St. Joseph Academy is a four-year co-educational high school located in Hammonton, in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in grades 9–12. The Academy was established for the 2020-21 school year, replacing St. Joseph High School, which had operated since 1942 under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden.McGarry, Mike. "St. Joseph Academy returns to Vine Street in Hammonton", The Press of Atlantic City, August 27, 2020. Accessed February 19, 2021. "St. Joseph Academy in Hammonton finally has a home.... The academy announced Wednesday night it will be located at the former St. Joseph building at 328 Vine St.... Almost immediately, students, parents, friends and alumni formed St. Joe Strong and began to raise money and develop plans to keep both schools open. The group was able to raise enough money and interest to reopen the high school under the Academy name." The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools through December 2025;Saint Joseph Academy, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed February 11, 2022. The school's accreditation status was extended for seven years in Fall 2018.MSA-CESS Fall 2018 Accreditation Actions, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools, Fall 2018. Accessed April 25, 2021. In 2020, the former school permanently closed because of financial problems that were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the request from the Diocese of Camden.Yates, Riley. "5 N.J. Catholic schools to close, including South Jersey football powerhouse", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, April 17, 2020. Accessed August 13, 2020.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 168 students and 17.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.7:1. The school's student body was 74.4% (125) White, 13.1% (22) Hispanic and 12.5% (21) Black.School data for St Joseph Academy, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 1, 2025.
History After being established in 1935 as a combination preparatory school and seminary, the high school was opened to all attendees in 1942.Our History, Saint Joseph High School. Accessed September 10, 2012. "Saint Joseph High School came into being in September 1935 when the Pallottine Fathers opened a Prep-Seminary in Hammonton. The first Freshman Class consisted of five boys-Joseph Mungari, Guido Carcich, Vincent Campi, Raymond Fiume and Louis Del Vecchio-all of whom were ordained priests. The high school served seminarians exclusively until 1942 when the Prep-Seminary was transferred to Sag Harbor, Long Island."
The school had seen enrollment decline from 331 students in 2015 down to 206 in 2020, a 38% decline, and was carrying more than $6 million in debt."Five Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Camden to close at end of school year", Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, April 17, 2020. Accessed February 19, 2021. "Wildwood Catholic High School has received nearly $750,000 in support and Saint Joseph High School has received loan support totaling $1.1 million but currently carries a debt of $6.6 million. "
In April 2020, the Diocese of Camden announced that, despite its status as a football powerhouse, St. Joseph was one of five Catholic schools in New Jersey which would close permanently at the end of the school year on June 30, 2020, due to financial problems caused by lack of sufficient enrollment in recent years and lack of community fundraising, which the school reliant on less significant diocesan and parish fundraising.Yates, Riley. "5 N.J. Catholic schools to close, including South Jersey football powerhouse", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. April 17, 2020. Accessed February 19, 2021. "Five Catholic schools in southern New Jersey are closing permanently because of financial problems made worse by the coronavirus pandemic, the Diocese of Camden announced Friday. The schools will be shuttered at the end of the academic year, and include Saint Joseph High School in Hammonton, a South Jersey football powerhouse." An offer which was made by fundraisers in June 2020 to purchase the school facility was rejected by the Diocese of Camden.McGarry, Mike. "St. Joseph backers say Camden Diocese has rejected their offer to buy school, fields", The Press of Atlantic City, June 6, 2020. Accessed February 19, 2021. "The survival hopes of St. Joseph High School and Elementary School took another hit Friday night. In a statement, St. Joe Strong, a task force dedicated to saving both schools, said the Diocese of Camden had rejected its offer to buy the St. Joe Elementary School building on Third Street and the school’s athletic fields on Wood Street."
Hammonton Public Schools acquired the building, which it leased to the independent St. Joseph Academy.McGarry, Mike. "St. Joseph Academy returns to Vine Street in Hammonton", The Press of Atlantic City, August 27, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. "St. Joseph Academy in Hammonton finally has a home. It’s a familiar one. The academy announced Wednesday night it will be located at the former St. Joseph building at 328 Vine St. The academy will lease the building from the Hammonton Board of Education." The academy, which opened in 2020, is not affiliated with the diocese.Hawk, Tim. "Shuttered N.J. Catholic school revived as private academy by alumni, supporters", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 15, 2020. Accessed April 16, 2021. "Once Saint Joseph Academy opens on Sept. 21 it will be an independent private school for students grades 9 through 12 with a tuition of approximately $11,000 and nearly 150 students deeply rooted in Roman Catholic faith, DiGerolamo said, and will not be part of the diocese."
Athletics The St. Joseph Academy WildcatsSaint Joseph Academy, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the National Division of the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools located in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Gloucester counties, that operates under the aegis of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 203 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools).NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the Independence Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceSt. Joseph (Hamm.) Wildcats, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component." and was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group B (equivalent to Group I/II for public schools) for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 140 to 686 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.