Saint Joseph CHS ready to receive their new principal

Friday, Jun. 26, 2015

OGDEN — Clayton Jones has been named as the Saint Joseph Catholic High School principal.

Jones brings 13 years of educational experience;  he also holds a bachelor’s degree in counseling and a master’s degree in education from the University of Memphis. Currently he is enrolled in a Catholic school leadership program at Creighton University.

Since moving to Utah, he has worked at Juan Diego Catholic High School, teaching social studies, physical education, lifetime fitness, and honors ancient civilizations. He also was the advisor for  the yearbook. 

“Clay is a good fit for Saint Joseph CHS.  He has some business background, counseling and teaching experience as well as coaching sports,” said Holy Cross Sister Catherine Kamphaus, Utah Catholic Schools superintendent. 

“He is excited about moving to the Ogden community and having his two sons go to Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary School,” she said, adding that Jones is a warm individual who is easy to talk to and very articulate when speaking about education and his Catholic faith.

Jones was born in Oklahoma but at the age of 10 he moved to Memphis, where he attended a Christian Brothers’ high school.

He said he is excited to start his job at St. Joseph CHS. 

“It is a great place to be,” he said. “I am looking forward to this new challenge. I am hoping to do a lot of things there. I want to increase the enrollment. … I want to help upgrade the buildings that they have there.” 

The building renovations and upgrading have already started on the St. Joseph campus, so he hopes that he’ll be helpful moving these projects forward, he said.

“His energy and enthusiasm will be welcomed as he takes this position of principal of Saint Joseph Catholic High School,” said Sr. Cathy.

Jones has heard great things about the St. Joseph community, he said.

“I want to continue building that and moving St. Joe’s forward not only as a state leader in education, but as a national leader in education. It is one of the things that we should do,” said Jones.

Although he is excited about his new job, he will miss the Juan Diego community, he said.

“It’s hard to leave, being in a place for that long. I made a lot of friends there. … It’s kind of bittersweet because this is the job that I was looking for, but I will surely miss the people I have worked with,” said Jones. 

Jones is in the process of moving with his family to northern Utah; his two sons will  be attending Saint Joseph schools in the fall.