Prep Grad Janine (Duffy) Hughes ’86 Revives Bronx Catholic Elementary School

For almost 20 years Janine Duffy Hughes ‘86 has been principal  at St. Joseph School in the Bronx and has truly taken the school to new heights. When she became principal in 1995, enrollment hovered at around 200 students. Through a series of innovative programs and initiatives, Janine and her staff have more than doubled the enrollment which now stands at 474 students! That’s no small feat in the city of New York where so many Catholic elementary schools have been witness to enrollment declines during the same period.

One of the shining achievements has been the Extended Day program at St. Joseph, which she began in 1993. It improved student achievement and allowed for extracurricular activities such a phenomenal band program. The editors of the Wall Street Journal in an article entitled Strike Up the Band celebrated her students’ academic and extracurricular accomplishments in music.

Each year, the vast majority of St. Joseph’s eighth graders go on to attend Catholic high schools. This year 28 out of St. Joe’s 31 graduates will be attending Catholic high schools. Two of their eighth grade girls are going on to Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT on full scholarship! Over 95% of St. Joseph School alumni graduate from high school on schedule in four years, compared to the public school rate of 58%.

Please join Janine and her staff for a memorable evening featuring music by the children of St. Joseph School Band, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and more.

The 8th Annual Celebration of Music to Benefit St. Joseph School

Thursday, May 20, 2010, 6-9 p.m.

Landmark on the Park

160 Central Park West, NYC

Tickets are $50. All proceeds support St. Joseph School's Music and Extended Day Programs, empowering its inner-city students with the best education possible, by underwriting otherwise unaffordable curriculum enhancements.

For more information, to purchase tickets, and to make a donation please visit: http://www.stjosephbronx.org/AnnualBenefit.html or call Development Director, Fiona O'Sullivan, at (718) 583-9432 ext. 3.

St. Joseph School, located in the South Bronx, provides an academically sound, values-based education to a diverse group of 473 students in Pre-K through 8th grade. Our unique School Band program, which is mandatory for 5th through 8th graders, cultivates the students' music appreciation skills while promoting discipline and teamwork. Ed Ornowski conducts the Band, made up of over 170 talented and well-trained musicians. The school's Extended Academic Day program lengthens each school day by approximately two hours, allowing for increased classroom teaching and studying time and facilitating close teacher-student collaborations.