BOXFORD – Juliana and James Joyce share many character traits with the namesake or patron saint of the St. George’s Classical Academy they operate such as courage, chivalry and faith in God.
But like the legendary Grecian Roman soldier who slayed a dragon, the couple is not afraid to make bold decisions.
After only one year running the school, Juliana, the director of the academy, and her husband, a former NASA engineer who directs curriculum development while teaching math and science, expanded the kindergarten-to-eighth-grade school to add a ninth and tenth grades. Next year, they plan to add the 11th grade, followed by the 12th.
In one of the fastest growing private schools in the state, they are also innovative. In this, their second year sharing space at the First Church Congregational here in Boxford, they began teaching Greek and the violin.
At the beginning of the school year last fall, they handed out violins to each student. And most students can play it.
Why violins?
“There is something magical about (the violin),” James Joyce said. And the violin, more than other instruments, lends itself to the thoughtful curriculum the school offers.
To play the violin, he said, “You have to hear the note (in your head) before you can feel the right string to play it.” That practice is ideal for teaching students to think through a problem in advance.
Music is also one of the seven liberal arts taught at the academy. Other pillars of the classical education include grammar, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, geometry, astronomy and music.
The schools’ growth under the Joyces’ leadership is exceptional. Last year, St. George’s opened with 21 students. It grew over last summer to 52 students, which included adding the ninth and tenth grade students. For next year, it already expects to grow to 75 and 80 students with its first graduating class in two years.
The school in three buildings owned by the church draws students and families from 17 communities from Saugus to Andover to southern New Hampshire.
Juliana attributes the school’s exceptional growth to its God-centered curriculum and to parents talking to other parents. “People are excited to be part of something transformative. They crave community. It’s beautiful.”
The Joyces knew there was demand for a St. George’s Classical high school. Eighth grade families with children in the lower grades wanted to keep their children in the curriculum the school offered.
“We had the right people (teachers) at the right time,” she said. “It has happened very quickly. It took a lot of things coming together to make it work.” But she admits, “We have a long way to go.”
James had joined in January of the first year. He and Dr. Alex Ruggeri, the upper school humanities teacher, took on the challenge of establishing the high school.
Other innovations include offering a lecture series for families as well as students, field trips and what they call exploratories – which this year included folk dancing, ballroom dancing and creating icons. The academy is looking for talented people in the community to bring them ideas for other exploratories next year.
They believe that the body and soul must be in harmony, so the school has launched a gymnastics and a ski club.
James, who worked on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, a mission to “touch the Sun,” said the goal is to prepare students to be leaders, developing both virtue and wonder at the same time. “We want the student not to ask what we can do, but what we ought to do.”
“We are not raising children. We are raising adults,” Juliana said.
An important tenant of the school is to be a part of the greater Boxford community. She has reached out to the Council on Aging to develop joint programs between seniors and the students.
The former high school principal at Hamilton-Wenham School District, Juliana said, “I have never worked so hard. But the rewards are tremendous.” ♦
