What ST JOHNS CLASSICAL ACADEMY does

St. Johns Classical Academy is a tuition-free, open-enrollment public charter school operating two campuses in Fleming Island and Orange Park, Florida, serving K-12 students (Fleming Island) and K-8 students (Orange Park). Founded and opened in 2017 with a second campus added in 2023, the school is chartered by Clay County District Schools under Florida Statute 1002.33 and is a Hillsdale College Member School through the Barney Charter School Initiative (2021-2027). The curriculum is built on the Hillsdale College K-12 classical education framework, organized around the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and quadrivium, with explicit phonics, Singapore math, Latin starting in sixth grade, whole-book reading, primary source study, and a mandatory senior thesis defended orally before faculty and the Headmaster. Character education is formalized through the Nine Standards of Virtue framework, which holds scholars, parents, and teachers accountable to objective standards such as Citizenship, Courage, Honesty, Humility, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, Responsibility, and Wisdom.

The school's business model is public charter per-pupil funding from the State of Florida, supplemented by ancillary fee-based services such as paid school meals (breakfast $2.50, lunch $4.55) through MySchoolBucks. There is no tuition, application fee, or enrollment fee. Enrollment is managed through a Florida-mandated random lottery on the SchoolMint platform when applications exceed capacity, with priority given to currently enrolled scholars, children of employees, founding board members' children, and siblings of enrolled students; accepted families complete registration through the county's FOCUS system. Ancora LLC serves as the contracted Education Service Provider for management and operational support. Florida charter schools receive roughly two-thirds of the per-pupil funding allocated to traditional public schools and must cover operational, capital, and indirect costs from funds that traditional districts receive for operations alone, which structurally pressures margins.

The academy offers a full K-12 academic and extracurricular stack including Exceptional Student Education (ESE), English Learners (ESOL) support, Honors and Advanced Placement courses, dual enrollment with St. Johns River State College for 11th and 12th graders, athletics, before- and after-school programs, food services compliant with the National School Lunch Program, and academic advising including Bright Futures scholarship support. Operational technology is integrated through SchoolMint (enrollment lottery), FOCUS (student information), MySchoolBucks (payments), Nutrislice (menus), SaferWatch and FortifyFL (safety), Florida Virtual School (credit recovery), FASTER (electronic transcripts), and Smore (the Lion Line newsletter). Marketing and outreach are conducted primarily through the school website, the Lion Line newsletter, prospective-family tours, and the Lions Council parent organization, with no fee-based acquisition channels. The board is chaired by Keith Smith and includes members with backgrounds in law, accounting, commercial real estate, and engineering, providing community and operational oversight.

Name

ST JOHNS CLASSICAL ACADEMY

Legal name

St. Johns Classical Academy

Website

https://stjca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

St. Johns Classical Academy is a tuition-free public charter school operating two Florida campuses (Fleming Island K-12 and Orange Park K-8) that delivers a Hillsdale-affiliated classical liberal arts curriculum with virtue-based character education to K-12 families in Clay County.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Classical Charter School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter Montessori/Waldorf/Classical/Expeditionary (Pedagogical Models) (EDAJACAL)

Keywords

• Classical K-12 education
• Charter school education
• Liberal arts curriculum
• Classical curriculum Hillsdale
• Tuition-free public charter

Headquarters

HQ city

Fleming Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Per-Pupil Public Funding: Charter school receives per-pupil funding from Florida. Florida Charter Schools receive approximately two-thirds as much funding as traditional public schools and must cover operational, capital and indirect costs with funds that traditional public schools receive for just operational costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

St. Johns Classical Academy is a tuition-free public charter school delivering K-12 classical liberal arts education through two campuses in Fleming Island and Orange Park, Florida. It offers the Hillsdale College K-12 Curriculum structured on the trivium and quadrivium, combined with the Nine Standards of Virtue character program, dual enrollment, athletics, and student support services. Enrollment is open and managed via a Florida-mandated random lottery through SchoolMint, with registration completed through the county FOCUS system.

