Mission Statement

Saint Joseph Catholic Schools of Utah inspire a life-long love of learning within the context of the Catholic education tradition. The schools form an integrated pre-K through 12th grade system that provides each student with the opportunities to excel through exemplary spiritual formation and academic, social, and physical education. 

Beliefs and Values

The Catholic Church has provided for an education of our northern Utah youth which brings the Gospel to their lives.  Our school honors our legacy of worship, prayer and sacrament, study of God’s word and the tradition of the Church, and service to all people.

Saint Joseph Catholic High School is administered by the Diocese of Salt Lake for the people of northern Utah.  We teach the diocesan curriculum in theology, campus ministry, academic subjects, performing and visual arts.

We believe that the students in our community deserve our best: our best teaching, our best prayers, our best coaching.  Our school believes in providing an exceptional education for soul, mind, and body – because we believe in the unlimited value of each student.  Saint Joseph Catholic High School values education for its life-changing power.  We value the rich array of gifts a diverse community possesses.

We believe in supporting families in their sacrifice for Catholic education through our income-based grants.  We welcome to our community all who wish to join in its mission.

A Brief History

Saint Joseph Catholic School is built on a rich Catholic history in Utah and in Weber County. Our history and tradition were established in 1877 when Rev. Lawrence Scanlan, later consecrated the first Bishop of Salt Lake, established a school in a small, wooden structure, named in honor of Saint Joseph. In 1879, at the invitation of Father Scanlan, the Sisters of the Holy Cross opened a boarding and day school, known as Sacred Heart Academy, on 26th and Washington. It was in 1881 that, due to the overcrowding that prevailed at the Academy, the first parish school was built. In 1890, feeling the need for expansion, the Sisters purchased property on 25th street and erected the impressive Sacred Heart Academy. That institution, until its closing in 1938, was the center of Catholic culture in Ogden. The old academy on 26th and Washington continued as Saint Joseph’s School for Boys until 1923, when Monsignor Patrick M. Cushnahan, pastor of Saint Joseph’s Church from 1881 to 1927, erected a substantial, fireproof building on 28th and Lincoln which was named Saint Joseph’s Grade School.

In 1943, a junior high school department was added, but crowded conditions necessitated the closing of the tenth grade in 1950 and there was no possibility for housing the still larger ninth grade the following fall. Alerted to this imperative need, the Rt. Rev. Monsignor Patrick F. Kennedy, V.G., spent considerable time and effort gathering information to proceed with a new school and gained approval from the Most Rev. Duane G. Hunt, Bishop of Salt Lake City. Lay Catholic leaders, fired by the zeal of their pastor, volunteered concerted efforts to make SJCHS a reality, opening its doors in September of 1954, under the direction of the Sisters of the Holy Cross and the Jesuit Fathers. In 1985, a new addition was built to house the Val A. Browning Library followed in 2003 with the Sam & Aline Skaggs Arts Education Building. Major renovations have been performed to improve the campus over the past decade, such as carpet and flooring, walls, windows, gymnasium floor, and more.