John Paul II Academy, Eau Claire, WI

In September 2011, Eau Claire will be the home of a new school, the John Paul II Academy of Classical Education (JPII). Local middle and high school students interested in attaining a classical style of education currently not offered in this area, will have the opportunity to focus on written and spoken language skills, learn logical tools for organizing facts and develop the ability to express what they learn in well-formed arguments.

“We will focus on teaching children how to learn, with more emphasis on the Great Books and less on technology and sports,” says John Ruplinger, the newly hired Headmaster for JPII Academy. Classical education is not only a method of teaching, but also a curriculum that follows methods of study used by the founders of our country and the great thinkers over time. Ruplinger indicates JPII Academy is planning opportunities for the public to learn more about this style of education in the near future.

The idea for the John Paul II Academy started about five years ago with several home school parents looking for a classical educational opportunity for their growing children. “We wanted an option of a small school environment that combined a classical curriculum with the Catholic faith,” says Board Chairman Kevin DeCook of Chippewa Falls.

After much research into classical educational opportunities, a board of local parents was established in January of 2011, and the John Paul II Academy, a non-profit entity, was officially formed. It will follow the NAPCIS (National Association of Private Catholic Independent Schools) model and is a member school of that organization.

For more information and to follow the progress of the John Paul II Academy of Classical Education, go to www.johnpaul2academy.org.

John Paul II Academy will join three other academies in Wisconsin with a classical style of education; St. Ambrose in Madison(from where Mr. John Ruplinger is coming from), Trinity Academy in Milwaukee, and Providence Academy in La Crosse. JPII offers middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) only at this time. The website is well done. Plans for the first year are only to have 15-20 students but obviously as time goes on those numbers will grow. I would think this eventually will expand to K-5 as well. I have not yet heard of Bishop Callahan's position on the school, but it is my understanding that then-bishop Listecki had problems with the other independent Catholic school(Providence) in the diocese when they expanded to high school age. If I lived in the area I'd be sending my children there.