Nova Classical Academy is a K-12 charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota, that follows the classical model for education. Its executive director is Dr. Brett Wedlund, and it has a student enrollment of 990.
History
Nova opened its doors in 2003 as a K-6 school. Over the years, it has grown and transitioned from K-6 to K-8 to a K-12 school, graduating its first class of seniors in 2013. When it first opened, the school was based in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood, with K-6 students housed in a church building. When the 7th and 8th grades were added, grades 6-8 were moved to an adjoining trailer. In 2010 the school began renting space from a different church for the older students, called the Upper Campus. The rented building was at 426 Osceola Ave S. In 2012 all grades moved to a permanent location in Victoria Park, near the Mississippi River.
Nova follows the classical trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The school is subdivided into two schools: the Lower School contains grades K-5 and the Upper School grades 6-12. The Upper School is further subdivided into the School of Logic, grades 6-8, and the School of Rhetoric, grades 9-12.
Lower & Upper School
Nova's Lower School has a student population of 470, with 80 students in kindergarten and 78 students in 1st-5th grade. Lower school students wear white or maroon shirts and maroon plaid jumpers or navy pants. The Upper School has a student population of 528, with 372 students in the high school. Middle school students wear maroon plain skirts instead of jumpers, and high school students wear black pants or skirts. Nova has received several academic awards. It is a 2016-17 Minnesota Department of Education Reward School and in 2017 was ranked #1 in Minnesota by U.S. News and World Report.
Extracurriculars
Nova's extracurricular programs include forensics, robotics, art, theater, yoga, yearbook, newspaper, student senate, fencing, choir, chess, movie club, game coding, philosophy club, GSA and varsity sports.
Mock trial
Nova's mock trial teams have thrice competed in the international in New York City, and once at the international Empire Invitational in San Francisco, California. The teams received awards at three of these tournaments, placing 8th in 2013 and 2014 and 3rd in 2017 at the California competition, as well as receiving an honorable mention by placing 16th in 2016. Nova has advanced to the Minnesota High School Mock Trial State Tournament every year from 2012 to 2020, winning the MSBA State Championship and advancing to the National High School Mock Trial Championship in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020. In 2018, Nova represented Minnesota in the National Championship final round and finished second out of 46 teams, the highest ranking in school history. Nova also placed 3rd in 2016, 4th in 2015 and 11th in 2013 at the National High School Mock Trial Championship. It was the State Runner-Up Team in 2012, and placed 6th and 3rd in 2014 and 2017, respectively. In 2012, the Empire Mock Trial team was stranded in New York because Hurricane Sandy caused its flight home to be canceled, and made local news with the YouTube video it recorded during the experience.
Varsity sports
Nova's varsity sports include boys and girls soccer, boys and girls cross-country running, volleyball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls ice hockey, baseball, girls lacrosse, boys and girls track and boys tennis. Nova has won over 15 conference championships since joining the MSHSL in 2010. Nova is a member of the Twin Cities Athletic Conference, the largest athletic conference in Minnesota. Many Nova students have been sent to the state meets in cross-country and track and field since 2015. Ten Nova graduates play Division 3NCAA sports throughout the country in soccer, lacrosse, track and cross-country. The Drama Department has participated in the several times, and starred at state in 2014, 2019, and 2020.
Lawsuits
In 2013, Nicholas Zinos sued Nova for violating his sixth-grade daughter's right to freedom of speech after she was stopped from distributing pro-life materials at school. The flyers included phrases such as "save the baby humans STOP abortion," and were distributed during lunch. The lawsuit was successful, and Nova was required to pay $8,000 in legal fees and allow Zinos's daughter to continue distributing the materials. On March 24, 2016, David and Hannah Edwards filed a charge of discrimination with the City of St. Paul Department of Human Rights alleging that Nova failed to provide an environment for their daughter to "undergo a gender transition... in a safe and timely way." The Edwardses served the school with a two-count, civil discrimination lawsuit that demanded policy and training changes. The school denied the allegations. On August 8, 2017, the parties announced that they had settled the case through mediation. The settlement included ongoing staff training and updates to Nova's Gender Inclusion Policy, as well as a $120,000 financial settlement. Ultimately, the school adopted a gender inclusion policy that the Edwardses said they were pleased with.
