 The history of Saint Joseph School began with the undying devotion of the Sisters of Mercy in their effort to educate the children of Meriden academically and spiritually. The Baltimore Council, a council of bishops, decreed that every parish should have a school. The Sisters of Mercy from Saint Rose parish in Meriden taught the children of Saint Joseph when the school was established in 1904. Grades 1-6 were taught in a chapel which the congregation had purchased from the Trinity Methodist Church and which had been used as a church before the present Saint Joseph Church was built. In November 1914, ground was broken for the new school. The new school was dedicated on September 5, 1915. Forty neighboring clergy were invited to attend. A record crowd of 6000 marked the occasion. The Right Reverend John J. Niland, Bishop of Hartford, dedicated the school. Enrollment at Saint Joseph School in 1955 was 350 pupils, under the direction of nine teachers. Classes ranged from kindergarten to grade eight. In 1961 the kindergarten was closed due to the lack of sisters to teach. In 1964 the school underwent extensive renovation under the supervision of Rev. Charles Mullins. Desks were unbolted from the floors and rugs were installed. The office was remodeled, along with a new kitchen area and lavatories in the basement. The kindergarten was reinstated in 1986. At this time kindergarten became an all-day program. A lay teacher taught the class. Two years later, in 1988, a Sister of Mercy, Sister Helen Ruane, began teaching kindergarten and continued until 2000. To help the Kindergarten teacher with the students, an aide was hired in 1993. Since 1915, when Saint Joseph School opened, the head of school has always been a member of the religious community. At times, a Sister of Mercy, at other times, an Archdiocesan priest served as principal. However, in 2002, the first lay principal, Mrs. Kathy Spencer, replaced Sr. Georgeann Vumbaco, RSM. Mrs. Spencer had served at Saint Joseph School as a classroom teacher for 15 years. Significant changes to the building have also occurred in the last several years. Under the guidance of Sister Georgeann, and through the year-long work of a group of volunteers, the renovations were completed and the third floor was reopened in September 1999, with the students having computer class and library study in the media center, and art class and science laboratory periods in the art/science room. The open area (which includes the renovated stage area) has allowed students to present skits and plays and buddy grades to meet for activities, presentations from visiting missionaries, and school wide religious instruction programs. The presence of a chapel in the school building allows the students and faculty a quiet place for reflection and penance services. Additional changes to the building include the purchase of student desks and chairs in all classrooms in the fall of 2003. Floor coverings in classrooms and stairwells were replaced in summer of 2001. In 1987, the Office of Catholic Schools required that schools institute a development program, with a regional development director hired for the Meriden Catholic schools. The director reported to the Director of Development at the Office of Catholic Schools. Shortly after, the local position was eliminated due to differences in goals for each of the Meriden schools, and a volunteer position was implemented at Saint Joseph School. In 1994, the volunteer left for a paid position elsewhere, and a full-time Development Coordinator was hired by the school board to implement the development plan at the school. Additionally, the responsibility of tuition management was transferred from the pastor to the development director. In 1996, Saint Joseph School launched an award-winning web site to educate and inform the school and local community. The site won an M.I.T. award in 1999 for “best educational website in Connecticut”. (www.sjs-meriden.org) In 2003, Mrs. Pamela Erasmus, our first grade teacher, was named the Connecticut Association of Schools (C.A.S.) “Teacher of the Year”. Mrs. Erasmus was the first Catholic school teacher to have been chosen for such an honor. She was selected from 800 participating Connecticut schools. Throughout the years, the main mission of the Sisters
of Mercy in Connecticut has been education: basic religious values and
excellence in academics for each student. The decline in the number of
women entering religious life has left Saint Joseph School with few sisters
and a majority of lay teachers, nonetheless, we continue to care for the
individual child and teach that child to grow. We see each child as a unique
gift of God and we seek to give each child the opportunity to reach his/her
optimum potential based on the two great commandments of the Church: love
of God and love of neighbor.
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