_exposure.JPG)
About St. Joseph Grade School
When the first Catholic Church was established in Huntington in 1872, Father Quirk served as pastor. He built a shack Church located on 8th Avenue and 20th Street. Being an educator, he sought the approval of Bishop Whelan to establish the first Catholic School. St. Joseph Grade School was established in 1872 with Father Quirk as one of the three teachers.
In 1889, the new combination of Church and school was dedicated at the present site on 13th Street. Classes continued to be held in the sacristies of the Church until June 1909. The new school was built and contained six classrooms and a basement. In 1920, two additional rooms were added.
In 1966, two additional classrooms were built. In March 1971, ground was broken and a Parish Hall constructed. In 2005, St. Joseph Grade School opened its doors to a new pre-school program, which was housed in the Parish Hall. In 2006, a new pre-school facility was established in a property owned by the Church adjacent to the Parish Hall in order to accommodate an increase in enrollment.
In 2007, the pre-school developed a partnership with Cabell County to provide the school’s current and future families with a Pre-K 4-Year-Old program. In addition to this new program, the school opened its doors to a new nursery program for children between the ages of 6 weeks and 24 months.
In 2007, Bishop Bransfield approved the construction of a brand new school building designed to hold students Pre-K through eighth grade. The construction of the new school will take place during the 2007/8 academic school year and will be one of St. Joseph’s most amazing accomplishments. Combined with the leadership and vision of Monsignor Luciana, the Church and school community will continue to pray and work towards the success of the new school’s building campaign, ‘Building Our Future, United in Christ’ for many years to come.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of St. Joseph Grade School is to provide an opportunity for all students to develop a sense of God’s loving presence through academic excellence, Christian awareness and spiritual growth.