St. Joseph's Academy - Baton Rouge

Joseph’s Academy, a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence where young women learn and experience their Catholic faith traditions, the pursuit of academic excellence and personal growth. This premier Catholic secondary school was founded in 1868 in Baton Rouge by the Sisters of St. The Academy continues to provide an environment of excellence, where relationships are strengthened and young girls become women of faith, hope and love. Joseph and dedicated lay women and men who provide an environment of inspiration and learning. To date, the Academy has 8,691 alumnae, and our communities are enriched by the gifts they bring to their businesses, charitable organizations, volunteer efforts, governments, church parishes and families. The Academy is recognized on the local, regional, state and national levels as an outstanding high school for young women. We are devoted to our mission statement, which is to educate young women as responsible and unifying members of the world community. In the spirit and charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Joseph’s Academy offers opportunities for faith development in the Catholic tradition, academic excellence and personal growth. Faith development in our Catholic tradition is a priority at SJA. We begin each day with prayer. Theology, which is taught throughout a student’s four years, is supplemented by our service program, annual retreats, Eucharistic liturgies celebrated regularly as well as weekly rosary. As an expression of the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph, education at SJA emphasizes the importance of relationship with the dear neighbor. The service component of our curriculum is one way we encourage our students to express God’s love, both within our school community and in the context of the broader world. Through service, our students grow in awareness of themselves and become increasingly connected with all God’s creation. The Academy has a 14-year tradition of sponsoring spring and summer service trips both in the United States and abroad. During the spring of 2013, a team of students and technology department members traveled to Port of Spain, Trinidad, to share their expertise with their counterparts at St. Joseph's Convent Port of Spain school. During the summer months, students were immersed in service experiences in Nicaragua; Klagetoh, Arizona; Wichita, Kansas; Atlanta, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; Labadieville, Louisiana; and Belize City. Academic excellence is an Academy hallmark. Our students’ ACT and PSAT scores continue to surpass state and national averages. A number of our seniors are recognized each year by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. One hundred percent of our graduates advance to the university level. Our curriculum includes Advanced Placement, Honors and college-prep core curriculum classes along with many electives, including Choir, Dance, Art, Painting, Drama, Multimedia, Family and Consumer Science and Computer Science. Our vibrant visual and performing arts program is housed in the state-of-the-art, 29,000-square-foot Academy Arts Center, the newest addition to our beautiful campus. Students receive academic counseling from grade-level counselors as well as guidance with the college application process with a full-time College Advisor. Students experience personal growth through a variety of co-curricular activities. Student-athletes compete in 11 sports and enjoy tremendous success, as the state championship trophies in our trophy case will attest. The Science Club plants seeds at SJA each year for the Coastal Roots Project and travels to areas devastated by hurricanes to plant the seedlings; the Respect Life Club participates in the March for Life in Washington, D.C., each year; and our Drama Club performs to standing ovations and rave reviews in fall and spring productions. These are just a few of the many opportunities our students enjoy. SJA provides tablet computers, wireless networking, email and 20 mb internet access to all students and teachers. Technology is integrated across the curriculum to support the teaching of higher-order thinking skills and to allow students the opportunity to make the computer a standard learning tool. Our curriculum is constantly updated to meet the changing needs of our young women. As you visit our website, you will see our mission in action. You will learn how the Academy is transforming lives and building a community of young women ready to make a difference in the world.