History
At the turn of the century, Knoxville, a growing city in East Tennessee, had a number of Catholic families that came with the arrival of the railroad and new commerce. These families believed in the importance of Catholic instruction for their children.
Holy Ghost School was founded in 1908 under the direction of Bishop Thomas S. Byrne, Bishop of Nashville, and Father James T. Lorigan. They were responsible for the construction of Knoxville’s second Catholic Church, the Church of the Holy Ghost. The school opened on September 16, 1908, and was staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. The school existed until 1963 when it was moved to Fountain City and renamed St. Joseph School.
Under the leadership of Father Albert J. Henkel, pastor of Holy Ghost, St. Joseph School opened in 1963 with 340 students in first through eighth grade. Principal Sister Mary Leonilla, RSM staffed the school, and a faculty made up of four Sisters of Mercy of the Cincinnati Province, and five lay teachers. The school flourished over the next few years with the population fluctuating between 300-350 students. In 1970, St. Mary’s School, which had been founded by families of Immaculate Conception Church in 1861, closed its doors. Many of the school’s students joined the children at St. Joseph School. In the late 1970s, student enrollment began to drop due to a movement of the western suburbs and a general decrease in population.
Three other Sisters of Mercy who served the school as principal were Sister Mary Bernadelle, RSM, Sister Mary Janice, RSM, and Sister Mary Stephanie, RSM. The fifth principal was Dr. Johanna Humphrey, who worked with both parishes to meet the challenges of increasing enrollment, balancing the budget, and maintaining the school’s Catholic and academic integrity. She established a kindergarten, an after school care program, and broadened the curriculum to include special education, computer science, art, music, and foreign language classes.
In a remarkable show of unity and commitment, Holy Ghost and Immaculate Conception Parishes met the challenge of raising funds for a much, needed addition which was completed in 1989 and housed a library and three primary classrooms.
Since the summer of 1996, meeting the needs of St. Joseph School was the responsibility of the sixth principal, Mrs. Joan Turbyville. Mrs. Turbyville took on the challenge of bringing St. Joseph School into the twenty-first century by promoting the Catholic faith in an ever increasing secular society, technology, continuing teacher education, and restructuring the middle school. In the fall of 2001, St. Joseph School received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
Mrs. Turbyville resigned June 2005. Dr. Aurelia Montgomery was named as the seventh principal of St. Joseph School. |