FLEMING ISLAND – St. Johns Classical Academy has been operational fewer than five, years and it has now reached a key milestone for any school: its first graduating class.

The K-12 school has an enrollment of 789 students this school year and its first group of graduates had 22 seniors.

The school has a lot to build on after its “A” grade from the state for the 2020-2021 school year, the school’s founding Board President Diane Hutchings said. It’s hard not to be excited for the first seniors, she said.

“The class has done a really good job setting the tone,” Hutchings said.

The school’s waitlist is hovering around 1,000 students, Hutchings said. The school is seeking to open another branch in the Lake Asbury area. The Fleming academy open the summer of 2017. Students wear uniforms and learn about virtues and citizenship early on.

“You see, no one person could have pulled this off,” Hutchings said. “It’s the parents, the teachers, the students and the board all working to pull this off.”

Hutchings explained as students move through the grades, there’s more loyalty and pride associated with attending the school. Having a K-12 campus allows the schools to show younger generations of students what they accomplish later with their education. Starting in seventh grade, the students are sorted into houses and get different regalia.

“The students watched the seniors do a parade around the school’s grounds and saw what they can look forward to,” Hutchings said. “It’s something our culture has lost, the stages of crossing over to the next phase of learning with age.”

Headmaster Matt Johnson was a founding board member of the school, he said. He referred to the graduation as a major milestone for the academy.

“We had a really good ceremony honoring the school’s students and families,” Johnson said. “It was quite an honor. Now to be back as headmaster and witness the first graduating class, it was really touching.”

Seniors must write a 10-page thesis and defend it in front of a panel. Johnson likened the process to grad school.

“It’s rigorous. The diploma means a lot,” Johnson said. “We do feel when they go to college and have a paper, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The key for the school’s success is combining the growth and demand, Johnson said. The Lake Asbury campus may begin as a K-8 school and pivot to K-12 like its Fleming Island counterpart, Johnson said.

Next year’s graduating class will resemble the 2022 class in size, but a quick look at enrollment shows a pattern. The rising 10th grade class is expected to have 50 students and Johnson said the upcoming ninth grade class is about 75 students, more than three times greater than the 2022 graduating class.

“With the demand of our waitlist, and following the growth in Clay County, we expect to have two full schools in six years,” he said. “We have goals to replicate campuses.”