BY KATHY CHENG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — St. Joseph High School has once again made the Acton Institute’s list of the year’s top 50 Catholic high schools nationwide.
“We are very pleased to be a repeat honoree,” said Principal Lawrence Walsh. “In a Mass held Friday, I reminded our students and faculty that it is a reflection on all their hard work.”
The school is a repeat honoree because of its continued strong performance in academic excellence, Catholic identity and civic education, said Anthony Pienta of the Acton Institute.
The Catholic high school honor roll is an independent project of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty, an international research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The honor roll was produced in consultation with a national advisory board comprised of catholic college presidents and noted catholic scholars.
St. Joseph is also a repeat category leader for its strong civic education in the social studies area.
“We are always trying to be more progressive,” said communications director Diane Dwyer.
“We have a debate club after school, which has students debating on community and global topics,” she said. “In our summer reading program, we have changed the curriculum to reflect on all subject areas, not only English.”
St. Joseph is an all-male, 844 student school, which is run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart.
The honor roll provides a valuable service, said the Rev. Bernard O’Connor, president of De Sales University.
“It is important to highlight the accomplishments of schools that are contributing in exemplary ways to the moral and intellectual formation their students,” he said.