History
In 1951, at the request of the Most Reverend Thomas A. Connolly, Bishop of the Diocese of Seattle, the Sisters of Providence accepted administration of the elementary school Bishop Connolly planned to build for the new St. Joseph Parish, in Vancouver, Washington. (St. Joseph's was the city's first new Catholic parish in over one hundred years.) The parish was formally erected in January 1952, with the Reverend Thomas J. Pitsch as pastor. Over the next two years, a complete parish plant--church, school, auditorium, and convent--was constructed on twelve acres of land in McGloughlin Heights, a middle-class neighborhood in East Vancouver.
St. Joseph School opened September 8, 1954, with five sisters and four lay teachers on the faculty. Sister Beatrice Ann was the first principal and superior of the convent. The convent was not quite finished when the sisters moved in, but an open house on August 15 resulted in the donation of most of the needed furnishings.
Three hundred and two students enrolled in grades one through eight for the 1954-1955 school year. The enrollment increased steadily each year until reaching a peak of 560 students in 1964. By 1967, the number of lay teachers was greater than the number of sisters, and the first lay principal, Deane C. Robinson, was hired in 1969.
Throughout their tenure at St. Joseph School, the sisters also offered Saturday religious education classes for Catholic students attending local public schools and the Washington State School for the Deaf, Vancouver. Outreach to the deaf became a important part of the lives of the sisters, and several learned sign language so that they could more effectively minister to the children and their families.
In the summer of 1976, the sisters moved from the convent to a rented five-bedroom home at 7113 Ohio Drive, Vancouver. This freed the larger convent facility for the changing needs of the parish.
The number of Sisters of Providence assigned to the school continued to decline, although several remained on the faculty through the 1977-1978 school year. Sister Mary Fox served as school secretary until the end of the 1989-1990 school year. St. Joseph School continues to serve the families of East Vancouver.
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Arrangement
The records of St. Joseph School are arranged in eight series, housed in one document box. The record series are: history, administration, personnel, local community, financial, reports, publications, and subject series.
Scope and Contents
This collection comprises primarily chronicles, administrative records, and financial files, with a small amount of supporting materials. Materials in the collection date from 1951 to 1983, with the bulk from 1954 to 1970. The records are scanty and focus on the life of the sisters, and so do not reveal much about the students, curriculum, or daily activities at the school.
Series 1: History
This series includes only the chronicles of St. Joseph School, 1954-1973 and 1982-1983. The narrative is brief and offers only a cursory summary of school activities; later years focus far more on the life of the sisters than on the school. The school's chronicles end in 1973, at which time the sisters began writing regional chronicles. However, one additional school chronicle was written for 1982-1983, by Sister Mary Fox, School Secretary, and this is bound with the earlier years. (See Related Materials for information on regional chronicles.)
Series 2: Administration
The series contains the foundation request/approval letters (1951-1953) and two folders of correspondence, primarily between the various sister principals, pastors, and provincial councilors of Sacred Heart Province. In later years, there is correspondence between the parish school board and the chair of the Sisters of Providence Education Division. The correspondence also includes letters discussing the sisters' changing understanding of local community authority in the post-Vatican II period. Key correspondents include Sister Beatrice Ann, Principal, and Mother Mary Philothea, Provincial Superior.
In addition to the correspondence, two policy manuals contain information on the physical plant as well as school curriculum and procedures.
Series 3: Personnel
This series contains a list of sisters who served at the school; there are no other faculty or student records.
Series 4: Local Community
Local community records, which concern the governance and administration of the convent (local community), include incomplete minutes of the visits of the provincial superior (proces verbal), the sisters' daily schedule (horarium), and an inventory of books in the convent library.
Series 5: Financial
The only records in this series are an incomplete set of the deliberations of the provincial and local Council Acts of Council regarding loans and purchases (1951-1961), and an internal audit report (1957).
Series 6: Reports
Although limited to the late 1960s, the reports in this series are the best source of information in the collection regarding the school's curriculum, texts, facility, and student/family profiles.
Series 7: Publications
This series contains only a 1962-1963 school yearbook and several brochures from the 1970s. The brochures provide limited information on the goals, philosophy, and curriculum of the school, as well as the St. Joseph Learning Center, a program for children with learning disabilities.
Series 8: Subject Series
The folders in this series are arranged in alphabetical order. Of greatest interest in the file on St. Joseph Parish, which includes some historical information and newsclippings.
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Restrictions
Providence Archives is a private repository; access to some records is at the discretion of the archivist.
Related Materials
The activities of the Sisters of Providence living and teaching at St. Joseph School from 1973 to 1978 are documented in the Chronicles of the Vancouver and Olympia Region; these chronicles include some mention of school events. The Chronicles of the Portland/Southwest Washington Region provide a resume of school activities for the 1980-1981 school year.
The records of the education apostolate and the Education Division of Sacred Heart Province contain related correspondence, reports, and the annual "school bulletin," a detailed record of enrollment statistics, student involvement in ancillary groups (e.g. Sodality, safety patrol), and special programs (music, vocational preparation, etc.).
See separate index for articles printed in the periodicals Caritas, Providence Sister, and The Good Work, published by the Sisters of Providence, Sacred Heart Province.
A small number of photographs are stored and inventoried separately.
Processed
June 19, 2000, by Terri Mitchell, Assistant Archivist
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BOX AND FOLDER LIST
SERIES 1: HISTORY
Box 1
Chronicles, 1954-1973, 1982-1983
SERIES 2: ADMINISTRATION
Box 1
Correspondence
Foundation Request/Approval, 1951, 1953
General, 1954-1976
Education Division, 1968-1978
Policy Manuals
Policy Manual, 1955
Policy and Procedure Handbook, nd
SERIES 3: PERSONNEL
Box 1
Sisters
SERIES 4: LOCAL COMMUNITY
Box 1
Proces Verbal, 1954-1967
Horarium
Library Accession Register, 1954-1964
SERIES 5: FINANCIAL
Box 1
Local Council Acts of Council, 1951-1966
Audit Report, 1957
SERIES 6: REPORTS
Box 1
Criteria for Evaluation of Catholic Elementary Schools, 1968, 1979
Miscellaneous Evaluations/Reports, c. 1960s
SERIES 7: PUBLICATIONS
Box 1
Yearbook, 1962-1963
Brochures
SERIES 8: SUBJECT SERIES
Box 1
Benefactors
Mass of Thanksgiving
Requests
Reunions
St. Joseph Parish
Stationery
July 3, 2000
The 1950s brought the opening of Vancouver's first parochial school, serving the new St. Joseph Parish. The Sisters of Providence accepted administration of the school, a natural expansion of their long-time ministry at Providence Academy, Vancouver. From the beginning, dedicated lay teachers joined the sisters on the faculty. The parish convent closed in 1976, but one sister remained on the school staff until 1990.