and middle school buildings began. On October 27, 2005 the buildings' dedication took place in the middle school gymnasium.
Distinguished Alumni
- Julian Schnabel — "neo-expressionist" painter and Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe winner and director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)
- Tony Garza — United States Ambassador to Mexico, Former Texas Secretary of State
- Francisco Rodriguez — 2007 Winner of the Austin ArtSpark Competition
- Federico Pena- United States Secretary of Transportation (1993-1997); United States Secretary of Energy (1997-1998); First Hispanic Mayor of Denver, CO.
Notes and references
- ^ SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". http://www.advanc-ed.org/schools_districts/school_district_listings/?. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
External links
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Categories: Marist Brothers schools | Middle schools in Texas | Private schools in Texas | Roman Catholic secondary schools in Texas | Education in Brownsville, Texas | High schools in Cameron County, Texas
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