St. Joseph Academy is a four-year

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in Hammonton, in

Atlantic County Atlantic County is a county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. The Academy was established for the 2020-21 school year, replacing St. Joseph High School, which had operated since 1942 under the auspices of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Church in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It consists of 62 parishes and about 475,000 Catholics in the Southern Jersey counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberl ...

. The school is accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools through December 2025;Saint Joseph Academy

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 11, 2022. The school's accreditation status was extended for seven years in Fall 2018. In 2020, the former school permanently closed because of financial problems that were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the request from the Diocese of Camden. As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 204 students and 14.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 14.5:1. The school's student body was 77.5% (158) White, 14.2% (29) Black, 3.4% (7) Hispanic, 2.9% (6) Asian and 2.0% (4) two or more races.School data for St Joseph High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed March 10, 2022.

History

After being established in 1935 as a combination preparatory school and seminary in 1935, the high school was opened to all attendees in 1942. The school had seen enrollment decline from 331 students in 2015 down to 206 in 2020, a 38% decline, and was carrying more than $6 million in debt. In April 2020, the Diocese of Camden announced that, despite its status as a football powerhouse, St. Joseph was one of five Catholic schools in New Jersey which would close permanently at the end of the school year on June 30, 2020, due to financial problems caused by lack of sufficient enrollment in recent years and lack of community fundraising, which the school reliant on less significant diocesan and parish fundraising. An offer which was made by fundraisers in June 2020 to purchase the school facility was rejected by the Diocese of Camden. Hammonton Public Schools acquired the building, which it leased to the independent St. Joseph Academy.McGarry, Mike
"St. Joseph Academy returns to Vine Street in Hammonton"
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'', August 27, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. "St. Joseph Academy in Hammonton finally has a home. It’s a familiar one. The academy announced Wednesday night it will be located at the former St. Joseph building at 328 Vine St. The academy will lease the building from the Hammonton Board of Education." The academy, which opened in 2020, is not affiliated with the diocese.

Athletics

The St. Joseph Academy WildcatsSaint Joseph Academy

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the National Division of the

Cape-Atlantic League The Cape-Atlantic League (CAL) is an athletic conference consisting of both public high schools and non-public high schools located in Atlantic County, Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jers ...

, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools located in Atlantic,

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay fro ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

counties, that operates under the aegis of the

. With 203 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools). The football team competed in the Continental Division of the 95-team

West Jersey Football League The West Jersey Football League is a 94-school superconference that stretches from Princeton, New Jersey to Wildwood, New Jersey encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conferenc ...

superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group II for football for 2018–2020. St. Joseph's football team won 28 state championships in the playoff era that started in 1974, including in Non-Public B South in 1977 (awarded by NJSIAA), 1983, 1985 and 1989–1993; in Non-Public I in 1996, 1997, 1999–2002, 2004 and 2011–2015; in Non-Public II in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2017 and 2018; and in Non-Public I/II in 2010. The team won the 1985 South Jersey Group B state sectional title with a 33-8 win against Saint James High School in the championship game. The 1989 team won the Parochial B South title with a 19-0 win in the playoff final against three-time defending champion Bishop Eustace. The team won the Non-Public Group I title in 1996 with a 28-16 win in the championship game against Marist High School played at

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

. The 2000 team won the Non-Public Group I title against St. Mary High School by a score of 47-7 in the championship game played at

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as th ...

. The team finished at 10-1 in 2001 after winning the Non-Public Group I state title with a 49-0 victory against Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair in the playoff finals. The team won its seventh consecutive sectional title in 2015 with a 19–6 win against

Hudson Catholic Regional High School Hudson Catholic Regional High School is a regional four-year co-educational University-preparatory Catholic high school in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The school was established in 1964 by the Roman Catholic Archd ...

in the Non-Public Group II playoff championship game. In 2017, the team finished the season with a 12–0 record and won the Non-Public Group II state championship with a 30–14 win against third-seeded Mater Dei High School in the tournament final; the victory was the program's eighth in nine seasons, the only exception being in 2016, when Mater Dei won its first state championship with a 26–0 win against St. Joseph. Though only dating to 2000,

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...

