Upper School

 

The Upper School of Jacksonville Classical Academy currently encompasses grades six through eight. As we continue to grow one grade level each year, our Upper School will include high school grades as well. In the Upper School, our scholars’ studies turn toward greater depth of content knowledge and an immersion in great works of literature, history, philosophy, and more.

In their science courses, scholars’ study of the natural world includes classes focused on Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and other subjects. Our campus features a general science laboratory and a chemistry laboratory to aid our scholars in their pursuit of scientific knowledge.

In mathematics, scholars study Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus. Our scholars are not only well-prepared to handle the rigors of college-level mathematics by graduation, they are also equipped with an understanding of numbers and mathematics beyond the mere rote memorization of formulas.

Our history sequence brings scholars through the history of Western Civilization and the story of the United States from its foundations to the present day. In the Upper School, special emphasis is put on reading and analyzing primary source documents from the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans to speeches by modern presidents and prime ministers.

Our literature sequence includes the study of classics works of literature and poetry from ancient Greek epics to British and American novels. 

Among the distinctive features of our Upper School curriculum are a minimum of four years of study in Latin and a 1.5 semester course on moral and political philosophy. In this course, our scholars study philosophical and literary works addressing questions of ethics and society from Plato and Aristotle to Locke and Rousseau.

Throughout the Upper School, scholars are taught how to think well, read well, write well, and speak well through Socratic seminar discussions, presentations, and thoughtful readings of important works.