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Belonging at SJCS

Saint Joseph’s Catholic School commits to an educational mission that invites students and families from all backgrounds into a life-changing relationship with Christ. We recognize and are inspired by the belief that God created all people with infinite dignity and worth.  Saint Joseph’s Catholic School welcomes all students as equally esteemed members of our community, and affirms the dignity of every human being by rejecting all forms of prejudice, racism, sexism and classism in all their manifestations. We do this not just as goals for our school but as critical components of our Catholic identity and mission.

We aim to foster an understanding and appreciation for diversity among our students, both within our school community and in the broader world.

Dorian Lane, Belonging Coordinator

Catholic Resources to Combat Racism

 Highlights

Here are some of the initiatives the school has recently taken to be more intentional about creating a culture of encounter and belonging for all of our students:

  • Introduction  of the Belonging Committee as a Sub-Committee of the Standards Committee.
  • Study and integartion of resources to combat racism provided by the USCCB.
  • Currently, 12% of our employees identify as non-white
  • Inclusion of  a wider range of books in the library, especially books written by authors from diverse backgrounds.
  • Inclusion of a greater variety of historical and literary voices in the curriculum.

  • Hispanic Heritage Mass during Hispanic Heritage Month with guests from Iglesia Católica San Sebastián.

  • Black Catholic Morning Prayer Service to celebrate Black History Month with guests from St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.

  • Asian Heritage Mass in April with guests from Jesus Our Risen Savior Catholic Church.

  • Addition of a required class on Catholic Social Teaching to theology curriculum.

  • The Office of Ethnic Ministries of the Diocese of Charleston led a discussion about Black Catholic History in the U.S. and South Carolina in February.

  • Black History Tour of historic civil rights sites in Greenville, led by local civil rights leaders and attended by school leadership and a group of students of color.

  • Yearly participation of students of color in the Clemson Men of Color Summit.