ranked the "Holy War" rivalry between St. Joseph and Holy Spirit High School 11th on its list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", with St. Joseph winning 12 of the 18 games played through 2017. Head coach Paul Sacco finished the 2019 season with 20 state championships and an overall career record of 336-66-5 in his 39 years at St. Joseph, ranking him second in wins among active football coaches. The field hockey team won the South Jersey Group I state sectional championship in 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012. Under Coach John DeMarco, the team had won the Cape Atlantic League title for over 16 years, while also winning five South Jersey Non-Public state titles, and also making three state championship appearances. In 2013, the team had a string of victories including beating both state powerhouses including Camden Catholic High School and Bishop Eustace Prep. The wrestling team won the Non-Public B South state sectional championship in 1991, 1997, 1998 and 2006. The team won the Non-Public B state championship in 1998. The wrestling team won the Non-Public, South B sectional title in 2006 with a 45–31 win over Sacred Heart High School in the tournament final. The softball team won the 2007 Non-Public South B state sectional championship with a string of shutout victories over Timothy Christian School (15-0) in the first round,

St. Rose High School St. Rose High School is a co-educational four-year Catholic school, Catholic high school in Belmar, New Jersey, Belmar, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trento ...

(6-0) n the semifinals and

Gloucester Catholic High School Gloucester Catholic High School is a co-educational six-year Roman Catholic high school located in Gloucester City, in Camden County, New Jersey. The school is managed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden. The school serves students in seve ...

(2-0) in the tournament final. The boys track team won the Non-Public Group B spring track state championship in 2011 and 2013-2015. The team won the South Jersey Non-Public B sectional title in 2011 for the first time in school history, edging the

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, and a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus ...

by a single point after winning the 4x400-meter relay, the final event held at the meet. One week later, the boys won the state championship for the first time ever at

South Plainfield High School South Plainfield High School (or SPHS) is a four-year, co-ed comprehensive high school, comprehensive community state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in South Plainfield, New Jersey, South Plainfield ...

Teacher controversy

In June 2005, religion teacher and athletics coach Michael McColgan was arrested on charges brought against him in relation to

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

traced back to his online account. Upon searching his home, authorities discovered dozens more images on his personal computer and also copied onto disk. McColgan pleaded guilty and was sentenced in a federal court in May 2006 to 48 months in prison for possession of child pornography.

Notable alumni

* Tyler Bellamy (born 1988), defender, who played in the

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

for the

Ocean City Barons Ocean City Nor'easters is an American soccer team based in Ocean City, New Jersey. Founded in 1996, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays their home games at Carey Stadium whic ...

and

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. *

Dave Calloway David Vincent Calloway (born October 7, 1968) is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Monmouth University. Raised in the Williamstown of Monroe Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, Calloway starr ...

(born 1968),

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach, who coached the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

Monmouth Hawks men's basketball The Monmouth Hawks men's basketball team represents Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Colonial Athletic Association. They are currently led by head coach King Rice an ...

team. *

Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway ( née Fitzpatrick; born January 20, 1967) is an American political consultant and pollster, who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2020. She was previousl ...

(born 1967, class of 1985), senior counselor to president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. * Gordon Hill (born 1993),

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who played in the NFL for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. * Rita Myers (born 1947, class of 1965), video installation artist. * Brian E. Rumpf (born 1964), politician who has represented the 9th Legislative District in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

since 2003. *

Max Valles Max Valles (born August 5, 1994) is a former American football defensive end. He played college football at Virginia. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Early years Valles grew up in the Sicklervill ...

(born 1994, class of 2012),

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, who played in the NFL for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

.Weinberg, David
"St. Joseph grad Max Valles is NFL's youngest draft prospect"
''

'', April 25, 2015. Accessed September 27, 2017. "Max Valles plans to watch the NFL draft next week with friends and family from his home in the Sicklerville section of Winslow Township. When the 2012 St. Joseph High School graduate does get picked - the outside linebacker/defensive end is projected to be selected in the middle rounds - his celebration will be subdued."

References

External links

St. Joseph AcademyData for St. Joseph High School

South Jersey Sports: St. Joseph HS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph High School (Hammonton) 1942 establishments in New Jersey 2020 disestablishments in New Jersey 2020 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions disestablished in 2020 Educational institutions established in 1942 Educational institutions established in 2020 Hammonton, New Jersey Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Private high schools in Atlantic County, New Jersey Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden Catholic secondary schools in New Jersey