Saint Joseph Catholic Academy

In 1956, Reverend Piaskowski of Saint Joseph Catholic Church invited the Sisters of Charity of Saint Louis to be religion teachers and to begin preparing for a school. His good friend, TV variety show host Ed Sullivan, offered to stage elaborate shows in Brookfield to raise funds to open the school doors. In 1958, Saint Joseph School opened with Grades 1 through 5. For the next 3 years, a new grade level was opened, making the school a Grade 1 through 8 school. In 1961, Reverend Piaskiowski passed away, and the Church held its first funeral Mass in its new location under the school gymnasium. In 1984, a Kindergarten class was opened in the convent building, which is now used for parish offices.

When a new church building was erected in 1992, the baseball field was relocated behind the school building and was dedicated to Sister Pauline Charbonneau, one of the original Sisters of Charity who taught as well as served as the school's principal for the first fourteen years. In addition, the Kindergarten class was moved to the school building where the former Church was located under the gymnasium. In 2005, the art/music area was divided into an art room and a fourth grade classroom. The music area was relocated to the gym and a pre-Kindergarten program was launched for children ages three and four. [3]

Mr. Robert McDonald succeeded Sister Pauline as principal in 1990. Ms. Mary Deakin, an alumna of SJS, succeeded him in 1992. Mrs. Barbera Blank served as principal from 1996 to 2002; Sister Bernice Stobierski was assigned as intern principal for the 2002–03 school year. Mrs. Judie Shivy came to St. Joseph School and was principal from 2003 to 2006, followed by Mrs. Rose Forte who served from 2006 - 2009. In 2010, Mrs. Mary Jo Bokuniewicz served as principal for one year followed by Mr. Scott Bannon. In 2017, Ms. Dina Monti was appointed principal and served for one year.

In 2018, Saint Joseph School was transitioned to Saint Joseph Catholic Academy, and the new leadership model began in July 2019. Its first Director of Education, Mrs. Pam Fallon, was tasked with leading its new multi-age personalized learning program for all students. A Head of School, Mrs. Mary Maloney, was appointed to assist with the additional transitions needed with regard to governance, financial management, development and communications. In partnership, the Director of Education and the Head of School re-established some school policies, encouraged an increase in after school enrichment programs, worked with educational consultants and improved the school's safety and security measures.

Due to declining enrollment, the Diocese of Bridgeport, who oversaw the school, made the decision in 2018 to try a relatively new education model – and the first of its kind in Fairfield County for a parochial school – called blended learning. Moving away from the traditional grouping by grades, students were grouped together based on their abilities, and the role of technology to aid in learning was increased. This allowed children to learn at their own pace. If the model worked at Saint Joseph's, it would have been a model for other Catholic schools.

This new model required half as many teachers, which lowered overhead costs for the school to ease financial challenges. The diocese was subsidizing the school with $200,000 annually, and this new model would alleviate that.

The school was organized into five "bands," which mixed grade levels:[4]

Student demographics represented families from Brookfield and surrounding towns such as Newtown, Bethel, New Fairfield and Bridgewater.

The school closed at the end of June 2020, after years of declining enrollment and financial struggles. The school was unable to meet the enrollment and financial benchmarks that the Diocese of Bridgeport established.

In 2012, Saint Joseph's School had 205 students. By 2017, the school had 160 students and was operating at a loss. By the 2019–20 school year, enrollment was down to 66 students. [5]