Private school in Westchester, Illinois, United States
St. Joseph High School
(or
St. Joe's
) was a
Roman Catholic
,
coeducational
,
college prep
school in
Westchester, Illinois
, and was sponsored by the
De La Salle Christian Brothers
.
St. Joseph High School became accredited by the
North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
in 1987 and was approved by the
Illinois State Board of Education
. St. Joe's was a member of the
National Catholic Educational Association
and the Christian Brothers Educational Association. The school was also a member of the
Illinois High School Association
(IHSA) and the
Chicago Catholic League
(CCL).
Admission
[
edit
]
Students came from more than 40 elementary schools from the western suburbs and the City of
Chicago
. The students were accepted for admission based on the entrance exam, grade school records, and teachers’ recommendations for freshman year. Transfer students were accepted based on their academic records, discipline reports, and recommendations.
History
[
edit
]
St. Joseph High School exteriors (left to right) Construction and former St. Joseph Building (1840 S. Mayfair Avenue).
Samuel Stritch
,
Cardinal
Archbishop of Chicago
, invited the Christian Brothers to start a new high school in
Westchester, Illinois
. Construction of the original building (1840 S. Mayfair Ave.) began on July 2, 1959. Ground was broken, concrete was poured, and the first bricks of St. Joseph High School (the 1840 S. Mayfair Ave. address) were laid in 1959. Though classes began at the new school on September 7, 1960, work on the building continued through early 1961. The school was dedicated on September 16, 1961 by Cardinal Stritch's successor, Cardinal
Albert Gregory Meyer
.
[4]
In July 1963, St. Joseph High School received state recognition as a three-year high school and was granted full approval as a member of the Illinois High School Association. By the spring of 1964, the educational program had developed to such an extent that the school was given full recognition by the State of Illinois as a four-year high school.
The school earned national attention in the 1994 documentary film
Hoop Dreams
. The subjects of the film,
William Gates
and
Arthur Agee
, were both students at the school, and both played on the basketball team under head coach
Gene Pingatore
.
In 2004, the school became the first Catholic high school in the state of Illinois to enter an all wireless, all laptop learning campus. Every student and teacher received an
IBM
/
Lenovo
laptop computer which they either purchased or leased from the school.
[5]
St. Joseph was an all-male institution until 2005, when
Francis George
, O.M.I., Cardinal
Archbishop of Chicago
, permitted the school to become coed in light of the closing of
Immaculate Heart of Mary High School
, the neighboring all-female institution.
[6]
Prior to the opening of school in 2006, St. Joseph's purchased the former grounds and building of the Immaculate Heart of Mary High School, and started the second semester of the 2006-07 school year by moving classes into the building. The original St. Joseph High School building's classrooms are now vacant since 2007 and the gym was used primarily for athletic facilities from 2007-2021. The entire plot of land including the former St. Joseph building, Christian Brothers residence (also vacant since 2006), and current school are currently under a
TIF district
for the Village of Westchester's redevelopment plans.
[7]
[8]
On April 13, 2021, the Board of Directors announced the closure of the school after the end of the 2020-21 school year.
[9]
In July 2021, The SJHS memorabilia was archived and will be preserved in a number of locations including the Christian Brothers of the Midwest District Office as well as at the Village of Westchester Hall. St. Joseph High School worked with
Winternitz Industrial Auctioneers
& Appraisers to host a two day
online only auction for the rest of the contents.
[10]
As of April 13, 2022, approximately 1 year after the school announced its closure, all three buildings are still standing but vacant. The 29.25 acre lot of land is up for sale to satisfy a large mortgage. The entire property is currently co-listed for sale through two commercial real estate brokerage firms, Anne Dempsey with Collier’s International and Andrew Polivka, The Polivka Group LLC. St. Joseph High School’s remaining administrators are working closely with the Village of Westchester and the Christian Brothers to sell the entire parcel.
[11]
Great Seal
[
edit
]
St. Joseph High School’s Great Seal.
In the center is the crest of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, also known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the
Catholic
congregation who sponsors St. Joseph High School. At the top of the crest is the Latin phrase
Signum Fidei
, which means "Sign of the Faith", and is the motto of the Brothers. Below the Brothers’ crest is the broken shield, the family emblem of
St. John Baptist De La Salle
, the 17th-century French saint who founded the Christian Brothers.
Below it hangs the star of
Bethlehem
, a symbol used by Lasallian schools around the world.
On one side of the star of faith is the symbol of the
atomic age
which depicts the school's dedication to learning and technology. On the other side is the hammer and chisel representing the school's patron saint,
St. Joseph
the Worker, who was noted for his simple, but hard work as a carpenter and as the foster father of Christ.
The entire crest is surrounded by plumes and a knight’s helmet, representing the English tradition of the Village of
Westchester
.
Finally, at the top of the great seal of St. Joseph High School is the school motto, “Vincit Qui Laborat,” which means “He conquers, who labors.” Directly below the school seal is a cross to indicate
Roman Catholic Church
.
Academics
[
edit
]
There were three academic programs in which students pursued coursework: Honors, College Prep (A), and College Prep (B).
