St. Pius X - St. Matthias Academy | |
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Address | |
7851 Gardendale Street Downey, California, (Los Angeles County) 90242 United States |
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Coordinates | 33°55′9″N 118°9′36″W / 33.91917°N 118.16000°WCoordinates: 33°55′9″N 118°9′36″W / 33.91917°N 118.16000°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, Coeducational |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
Patron saint(s) | St. Pius X and St. Matthias |
Established | 2013 |
Superintendent | Dr. Kevin Baxter |
President | Erick Rubalcava |
Principal | Veronica Zozaya |
Grades | 9-12 |
Average class size | 23 |
Student to teacher ratio | 15:1 |
Color(s) | Crimson Red and Grey |
Mascot | Warriors |
Accreditation | Western Association of Schools and Colleges |
Newspaper | The Pride |
Website | www.piusmatthias.org |
St. Pius X - St. Matthias Academy is a coeducational private, Catholic high school for grades 9–12 located in Downey, California. It is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Western Catholic Educational Association
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy was born from two great traditions of Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles- Pius X High School (1953-1998) and St. Matthias High School (1963-2013). In the year 1953, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles launched Pius X High School which served a co-ed population from the southeast area of Los Angeles County. The campus was home to Pius X High School from 1953 until the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced a school realignment transforming the co-ed Pius X High School, into a consolidation with the all-girls St. Matthias High School, eventually phasing out the Pius X program over a three-year period. About 80% of St. Matthias' all-girls student body of 300 transferred to Pius X campus. This resulted in a larger all-girl Catholic high school located on the sprawling 15-acre Pius X campus which became known as St. Matthias High School for Girls.
Pius X High School (Pius X) was a co-educational, private, four-year (grade levels 9-12) high school. Named for Pope Pius X, it was founded in 1954. The present campus of St. Pius X - St. Matthias Academy on Gardendale Street is Pius X's campus.
Fr. James W. Keefe was named principal in 1967, and the following year, instituted a concept of modern teaching, the Model School Project. Pius employed an educational model called "non-gradedness," which placed a student in a class where his or her present achievement was the deciding factor. Emphasis was put on progress and learning by the individual. The plan was discontinued after Keefe left in 1975.
Declining enrollment from the 1980s onward placed financial pressure on the Archdiocese's high schools, prompting Pius X to begin fundraisers and to form a new alumni association in 1986. A 25 percent drop in enrollment in 1992 prompted drastic cost-cutting, including the firing of two coaches and the elimination of many sports.