School Profile

St. John Academy (SJA) is a Catholic elementary school with approximately 250 students currently enrolled in pre-school through grade eight.

Our faculty and staff are committed to the school’s motto, “Faith, Knowledge, and Joy”— as these virtues encapsulate the SJA approach to education. Through Faith, children learn to look beyond themselves. Knowledge covers our curriculum, aimed at educating the intellect, the body, and the soul. Joy completes the mission at St. John Academy, rooted in the Christian understanding that true happiness is found through self-sacrifice, charity, and serving others.

Our dedicated team of teachers put all this into action through more than 3,600 hours of professional development coursework over the last three years. Faculty and staff work together to promote a lifelong love of learning through the school’s rich tradition of academic excellence and spiritual formation. Students are taught to believe that while they are unique, they are called to a series of relationships that includes their family, their school, their town, and most importantly, a personal relationship with a loving God.

St. John Academy has consistently exceeded the average test scores of the other schools in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. Additionally in our 2005-2006 Terra Nova testing, for grades 3 through 7, SJA exceeded the 90th percentile score by at least 20 points in reading and at least 17 points in math. Specifically, for the seventh grade, test scores were 21 points over the 90th percentile cutoff in Reading and 18.5 points over for Math. What’s more, every year, our students are recognized for their high levels of achievement and top honors in academic competitions such as the Virginia National Spanish examination, “It’s Academic,” the Diocesan Spelling Bee, the Geography Bee, the Diocesan Band Festival, and many other competitions.

Student learning extends well beyond the classroom. For example, SJA’s student council sets the tone for the school’s charitable efforts by raising money for the poor in Africa, collecting food and clothing for the needy in the Washington D.C. area, participating in events to honor our soldiers, and sponsoring underprivileged students in developing nations.

At St. John Academy, our priority is to be certain that every student graduates with effective academic skills, and the moral courage to do the “right” thing to improve society. For more than 50 years, our students have exceeded these expectations.

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