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Schools & Program
Visits - Sept, 2000 Issue #73
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ST.
PAUL’S ACADEMY
Phoenix, Arizona
602-956-9090
Dave Johnson, Admissions
Visit by Lon Woodbury on April 12, 2000
208-267-5550
lon@woodbury.com
I last visited St. Paul’s Academy in 1994. Since then they have
moved to new facilities and have grown and matured their program in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways. The most obvious change
is their newer and more compact building, with the chapel in the center, reflecting the important role that spirituality plays in
the student’s experience there. It is used not only for church services, but also as an auditorium. From the chapel, doors lead to
administrative offices, classrooms, and all other parts of the complex except the dorms, which are in separate buildings a short trip
away. The complex has a warm, comfortable and relaxed feeling, with tasteful pictures and student artwork adorning the walls.
Founder Lowell Andrews has worked to make a school that at first
glance looks traditional, but has elements that make it unique. One important element is their character development curriculum in
which students earn privileges and responsibility through their Knights Templar format. It is named after an organization of knights
from the Middle Ages that was responsible for conquering the Holy Lands for Christianity during the crusades. This curriculum is structured
to expose students not only to the old concepts of chivalry held by the Knights, but also to their modern manifestations of honor,
patience, responsibility, integrity, trust, and leadership, thus teaching that these values are timeless.
St. Paul’s Academy strives to create an environment that is emotionally
safe enough so that a student can ask for help. However, this is in no way a therapeutic school where treatment is a goal, rather,
counselors are there for support. For example, it is imbedded in the school’s culture to have older students help younger students.
This not only encourages the concepts of friendship, charity, responsibility, and giving in the older students, it also fosters security
and safety among the younger students. With an active positive peer culture like this, there is much less chance for a frightened
or angry student to fall through the cracks.
Founder Andrews and his staff assert that it is the attention to
character development that makes the school work. This was obvious from the staff meeting I attended, during which a sensitivity to
the emotional as well as the academic needs of the students was demonstrated. The sense of collegiality among the faculty was also
quite impressive, suggesting it would be a very satisfying place to teach. The Academic curriculum is college prep and each of the
students is college bound. Teachers evaluate the students’ knowledge base, filling in academic gaps when necessary. Class size averages
10, and does not exceed 12 students. Junior and senior classes are taught at an advanced level and students are expected to work to
their potential, in an effort to prepare for college.
The dorms are very neat and clean, and of course comfortable. Beds
were made and clothes neatly hung in closets with no piles of clothes in the corner as can sometimes be found in a traditional boarding
school. Such orderliness is considered to assist with emotional growth. When a student is confused and chaotic, one tool to help bring
order into his internal life is to impose order in his external life, such as is expressed by neatness in the living quarters. The
dorms are the same buildings they had when I visited six years ago. At that time the policy was to allow very little student material
on the walls, which gave the dorms a bit of a Spartan look. This time, each student had a board on the wall they could use to put
up what was important to them, so long as the subject matter was appropriate. Several boards were filled with mementos, pictures,
etc. which expressed the personality of the individual student. Others were somewhat bare, suggesting to me that these students had
more work to do to feel safe so they could feel more comfortable being there. Overall, the impression was one of dorms that are being
lived in.
St. Paul’s would rank fairly low on the Structure Spectrum. That
is, they are not appropriate for the resistant, angry boy, especially if he is a run risk. Who they do work with are unmotivated boys
who are making poor choices, who are not working at their potential and whose behavior would worsen unless someone intervened. They
also utilize a 12-Step program, offering a strong element of help for those with drug and alcohol issues.
To be enrolled, a student has to agree to be there, seeing that
St. Paul’s has something to offer them. Though at first many are not happy about attending, they are willing to sacrifice for their
long-term goals (college). Many students enroll after completing an intervention program, as it must be their choice, not their parents,
in order to be admitted.
Copyright © 2000, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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