Almost 30 years ago, St. John’s Academy opened its doors as the first classical Christian school in Northeast Florida. As one of the founders, I have been privileged and blessed to experience the joy in the journey that established St. John’s Academy.
The journey began with 15 students in grades K-5, three fulltime teachers and a group of eager parent volunteers on the campus of Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church. We grew from that small beginning (God does not despise small beginnings, Zechariah 4:10) to three modular buildings and then on to five rooms in the church’s new Sunday school building with 120 students. We are thankful for the blessing Ponte Vedra Presbyterian was in the birth of St. John’s Academy by providing us a meeting place those first seven years.
Our mission and vision was to provide an excellent classical Christian education, offering Latin, logic and rhetoric: the scriptural equivalent to knowledge, wisdom and discernment. The curriculum would be integrated with a Christian worldview versus a secular worldview. Worldview is never neutral. We brought back the study of the classics, reading the entire book, not just excerpts! The titles included, and still do, “The Iliad,” “The Odyssey,” “Plato’s Republic,” to name a few. Essentially, we read the best that has been thought and said. Our goal was to train virtuous scholars! It was also important to remember that the true purpose of education is to pass on a culture, the culture of Western Civilization, the heritage passed on to our Founding Fathers through their classical Christian education. All roads lead to Athens, Rome and Jerusalem.
Recognizing that our teachers may not have been classically trained, we sent our teachers to training: trips to the Geneva School in Orlando, The Logos School in Moscow, Idaho, and Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky. We attended Circe Institute conferences around the country, experiencing speakers including Tracy Lee Simmons, author of “Climbing Parnassus”; David Hicks, “Norms and Nobility”; Anthony Esolen, “Out of the Ashes”; Rod Dreher, “How Dante Can Change Your Life” and “The Benedict Option.” Beyond that blessing, we were regularly nourished academically and spiritually by Martin Cothran with Memoria Press and Memoria College, Andrew Kern with the Circe Institute and Andrew Pudewa with the Institute of Excellence in Writing. Our teachers bring this knowledge and experience to the classroom, their students and our parents. They have been well equipped and prepared to train the next generation of virtuous scholars.
After seven years in Ponte Vedra, St. John’s Academy was given the opportunity to purchase the Bolles School in St. Augustine. Bolles recognized that St. John’s Academy’s academic standards were on par with their academic rigor and would make the transition for their school community a seamless one. Although some parents were uncomfortable with the Christian element and some questioned Latin vs. Spanish, we persevered and became part of the fabric of the St. Augustine community.
Along with many other families, businesses and churches, St. John’s Academy has overcome the invasion and destruction of the wild boars, which makes for a great story! We have survived the many hurricanes, which resulted in school closures, downed trees, destroyed septic tanks and the cost that accompanies such events. Not to mention the pandemic and virtual schooling, the cost of which no one can even measure at this point in time. As a school community, we established avenues to support the families and businesses that suffered loss of homes and revenue. We are proud to be a strong member of the Ponte Vedra/St. Augustine community. There has been joy in the journey!
St. John’s Academy begins its 30th year Sept. 3, 2024, with 300 students and two campuses, grades K-11. We invite you to visit our website and Facebook page and read the stories of how St. John’s has made a difference in the lives of our successful alumni. We encourage you to find out more about the classical Christian movement and join us in our mission to pass on our culture to the next generation.
Non Nobis Domine,
Wallis W. Brooks
Head of School and Founding Parent
