About St. John Paul II Academy
Our Story
Our adventure started in August 2019, as a group of Catholic lay people formed a new venture offering a liberal arts K-8 education in the city of Omaha. Sixteen students arrived that fall on the vacant third floor of St. Joan of Arc parish school.
In 2020, COVID disrupted in-person instruction. Families rose to the challenge, using an innovative, integrated curriculum optimized for at-home learning for every member of the family. Despite the weird pandemic situation, the response to these unprecedented times set the tone for the future.
Thanks to that optimistic and adventurous approach, enrollment for the second school year (2020-2021) grew over 300%, from 16 to 54 students. The school added two class sections, hired two faculty and introduced our first 8th grade class. Faculty continued their professional development with intensive training in CGS and Montessori formation, and participated in the Spirit and Craft of Teaching conference hosted by the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education, of which JPII is proud to be a Premier Member.
Enrollment for the third school year (2022-2023) nearly doubled, from 54 to 96 students, even as the inaugural 8th grade class departed for high school. Outgrowing the space available at St. Joan of Arc, the school moved to JPII’s current home at Holy Ghost in south midtown Omaha.
Around this time, a group of families presented the idea to launch a “satellite campus,” implementing our community’s unique culture and educational approach within the tight-knit community of Blair, to Omaha’s north. In the end, the Blair group opted to proceed independently and formed St. John Paul II Academy (JPII) on the campus of St. Francis Borgia parish. A warm and vibrant collaboration began between the two schools.
After the 2023-24 school year, St. John Paul II Academy did not achieve enrollment targets to successfully continue in Blair, and opted to move its base of operations to Omaha. Many Omaha families began conversations with, and ultimately joined JPII. Thus, the JPII community began preparing for its new chapter starting in August 2024.
Today, St. John Paul II Academy is proud to begin its new chapter in the city of Omaha. As always, our community aims to prepare young men and women for success in high school, college and the professional world, while inculcating in them a deep Christian formation, an adventurous approach to life’s challenges, and the desire to seek holiness in and through everyday life and work.
Faith
From the beginning, the School has sought guidance from the Archdiocese of Omaha and other Catholic organizations to ensure the Christian orientation of all the school’s activities.
All-school Mass is celebrated several times per week by archdiocesan priests at Holy Ghost Catholic Church, and we pray daily for the Pope, the Archbishop of Omaha, and the Catholic Church, which we serve and support.
An integral part of St. John Paul II Academy’s unique ethos is that its educational and formational activities are carried out with a Christian spirit and in accord with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
While the school is open to persons of all creeds, it asks the members of its community—students, parents, faculty, board, staff—to adhere to the tenets of morality taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, which it respects and venerates with loyalty. In addition, we faithfully teach Catholic doctrine as promulgated by that same Magisterium to all families and students.
