The Summit Academy
Our Leadership & Our Mission
Our leadership structure is intentionally designed around a three-person leadership model—one that recognizes that the formation of a child is best served when leadership responsibilities are shared among individuals with distinct gifts, expertise, and areas of responsibility. Rather than placing the full weight of a school’s mission, operations, and educational life upon a single Head of School, our model creates a collaborative leadership team that allows each leader to focus deeply on the areas entrusted to them while working together toward one unified mission.
At the heart of our school is a commitment to the Catholic faith and to the formation of the whole person. We believe education is about far more than the acquisition of knowledge. A truly Catholic education seeks to form the intellect, strengthen character, cultivate virtue, deepen faith, and prepare our children to pursue lives of purpose and service. Our school is founded upon the conviction that truth, beauty, goodness, and faith belong at the center of a child's education.
The Triumvirate Heads of School
At the heart of The Summit Academy is a distinctive leadership model we call our Triumvirate Heads of School.
While our three leaders are, of course, distinct individuals with different responsibilities and gifts, they share one purpose: to faithfully advance the mission of The Summit Academy and serve the students and families entrusted to our care.
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Anna Byrd, Administrative Director, provides leadership for the administrative and operational life of the school, helping ensure that the systems, resources, and day-to-day functions of the Academy support our mission and allow our community to flourish.
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Liz Miller, Executive Director, provides executive leadership and oversight, guiding the broader vision and strategic direction of The Summit Academy while helping ensure that our mission, values, and long-term goals remain at the center of every major decision.
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Anne Johnides, Director of Education, leads the academic and educational life of the school, with a particular focus on curriculum, instruction, faculty development, and the faithful implementation of our classical educational philosophy.
Together, Anna, Liz, and Anne form the Triumvirate Heads of School—three leaders, distinct in responsibility yet united in purpose. This collaborative structure allows each leader to bring focused expertise to an essential dimension of school life while working closely with the others to provide a unified vision for our students, faculty, and families.
We believe this model reflects an important truth about Catholic education: the whole is strengthened when individual gifts are brought together in service of a common good. Through shared leadership, mutual support, and a common commitment to Christ and His Church, our Triumvirate seeks to cultivate a school where faith, reason, virtue, academic excellence, and community can flourish together.
Our leadership model is ultimately about more than organizational structure. It is about stewardship—three leaders accepting the responsibility to serve one community, united by a shared mission and committed to the prayerful formation of young hearts and minds..
We seek to cultivate students who are intellectually curious, spiritually grounded, morally courageous, gracious in their relationships, and prepared to use their gifts in service of others. Our goal is not simply to prepare students for the next level of their education. It is to prepare them for a life well lived. Through the integration of Catholic faith, classical education, meaningful family partnership, and a distinctive hybrid model, we are building a school where faith and reason, tradition and innovation, rigor and joy, home and school work together in the formation of each student. We are excited to build this community alongside the families who share this vision. Our leadership team is committed to creating a school marked by academic excellence, authentic Catholic identity, strong relationships, joyful learning, and a deep respect for the vocation of parents. This is more than a new approach to schooling. It is an opportunity to build a community centered on what matters most: the pursuit of truth, the formation of virtue, the love of Christ, and the flourishing of every child entrusted to our care.
Our academic program is rooted in the classical tradition, drawing upon the wisdom of the great thinkers, writers, artists, and teachers who have shaped Western civilization. Through the classical methodology, students are invited not simply to memorize information, but to learn how to think, reason, communicate, question, and pursue truth. Our hybrid model further strengthens this mission by bringing together the best of home and school. Families remain deeply engaged in the education and formation of their children while students benefit from the relationships, instruction, community, and academic structure of a school environment. This model allows us to build a close-knit community in which parents and educators work together as partners, recognizing that the education of a child is ultimately a shared responsibility.
Prepared to Protect
At The Summit Academy, the safety and well-being of our students is one of our highest priorities. Every member of our staff receives specialized training to help them respond calmly, confidently, and effectively in the event of an emergency. We believe preparedness is an essential part of creating a safe and secure learning environment, giving our families confidence that their children are cared for by a team prepared to act when it matters most.