The St. Joseph Center now serves seventeen school-aged students and fifteen adults in the Over-21 program. Its current facility at 2075 W. Norwegian Street, Pottsville, is no longer large enough for its needs.
St. Joseph Center was formed in 1955 as St. Joseph Day School on Mahantongo Street in Pottsville. In 1987, the school relocated to the current location on Norwegian Street.
The Over-21 Program serves adults with disabilities who are unable to enter the workforce. The state-licensed program helps them build social skills and increase their self-sufficiency and self-esteem. The adult program will move in late June 2023.
The school-age students of the center will move to the new location with the start of the 2023-24 school year on August 28, 2023.
The new facility is the former St. Ambrose Elementary School, which closed in 2019. The facility has nine classrooms and a gymnasium/hall, has plenty of parking, and is handicapped-accessible.
“Moving to this new more-spacious facility will increase our capacity and allow us to boost enrollment,” said Robert Giba, principal. “This is a very positive development that will help maintain and increase our educational effectiveness for our students and adults.”
Monsignor Edward Zemanik, pastor of St. Ambrose Parish, said the parish welcomes the St. Joseph Center and looks forward to a bright future for students, adults, and faculty.