John F. Kennedy said, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” St. Croix Academy views leadership as the ability to first think and reason, then act with integrity and responsibility. ‘Leadership’ is one of the most overused and least understood terms in our society, often conjuring up images of power, success, titles and possessions. By contrast, the founders of St. Croix Preparatory Academy view leadership as the product of education and character development. Real leadership entails knowledge, understanding and the ability to communicate--in conjunction with citizenship, cooperation, courage, honesty, integrity, perseverance, respect and responsibility.

St. Croix Prep will integrate the teaching of Rhetoric and Leadership for all incoming high school students. Our focus will be on developing the skills of classical Rhetoric: persuasive writing and speaking, as well as debate. We will also examine various models and styles of leadership in depth, including examples from American and world history. Students will have the opportunity to analyze their own unique leadership style, character attributes and personal strengths. Discussions of “servant leadership” and how it differs from the images of power, success, titles and possessions will simulate students to think beyond popular perceptions. In addition, all Academy high school students will be required to document at least 40 hours annually of community service to gain practical experience in real “servant leadership.”