Saint Joseph Academy, sometimes referred to as St. Joe or SJA, is a private school conducted by the Marist Brothers of the Schools. It is located in Brownsville, Texas, United States, and serves junior high and high school students of the lower Rio Grande Valley and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The school is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville.

History

St. Joseph Academy was founded in 1865 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the downtown area of Brownsville, Texas. The school closed and re-opened many times under the Oblates in its earliest years. Initially, SJA was an all-male elementary school. In 1926 a three-story building was constructed, known as the "Old Saint Joseph", where the International Bank of Commerce now stands in downtown. relocated in 1959 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), serving boys from 7th to 12th grade. 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. and by 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.

On 8 April 2008, the Mexican pop group RBD played at a private concert in Saint Joseph Academy's gymnasium after several students won a competition sponsored by Verizon Wireless.

By June 2012, the whole campus in SJA had wireless network connection.

Mission statement

St. Joseph Academy, conducted by the Marist Brothers with the mission to serve the children of the lower portion of the Rio Grande Valley, is dedicated to provide a "religious and moral formation" and a college preparatory education under the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

Every year, about 100 students and more than a dozen faculty members travel to several rural communities to do community services and conduct religious classes.

The school also has a community service requirement for each student during the school year, and that chore is set up by the religion professors.

Athletics

At a high school level, SJA has baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dance team, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track and field. In junior high, which is only from seventh to eighth grade, basketball, football, cross country, track and field and volleyball are available.

Communities represented

Students attending Saint Joseph Academy come from the following communities in the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan area.

;Cities in Mexico

  • Matamoros, Tamaulipas

;Cities in the U.S. (Texas)

{|

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  • Brownsville
  • Rancho Viejo
  • Harlingen
  • Olmito
  • Raymondville
  • San Pedro

|

  • San Benito
  • Los Frenos
  • La Feria
  • Port Isabel
  • South Padre Island

|}

Notable alumni

  • James Carlos Blake — prize-winning author of novels, novellas, short stories, and essays; current member of the Texas Institute of Letters
  • Joey Fischer — senior student murdered in 1993; part of a murder case that brought national attention
  • Buddy Garcia — appointed to the Railroad Commission of Texas by Governor Rick Perry on April 12, 2012
  • Tony Garza — United States Ambassador to Mexico, former Texas Secretary of State
  • Fernando de Leon — Mexican-born American businessman, investor and philanthropist
  • Bianca Marroquín — Mexican musical theatre and television actress; first Latina to play in a starring role on Broadway
  • Jose Rolando Olvera Jr. — United States District Judge United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • Federico Peña — U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1993–1997); U.S. Secretary of Energy (1997–1998); first Hispanic mayor of Denver, CO
  • Robert Rodriguez — emergency physician at the San Francisco General Hospital; professor of emergency medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine; member of the COVID-19 Advisory Board of U.S. president Joe Biden
  • Rudy Ruiz — Award-winning Latino author, entrepreneur and advocate
  • Julian Schnabel — "neo-expressionist" painter; Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe winner; director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
  • Filemon Vela Jr. — United States U.S. Representative for 34th congressional district since 2013

See also

  • List of Marist Brothers schools

References

  • Saint Joseph Academy website