[12]
Coursework was broken down into three divisions:
[12]
- Applied Sciences: Mathematics, Science, Computer/Technology, Physical Education
- Language Arts: English, Fine Arts, Spanish
- Social Sciences: Religious Studies, Business, Social Studies
The school offered the following AP courses:
Calculus
,
[13]
English Literature and Composition
,
Studio Art
,
Spanish Language
,
[14]
and
European History
[15]
In addition, students had the opportunity to take certain business courses online through
Triton College
.
[16]
Every spring, St. Joseph High School hosted ChargerFest and (since 1995) sponsored its US$10,000 Super Raffle, which were the school’s biggest fundraisers. ChargerFest featured a buffet, door prizes, additional raffles, games, and music.
In December 2005, St. Joseph High School hosted an event entitled “Becoming a True Leader,” which featured prominent leaders of today sharing leadership experiences and advice with the entire St. Joe's student body and visitors. Cardinal George began the program by blessing the St. Joseph community and the school’s past heritage and new initiatives.
Athletics
[
edit
]
St. Joseph was a member of the
Chicago Catholic League
.
The school won the 1998—99
Illinois High School Association
boys' basketball championship.
[17]
St. Joe's Head Basketball Coach Gene Pingatore and alumnus
Isiah Thomas
were both members of the first class of the East Suburban Catholic Conference’s Hall of Fame in 2006.
[17]
The school won the 2014?15 Illinois High School Association class 3A boys' basketball championship.
[17]
2016-17 St. Joseph Football Team had its best season in school history going 7?3, winning Conference for the first time ever on a varsity level and qualifying for the IHSA State Playoffs for the first time.
Notable alumni
[
edit
]
- Andy Frederick
(class of 1973) was an
offensive tackle
in the
National Football League
(1977?85) and was a member of the
Super Bowl XII
champion
Dallas Cowboys
and the
Super Bowl XX
champion
Chicago Bears
.
[18]
- William Gates
(class of 1991) basketball player; subject of the 1994 documentary
Hoop Dreams
[19]
- Steven Harris
is a professional actor.
[20]
- Wood Harris
is a professional actor and younger brother of Steve Harris.
[21]
- Demetri McCamey
(class of 2007) was a basketball
guard
for the
Illinois Fighting Illini
men's basketball
team; he currently plays professionally in Japan
[22]
- Amal McCaskill
was a professional basketball player, playing in the
NBA
(1996?97, 2001?04).
[23]
- Cameron Meredith
(class of 2010) is an
American football
wide receiver
for the
New Orleans Saints
of the
NFL
- Isiah Thomas
(class of 1979)
NBA
player, coach, executive, member of the
50 Greatest Players in NBA History
team
[19]
- Evan Turner
(class of 2007) is a former All-American, 2010
John Wooden Award
winner and National Player of the Year at
Ohio State
(2007-2010); he currently plays
guard
/
forward
for the
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Glynn Watson
(class of 2015) is a
college basketball
player for the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
and the younger brother of Demetri McCamey
- Pierre Walters
, former NFL player for the
Kansas City Chiefs
and current
mixed martial artist
- Saba
, a rapper from
Chicago
who has done work with many rappers such as
J. Cole
,
Chance the Rapper
, and more.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Charger Fight Song Lyrics"
. Retrieved
1 December
2021
.
- ^
NCA-CASI.
"NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement"
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-04-29
. Retrieved
2009-07-28
.
- ^
"St. Joseph High School 2020-2021 School Profile"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
27 October
2020
.
- ^
History of St. Joseph
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Aduroja, Grace (October 7, 2004).
"Technology ahead of the curve"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
August 25,
2021
.
- ^
St. Joseph goes coed
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
IHM becomes the "new" St. Joseph
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=790818538376833&id=291167168341975
[
user-generated source
]
- ^
"Letter to Alumni and Friends"
(PDF)
.
- ^
"Everything from St. Joseph HS, school featured in 'Hoop Dreams,' up for auction"
.
WGN 9
. July 15, 2021
. Retrieved
August 27,
2021
.
- ^
"Frequently Asked Questions"
(PDF)
. St. Joseph High School
. Retrieved
September 2,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
General Academic Information
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Applied Sciencec course offerings
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Language Arts course offerings
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Social Sciences course offerings
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Social Science course offerings
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
a
b
c
"April-2015-westchester-village-newslettre"
.
Westchester Newsletter
. Retrieved
December 29,
2021
.
- ^
Andy Frederick
, @databasefootball.com; accessed 4 October 2008
Archived
30 September 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
Athletic Hall of Fame
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Steve Harris"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
18 April
2018
.
- ^
Chaney, Kathy;
Actor Wood Harris returns home
; 27 May 2009;
Chicago Defender online
; accessed 16 June 2009
Archived
8 July 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/illini/story/87EBAEF35589967E862576C60017DDD1?OpenDocument
[
permanent dead link
]
Durando, Stu; 10 February 2010; "Illinois Fighting Illini's Demetri McCamey does it again"
- ^
"Amal McCaskill Stats - Basketball-Reference.com"
.
Basketball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
18 April
2018
.
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