With increasing enrollment and full Kindergarten and PreKindergarten classes, Cathedral is still a vibrant, faith-filled educational community on Cathedral Hill in St. Joseph MO! 

In fact, it really is a time of renewal for our entire parish as we refine our mission and unite our parish, school, and early childhood center as “Three in One!”  The Cathedral of St. Joseph is dedicated to exceptional life-long faith formation through a Catholic community, rich in tradition, fellowship, and service to all.

We have updated our Cathedral Early Childhood Center (the old convent) building and have relocated all of our preschool programs into one building on campus where the entire focus is on providing safe, quality, and developmentally appropriate education for the youngest members of our Cathedral family!  It is currently the only church-sponsored early childhood program in St. Joseph that is both state-licensed and nationally accredited.

At school we have embarked on upgrading our technology plan from a lab-based program to a one which fully integrates the use of technology within each classroom throughout a virtual campus.  We have a beautiful new library.  All of our buildings are air conditioned.  We have partnered with a local organic farmer and offer a salad bar with fresh fruits and vegetables as part of our cafeteria program.  Now we are in the process of updating our current security system!   

Our outstanding results on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills confirm the ongoing quality of our educational program.  We were the first school in Missouri to implement C.L.A.S.S. (Connected Learning Assures Successful Students) as the basis of our brain-compatible instructional model, and we continue as members of this international educational consortium.  We enrich our educational programs with unique and creative offerings, such as our Geography Immersion unit and World’s Fair and our elective mini courses, including Rocketry, Law 101, Crime Scene Investigation, Martial Arts, Yoga, and Book Lover’s Club! 

So, during this exciting time for our Cathedral community, we reach out to you – our alumni – and ask for your help to reach our goal of securing $10,000 in gifts to continue support of our Cathedral School & Early Childhood Center.  It currently costs $5,400 to educate a child at Cathedral.  As you reflect on your own Cathedral School experience and its impact on your own life, please consider investing in the current generation of Cathedral students by making a gift during this year’s Alumni Appeal.  Your gift of $500, $250, $100 – or any amount – will make a lasting difference in the lives of these children.  We hope that you will join with other Cathedral alumni in helping us to reach our goal! 

P.S.  Many companies sponsor matching gift programs to encourage their employees to make charitable gifts  To find out if your support of Cathedral School & Early Childhood Center can be enhanced by a matching gift, simply check with your employer. 

Another great way to help ensure that Cathedral will continue providing a quality Catholic education in the future is to make a planned gift to Cathedral as part of your will, trust, or other estate plan.  For more information on how a planned gift can benefit Cathedral School, please contact Lauren Lujan, llujan@cathedralsj.org.