Our Mission:
TO CURATE JOYFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR BLACK YOUTH
The Joy Village School is designed to be a learning environment of cultural safety and affirmation where Black children can learn and grow joyfully.
Our Vision:
TO CATALYZE BLACK LIBERATION
By providing a space of Black ownership, Joy Village is restoring agency to Black Athenians to design the conditions of our own flourishing. The native brilliance of the Black community is given free reign here, allowing us to recapture the spirit of excellence and joy that once permeated our educational community.
Everything we do at Joy Village is guided by our Culture Codes:
JOY
BELONGING
EMPOWERMENT
EXCELLENCE
CELEBRATION
REST
What is joy-driven learning?
CHILD-CENTERED: designed to suit children’s interests and natural ways of being
HOLISTIC: encourages intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual, and creative development
AUTHENTIC: student work meets a real need and failure results in real consequences
INTERDISCIPLINARY: blurs lines between traditional subject areas
PLACE-BASED: integrates children into our local community rather than isolating them from it
EXPERIENTIAL: immersive experiences offer the opportunity to see, hear, taste, touch, and embody the topic at hand
NATURE-CONNECTED: fosters a love and care for the natural world
“We must struggle together not only to reimagine schools but to build new schools that we are taught to believe are impossible: schools based on intersectional justice, antiracism, love, healing, and joy. ”