Saint Joseph Catholic High School in Ogden ranked among nation's top private schools

Friday, Jun. 05, 2015

OGDEN — Saint Joseph Catholic High School was ranked 59th in the nation of top private high schools by The Washington Post on their challenge index in March, marking the second year in a row that SJCHS has been in the top 100 schools nationwide.

The only other Utah private or parochial school to make the list was Waterford Academy. Several public high school international baccalaureate programs also made the list, but the numbers at SJCHS are reflective of the entire student body and not just the top 10 percent.

The challenge index ranks schools based on the number of Advanced Placement or international baccalaureate tests taken as compared to the size of the student body. Saint Joseph stands out as exceptional because in addition to having a high challenge index, it is also noted as serving a large number of students in Federal Title 1 programs (identifying lower income families).

SJCHS students go on to some of the best universities in the country. This year, they received scholarships totaling $3.1 million. Nearly 70 percent of students achieved scholarships at the university level, averaging over $100,000 per student.  

SJCHS has a teacher to student ratio of 1:9, allowing teachers to work individually with struggling students. 

“This focus on the individual, beginning in kindergarten at Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary School, helps us to ensure an enormously high success rate – 100 percent of our students graduate; 100 percent are college bound,” said Joanna Wheelton, Saint Joseph Schools president. “This does not come without extra effort on the parts of our counselors and faculty who work with students outside of the regular school hours or over the summer to make sure students get caught up or get the credits they need.” 

The school year began with a school-wide retreat to focus students on their faith and commitment to love and care for each other, said Wheelton. “Students broke into groups and hiked the canyon and mountain trails behind the campus, challenging and assisting each other in guided theology discussions as they journeyed.” 

This event set the tone for the year as the Saint Joseph Jayhawks served and contributed to each other, the school and the Ogden community through food drives, clothing and blanket collections, and direct service, she said adding, “Watching our students grow into incredible and authentic humans is inspiring.”