It Matters
In 1964, St. Joseph High School opened its doors to become the northernmost Catholic High School in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The school is named after, and claims as its patron, St. Joseph, husband of Mary and earthly father of our savior, Jesus Christ. St. Joseph is a model of family life, patience, and service.
The faculty was then and is now a highly professional group of dedicated and caring people. Our faculty is very well prepared academically for their work; all full-time faculty holds a minimum B.A./B.S. degree and has/is working toward a California Teaching Credential. Master’s or other advanced degrees have been awarded to approximately 63% of the faculty. The school has continuously received maximum accreditation by the Western Catholic Educational Association and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and in June 2016 received another six-year accreditation term.
In 1992-1993, the school was awarded the prestigious Blue-Ribbon Recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. St. Joseph High School is distinguished as a School of Excellence. The school offers three diploma choices: University Preparatory with Honors, University Preparatory, and College Preparatory. Each program has unique features to meet the needs of the students enrolled. Exceptional learners receive reasonable curricular adjustments in student-specific plans to ensure that a private, Catholic education is available to all students selected for admission.
We currently have alumni who have gained admittance and matriculated through Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Yale, Santa Clara, UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, Cornell, the University of Chicago, Loyola Marymount, Notre Dame, Auburn, Baylor, Columbia, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Alabama, among many other colleges, including each campus in the UC and CSU systems. Additionally, since 1984 St. Joseph has had several military academies’ appointments.
Besides academics and sports, the school is well known for its religious values and retreat programs, and a variety of service programs within the community of Santa Maria.
The first lay Principal was appointed in May 1998. Beginning in July 2002, the administrative structure reverted to the traditional principal model supervised by the Department of Catholic Schools. The stability of the leadership of the school is reflected by the fact that only eight people have held the position of principal in the school’s over 50-year history; most recently Erinn Dougherty, of the Diocese of Phoenix, accepted her principalship as of the 2018-2019 school year.