As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 291 students and 19.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.0.[1] On February 27, 2009, it was announced the school would close at the end of the 2008-09 school year due to dwindling enrollment.[2]
History
St. Joseph of the Palisades was established in 1931. The school had been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools since 1961. This high school was also a member of the National Honor Society and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Prior to 1972, the school was divided by gender with a girls' teaching department and a boys' teaching department. Under the guidance of Father Gerald Walsh, the two departments merged to become the co-ed school located at 5400 Broadway Avenue, West New York, New Jersey.[3][4]
By 2009, the student body numbered 222. The school's budget shortfall was $400,000, and the parish was in debt for $1.5 million, incurred as a result of supporting the school. Because the school required at least 275 students to remain financially solvent, final permission to close the school was granted in a February 12 letter from Archbishop of Newark John J. Myers to the Rev. Monsignor Gregory K. Studerus, pastor of St. Joseph of the Palisades Church, who informed the school's advisory board February 25. At the time, it was the latest of many Catholic schools in the county to fall on such hard times.[2] Students and former students expressed opposition to the closure, and a protest was held to express this.[5]
The last graduation ceremony was held on June 5, 2009; 64 seniors graduated, with six more expected to complete their coursework during that summer. Principal Bruce Segall applied to the state to start a new charter school to serve the remaining underclassmen, hoping to use the St. Joseph building,[6] but his application was not approved.[7] The sale of the building to the city of West New York as a means of expanding Memorial High School was one possibility mentioned.[6]
St. Joseph of the Palisades High School offered various athletic sports to its students including:
Boys athletics
Basketball
Baseball
Bowling
Football
Soccer
Swimming
Tennis
Girls athletics
Basketball
Bowling
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Volleyball
The boys basketball team won the Non-Public Group B state championship in 1947 (against runner-up St. Mary's High School of Perth Amboy in the playoff final), 1949 (vs. Red Bank Catholic High School) and 1971 (vs. St. Rose High School).[8] The 1947 team won the Parochial B title with a late push to defeat St. Mary's by a score of 47-43 in the championship game.[9]
The football team was awarded the Non-Public B North state sectional championship in 1974, after the NJSIAA decided to exclude Pope John XXIII Regional High School (with an 8-1 record and having outscored opponents 293-7) and Morris Catholic High School (with a single loss on its schedule), which were thought to have schedules that were insufficiently challenging.[10][11][12]
The girls bowling team won the overall state championship in 1979.[13]
^"Trenton Upsets Seton Hall In Title Contest", The Daily Record, March 19, 1947. Accessed February 19, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In the first half of the twin bill St. Joseph's of West New York captured Class B title honors by winning 47-43 in a thriller that was won in the final minutes by the sharpshooting of Bill Kelly, St. Joseph guard, to defeat St. Mary's of Perth Amboy."
^"Hawthorne Receives State Grid Crown; Ramapo, Kennedy will Vie for Titles in Weekend Combat", Paterson News, December 2, 1974. Accessed February 19, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "In another shocker, St. Joseph, of West New York, was awarded the Parochial crown. Morris Catholic and Sparta's Pope John XXIII, two of the best teams in the area, were not selected because the state apparently believes both teams play weak schedules."
^Laciura, Phil. "Some Coaches (Bleep, Bleep) Blast State's Championship System", Paterson News, December 2, 1974. Accessed February 19, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The title however, went outright to St. Joseph of N.Y. Paternostro has a good gripe. This season the Lions finished 8-1. Their 7-7 tie with DePaul marked the only time they allowed the opposition to score. In all they outscored the opposition, 293-7.... Morris Catholic also came out a loser in the state's selections. The Crusaders captured the Paterson Diocesan Regional League. Their hopes for an undefeated season were wrecked when they suffered a tough 6-5 loss on Thanksgiving to Mountain Lakes."
^DePalma, Anthony. "The Lessons Of St. Joe's", The New York Times, February 5, 1989. Accessed October 22, 2018. "But it was during the years I spent at St. Joseph's Boys High School, now known as St. Joseph of the Palisades High School, in West New York, N.J., when I - like many others - had no sure sense of my self, that I was genuinely touched by the parochial experience.... My two other brothers went to Hoboken High School, but in 1966 I decided on St. Joe's."
^Bengel, Chris. "Maryland Football Countdown: No. 73, J.D. Maarleveld", FanSided, August 6, 2015. Accessed October 24, 2018. "J.D. Maarleveld embarked on a difficult and rewarding journey to become a successful Terp. The Jersey City native enrolled at Notre Dame as an offensive tackle after a successful high school career.... However, just one year later, Faust informed Maarleveld that his spot on the team was no longer available and advised the former St. Joseph of the Palisades High School star that he should transfer to a Division II school."
