Our History
History of… Saint James School
“School opened September 8th with High Mass and the lovely instruction given by Father Purcell”. With this sentence, Sister Louise Howell, D.C., (first principal of St. James School) announced to her superior in Emmitsburg, Maryland, that Catholic Elementary School Education had begun in Johnson City, New York. Founded by Fr. William Purcell, its roots go back, however, almost to the institution of the parish in 1900 when in order to provide for the religious instruction of the children, the Sisters of St. Joseph had served as catechists, commuting weekly from Binghamton.
In the fall of 1935, four sisters from the Daughters of Charity order arrived. These sisters provided religious education and other spiritual works until September 1937 when the beautiful new school was opened.
St. James School was originally slated to house kindergarten through fourth grade, but in the fall of 1937, 176 students had enrolled in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. At that time, there were six sisters on staff. Parents did not have to pay tuition if they used the Sunday envelopes. They did, however, have to buy their children’s books.
In 1938 another grade was added to the school, as was another sister. The registration for the 1938-39 school year was 225. Each of those early years saw an increase in enrollment and an increase in services. One notable addition occurred during the 1939-40 school year when a central library was established and cataloging and classification of all books was accomplished. Each grade was assigned a library period with the hope of instilling in the children a love of good reading and a lifetime practice of library usage.
In 1942, Sister Ariana Fitzpatrick became the second principal of St. James School. The 1940’s were indeed a growing time for St. James. Enrollment continued to climb and during the 1946-47 school year it had reached 360.
During the 1950’s and 1960’s, St. James School continued to grow, eventually becoming a kindergarten through eighth grade with about 370 students total. But with the opening of Blessed Sacrament School and shifting in the local community enrollment began to level off and decline.
Throughout the years, St. James had maintained a strong commitment to faith community. To that end, the faculty and staff have gathered together for prayer, liturgy, retreat, and sometimes meals. By forming themselves after Christ, they believe they can better form Christ in their students.
Today St. James Middle School remains strong with an enrollment of 150 students in grades four through eight. Serving the families and parishes of Broome County, St. James is a collaborative environment focusing on the fundamentals of thinking, reading, writing, music, art, and arithmetic.
A NEW CHAPTER FOR SAINT JAMES…
In the Fall of 2011, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James Schools will blend with each other at the St. James campus location on Main Street in Johnson City. This will create a NEW ELEMENTARY school in the region which is an exciting transition for the families of the southern tier. This change is also a part of the transitioning of SCC / Seton Catholic Central High School, where the 7th and 8th Grades from the region’s elementary and middle schools will now be located at the SCC campus, in Binghamton, creating a 7-12 unit at one location.
For the decade of the 90’s… students from St. Thomas and Blessed Sacrament have fed into St. James, thus the transition and blending of St. Thomas is a natural function of progress and a response to a tightening economic times. However, excellent college placement and educational cutbacks in the public schools may help more people to look at a best alternative… OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS.