It has been quite an inaugural year for St. John Central Academy for the building, its students and faculty, and the spirit of St. John Central High that still pervades the school.
The Diocese of Steubenville handed the building over to a newly founded corporation comprised of St. John Central High School alumni. This board immediately gained the support of past Fighting Irish alumni and has been successful in steering the school forward. St. John Central Academy just completed year one of its 5-year plan and is showing signs of marked growth.
“It’s been crazy,” said SJCA Advancement Director Johnetta Yaegel. “When we started, everything was coming down to the last minute because of how long it took to get the charter in place and then follow up with all the other requirements needed to open the school.
“Everyone was prepared to move forward with the new school year and Mrs. (Selina) Brooks (principal) took everything to the top. Then, the coronavirus happened, and we were able to continue educating our students in expert fashion to complete the school year.”
The Academy ended the school year with 103 students enrolled K-through-12, roughly the same amount the combined St. John Central High School/Grade School finished with its final year.
Those numbers figure to increase in the coming years as programs expand, and the Academy further establishes itself in the minds of the community as a viable educational option.
“I think it’s safe to say the Valley needs to know we are here to stay,” said Yaegel, whose daughter will be a senior for the 2020-21 school year. “There are major changes coming at the school.”
Yaegel admitted the Academy has exciting news, both in the short-term and in long-term planning for the students, their families, and the community.
Coming soon
SJCA is in the process of planning a significant expansion of its chemistry lab with plans to invest $100,000 in equipment and technology. The school’s biology lab has already been upgraded to a state of the art level.
Dan Vitlip, the school’s renowned science teacher, is spearheading the design and planning of the lab. It will incorporate aspects of robotics, chemistry, and engineering. SDJCA is reaching out to alumni for support for Mr. Vitlip and his programs.
“Anyone who has had the opportunity to take his classes, understands their value, and will undoubtedly support his efforts to expand the programming for the sciences at SJCA,” Yaegal said.
The school also plans to offer computer-coding classes taught remotely by alumni who are Information Technology professionals for more in-depth exposure to these technical skills.
In addition, the school is racing to give every instructor at SJCA the ability to teach remotely.
Yaegel noted the ability for full remote learning will come in handy should another coronavirus wave hit or another similar situation requiring the school building to be closed for an extended period.
It also increases the potential offerings available to both SJCA students and potentially others off-site.
“We want every teacher in the whole school to have remote capability,” Yaegel said. “Our teachers will be able to go to work, even during a quarantine, and still be able to teach their kids how they normally would.”
Yaegel briefly touched on the ability of home-schooled children to directly connect to a live instructor and participate “in the moment” with that instructor and classmates. Many parents of home-schooled students struggle with higher mathematics and sciences. Home-schooled students will be offered the opportunity to participate in dissections with Mr. Vitlip, having their own specimens sent to their homes, and participate actively.
E-Sports and Other Athletic Plans
The Academy’s E-Sports team, which plays competition-style PC video games remotely versus other schools, is a program taking off.
SJCA students helped design the E-Sports station at the school along with helping to build the gaming rigs themselves.
“The students built the computers themselves, under supervision,” Yaegel said. “You can compete against schools from anywhere, and there isn’t a classification ranking system like those of the OVAC. If you can field a team and have the equipment, you can compete.
“You can play people all over the country.”
And that was the exact plan. The team built the equipment, practiced strategy, and was ready to go, and then the pandemic kept the team from playing because the lab was closed, and the students will wait to compete when the new school year starts.
More traditional sports are being discussed as well. The Academy had planned an instructional soccer camp to be held at its facility. Coaches from both Wheeling University and West Liberty were to run the camp.
It, too, was canceled. But the Academy is in talks of taking the necessary steps of getting a soccer program up and running.
For the first few seasons, SJCA will need to practice and play its games on other schools’ facilities or fields. But that isn’t the longterm goal.
“We eventually want to be playing on our own field,” Yaegel said. “We are working on trying to get together with plans for our own pool facility that also will include a soccer facility.
“We were going to present ideas to the Belmont County Tourism Department with a presentation on March 20, but that got canceled.”
The school is looking at adding a golf team this year. The return of boys’ basketball in coming years is also in the works.
A Pool You Say?
A home soccer field is a great addition, but there are many options to utilize in the interim for SJCA.
But an indoor pool? Those locations Upper Ohio Valley-wise are at a premium. The facility’s demand would be immense, not just from a Fighting Irish swim team, but other area teams without a home pool, along with other local organizations.
Obviously, it’s not an inexpensive prospect. So, when asked if this was more vision than plan, Yaegel responded.
“We have some funding in place already and a lot of interest,” Yaegel said. “Our people in Belmont County don’t have an (indoor) facility for kids to practice swimming. It’s a vital part of school sports. We need a facility for our students and the students of the Valley.”
There are a number of schools that have official teams without a home pool to practice in. Other schools have swimmers who compete individually. This provides an additional practice option and what would be the first in Belmont County for indoor use.
“This would be for all the kids in the Ohio Valley who don’t have a place to practice,” Yaegel said. “Our kids need that. Bellaire needs that, something here to generate tax dollars for the city.”
Yaegel noted another possible option to help with funding once the facility would be open is to offer up space for medical offices therapists.
These medical professionals could set up a satellite office with the intention of performing aqua therapy for their patients.
Any funding attributed to allowing the facility such use could help with upkeep and maintenance on the facility.
Speaking of Funding
Depending on where you live and what grade level your child is currently in, they may be eligible for a scholarship from the EdChoice program in Ohio.
In short, if your child is a fourth grader at a county elementary school, and if he or she attends a school listed on the EdChoice program site as being eligible, your child could attend SJCA at no cost to you.
Locally, according the Ohio Department of Education, those districts and grade levels are:
- Belmont County—Bellaire (K-4, 9-12); Bridgeport (5-8, 9-12); Martins Ferry (5-8, 9-12); Shadyside (9-12); St. Clairsville (K-4) and Union Local (K-5, 9-12).
- Monroe County—Beallsville (K-6, 7-12); Monroe Central (9-12, K-8 at Woodsfield and Skyvue); River (9-12, K-8 at Powhatan)
- Jefferson County—Buckeye Local (K-6 at all three elementary schools, 9-12); Edison (9-12); Indian Creek (4-6, 9-12); and Steubenville (5-8).
Yaegel noted that once the EdChoice scholarship is approved, the student can enroll at SJCA. From that point, the family need only renew the scholarship each year by the deadline.
Eligibility does not change if the student’s home district improves or the student advances to a grade level where the home district is higher performing.
Once they are eligible, they remain eligible until graduation, provided the scholarship is renewed on time.
“Even if the district is no longer failing, once the student is enrolled, that voucher follows the student,” Yaegel said.
Open for All Students?
St. John is not picking and choose its students in order to keep its test scores higher, as some have suggested. If that was the case, enrollment never would have been an issue.
The school will accept students that have an Individualized Education Program that is not a disqualifier.
But Yaegel noted there are some disabilities, whether those be physical or learning disabilities, that the public-school system is better equipped to accommodate. And if parents are inquiring about sending their child(ren) to St. John, the staff will be honest with their assessment.
“We have students at our school on an IEP,” Yaegel said. “But if you are a student with a severe disability, we can’t accommodate that. We don’t have the structural resources and staff to handle severe disabilities.”
“We are able to help those students who need extra attention, that extra study table after school. Our intervention specialist can go 1-on-1 with them and get them the help they need.”
St. John is no longer affiliated with the Diocese of Steubenville and, as such, is not a Catholic school. But it is a non-denominational Christian school where religion may be taught and practiced
For more information, call (740) 676-4932 or visit SJCA on its temporary website and fill out your information to be contacted at sjcacademy.net
