St. Joseph School is located at 427 S. Stormont St., Princeton, IN. The city of Princeton is the county seat of Gibson County; the city has a population of nearly 10,000. The average income last reported in 2000 was at $26,689. Our student population is predominately white, with 6% multiracial and 3% Hispanic. We currently house 163 students in grades preschool through fifth, which represent 130 families.
In 1895, a piece of land in Gibson County, located on Race Street in Princeton, Indiana was purchased. In the summer of 1897, the foundation of the new church was laid. The next year a framed school building consisting of three schoolrooms and a sisters’ residence was erected, and the school opened with 69 pupils. The school was placed under care of the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg. The school was soon found to be too small, additional buildings were added, and more ground was purchased.
Our present day school includes eight classrooms, a music room, and computer lab. Within the campus of St. Joseph School a gym, cafeteria, secretary’s office, principal’s office, library, extended care facility, and conference room with kitchenette can be found.
St. Joseph employs a total staff of 30, including eight classroom teachers, a teacher’s assistant, daycare instructors, custodial staff, office personnel, and a Title I teacher. St. Joseph takes great pride in the early childhood department in which eight of the 24 staff members are employed. Our early childhood program is designed to accommodate students beginning at age three through five; the program provides developmentally appropriate learning for all children.
The cornerstone of our educational program is the academic standards for the state of Indiana, the Common Core Standards, and the use of state adopted textbooks. We supplement our educational program by including technology training, music education, physical education, and religion classes. Our technology program includes the Microsoft Office, keyboarding, Accelerated Reader, Education City, IXL, Internet usage, and software correlations for language arts, math, and science. Religion classes are of priority to our school’s goals. Students are introduced to faith concepts at the appropriate grade level. These concepts are then reinforced and spiral throughout following grade levels. St. Joseph School puts great emphasis on character education and demonstrating to our students how to implicate these traits into their daily lives. Special services provided for our students include: speech and language, physical and occupational therapy, and counseling.