Inspiring Conversations with Dr. Jon Caroll of Jabali Academy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jon Caroll.

Hi Dr. Jon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been an educator for over two decades and have had experience teaching in every level from elementary through college. For the past thirteen years I had the pleasure in working in one of the elite independent institutions in the country as an administrator and diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner. This experience taught me a lot about leadership and how students make sense of their identity as they navigate the K-12 pipeline. Following the graduation of my oldest son I decided this was the ideal time to strike out on my own and create the type of educational institution that prepares students to be competitive high school matriculants wherever they choose to go. It was also important to build a school in a community where there are less options so that families are not always faced with the dilemma of having to leave the neighborhood in order to find the best educational opportunity

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
So far we have been able to take this journey without much obstruction. We were lucky enough to find a building early in the process to purchase and make our home. We had a very successful launch fundraiser that allowed us to hire our founding Kindergarten teacher among other goals. We are building trust with prospective families to trust a start-up institution with the development their young scholars. We will also continue to fundraise to make sure we are able to provide the programming we have planned.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Jabali Academy ?
It’s important to know that Jabali Academy is an independent, K-8, Afrocentrically-based school that is dedicated to giving students space to safely explore their identity while being immersed in a stimulating and rigorous curriculum. Students will grow to understand not only who they are as learners, but also the unique connection they have to the surrounding community. It is this unique environment and institutional structure that sets us apart. I am most proud of our brand for celebrating the African diaspora in its entirety and all the rich cultural history that comes with that. It is important to know that we will meet students and families where they are and develop an individual path for them to move forward and meet our standards. We will have a comprehensive set of extracurricular offerings so that students can find their passion and have access to opportunities that are often gatekept by finances. We will vigorously fundraise and apply for grants to keep our tuition as affordable as possible.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck, or good fortune has certainly been a part of my career as an educator. I was fortunate to land at Harvard-Westlake as the Head of Aquatics following Darlene Bible who had a long tenure in the position. It was also a blessing to find a building to purchase in a very competitive commercial real estate market and be able to call on a college friend to help with financing. Thankfully as the adage goes, we were prepared when favor came our way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jabaliacademy.org/
• Instagram: @jabaliacademy