Paula Thiessen

Paula Thiessen, Principal

Paula Thiessen, Principal

1722 North Starr Drive (K4-7: 348) - Total: 348

Fayetteville, AR 72701 School Founded 1948

"It's a question I get asked probably on a weekly basis, not just by people who live here but by people who are considering moving to the area," said Paula Thiessen, principal of St. Joseph's.

Most students enroll in the Fayetteville School District after completing seventh grade, Thiessen said.

Current St. Joseph Principal Paula Thiessen said she tries to keep the same standard of 80 percent.It is becoming more difficult since Fayetteville and the area's other large districts have been increasing at a strong rate in recent years.

"It's sponsored by the National Catholic Education Association," said St. Joseph Principal Paula Thiessen, as a way to commemorate what the schools do."Catholic schools help the children develop spiritually as well as academically," she said.

St. Joseph's is a prekindergarten to seventh-grade school with about 350 students altogether, Thiessen said.Approximately 30 of those children are in the prekindergarten program.

About 13 percent of the students are non-Catholic, she added.
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The theme for the week is "Faith in Every Student," and classes are making it a point to go over the theme and discuss with students ways in which they can grow in their faith, Thiessen said.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church was originally established in Fayetteville in 1844 near the current location at 1722 N. Starr Drive, Thiessen said.In 1878, the church was moved to the corner of Lafayette and Willow."It moved to Lafayette Street and that's where Catholic education began here," she said.

The church and school stayed at that location for more than 120 years, until a church committee began looking for a new location.

The parish eventually purchased land where it was originally established to construct a new building, even though that land had not been owned by the church for many years, she said.

At the present location, the school and church are located in the same building together."This is our third year here," Thiessen said.

St. Joseph's is the only Catholic School in Northwest Arkansas besides St. Vincent de Paul in Rogers, according to Thiessen.