Product overview

St. Johns Classical Academy is a public charter school operating two campuses (Fleming Island and Orange Park, Florida) that offers a unified K-12 classical education program. The school follows the Hillsdale College K-12 Curriculum based on the trivium and quadrivium educational model, divided into Grammar School (K-5th Grade) and Upper School (6th-12th Grade). The institution provides academic services including Dual Enrollment with St. Johns River State College, Honors and AP courses, Exceptional Student Education, ESOL support, and college readiness advising. Beyond core academics, the school offers athletics, after-school clubs, health services, and food services. Enrollment is managed through SchoolMint with registration via the county FOCUS system. The school recently opened its Orange Park Campus in 2023 and serves students in grades K-12 at Fleming Island and K-8 at Orange Park.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Classical Education Curriculum (K-12) Comprehensive K-12 classical liberal arts curriculum following the Hillsdale College K-12 Curriculum, structured around the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and quadrivium, emphasizing virtue, civic responsibility, and traditional learning for scholars.
• Grammar School Program (K-5) Foundational academic program for kindergarten through 5th grade focusing on explicit phonics, handwriting, grammar, Singapore math, and content-rich BCSI curriculum with traditional classroom structure and direct instruction.
• Upper School Program (6-12) Advanced academic program for grades 6 through 12 emphasizing clear written and oral communication, whole book reading, primary source study, geometric proofs, scientific investigations, Latin instruction beginning in 6th grade, and culminating in a senior thesis requirement.
• Senior Thesis Mandatory graduation requirement where 12th-grade scholars write and orally defend a thesis before fellow scholars, faculty, and the Headmaster.
• Exceptional Student Education (ESE)

Quantifiable outcome

• Fleming Island Campus achieved 'A' rating for 2025-2026 school year
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hillsdale CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021St. Johns Classical Academy is a Hillsdale College Member School affiliated with the Barney Charter School Initiative. The school receives complimentary curriculum, training for board/leadership/teachers, on-site professional development, classroom observations and coaching, and access to an online resource library. Hillsdale support is offered at no cost to the school.
• Clay County District SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharter authorizer for St. Johns Classical Academy. The school is chartered by the Clay County School Board and funded on a per pupil basis. Registration is completed through the county's FOCUS system.
• Florida Consortium of Public Charter SchoolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSJCA uses the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools' Evaluation System for employee evaluations.
• St. Johns River State CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDual enrollment partnership allowing 11th and 12th grade scholars to take college courses through the state college.
• Florida Virtual SchoolminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorScholars may request classes through FLVS for credit recovery or to take courses not offered at SJCA, with parent approval required.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Great Hearts Academies: Multi-state network of tuition-free classical charter academies pursuing a liberal arts curriculum similar to SJCA's Hillsdale-based classical model. Operates with comparable governance, mission emphasis on virtue, and college-preparatory focus, making it the closest direct peer in product and pedagogy.
• BASIS Charter Schools: National network of public charter schools built around a rigorous, content-rich, college-preparatory classical curriculum. Comparable to SJCA in academic intensity, public charter funding model, and emphasis on measurable student outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• Charter Schools USA: Florida-headquartered charter management organization that operates multiple charter schools statewide. Plays a similar back-office/operational role to Ancora LLC for SJCA and represents a broad incumbent in the Florida charter ecosystem where SJCA competes for authorizations and enrollment.
• KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program): One of the largest U.S. charter school networks, operating public charter schools across many states with a college-preparatory mission. While pedagogically distinct from SJCA's classical model, it is a broad incumbent peer sharing the tuition-free public charter funding model and K-12 college-readiness positioning.
• National Heritage Academies: National charter management organization operating tuition-free public charter schools with a college-preparatory focus. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the charter management space serving similar K-12 demographics.
• Accel Schools: Charter management organization operating public charter schools across multiple states with a college-preparatory mission. Represents a broad incumbent comparable to SJCA in funding model and scale aspirations, though without the classical pedagogy specialization.

Others

• Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office: The curriculum and training provider affiliated with SJCA through the Barney Charter School Initiative. It is an ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor — its member school network defines the classical charter category in which SJCA competes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ST JOHNS CLASSICAL ACADEMY