St. Joseph Academy (Des Moines, Iowa)
St. Joseph Academy (SJA) was a Catholic all-girls high school in Des Moines, Iowa. It merged with Dowling Catholic High School in 1972.
History
The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Mt. Carmel in Dubuque, Iowa[1] founded St. Joseph Academy on March 19, 1885. Initially, the Sisters of Charity taught just sixteen girls. Because of poor transportation options, only a few students were able to get to this school, which was located outside of Des Moines proper. The very first graduating class consisted of just one girl. Over the years, additions to this school were constructed, including a library, a hall, classrooms, a chapel, a music hall and an auditorium. As the city of Des Moines began to grow toward SJA, enrollment began to increase. By the 1960s, due to increasing enrollment extensive additions were made to St. Joseph's. The SJA preschool was in operation by 1950 and remained open until 1971.[2][3]
Closing
In 1971, SJA merged with Dowling High School, the boys' Catholic high school in Des Moines. The Academy was purchased by the College of Osteopathic Medicine (now the Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center).[4]
Notable alumni
Alumnae
- Karen Morrow '54 - actress/singer[5][6]
- Ruth Ann Gaines '65 - Iowa State Representative from the 32nd District[7]
References
- ^ Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- ^ "Dowling Catholic High School | Private School in West des Moines, IA".
- ^ "BVMs Leave Long Lasting Legacy in Des Moines". www.bvmcong.org. Archived from the original on 2015-02-23.
- ^ "Dowling Catholic High School | Private School in West des Moines, IA".
- ^ http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/karen-morrow
- ^ Karen Morrow
- ^ Ruth Ann Gaines
External links
- Articles needing cleanup from August 2022
- Articles with bare URLs for citations from August 2022
- All articles with bare URLs for citations
- Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from August 2022
- All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify
- Coordinates on Wikidata
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines
- Defunct Catholic secondary schools in Iowa
- Defunct girls' schools in the United States
- Schools in Des Moines, Iowa
- Educational institutions established in 1885
- Educational institutions disestablished in 1971
- 1885 establishments in Iowa
- Women in Iowa