At Joy Village, we focus on mathematics and language arts as our two core subjects. For math we use Beast Academy, a rigorous curriculum that teaches advanced logic and reasoning skills, and keeps students engaged with a graphic novel format featuring hilarious cartoon beast characters. We teach language arts using a Literacy Studio model, which empowers students as readers and writers by providing them with an extended self-directed reading and writing time to practice crafting strategies taught in mini lessons. Students will earn badges as they read and publish in various genres.

Each afternoon Joy Village students participate in enrichment classes including science, social studies, visual and performing arts, foreign language, sports, and more! Our Land to Lab (L2L) science curriculum helps our students experience science through the lenses of both nature connection and STEM, and we anchor our social studies exploration in culturally relevant texts, including Black History 365, the Zinn Education Project, and The 1619 Project.

Joy Village students end their school day by working on projects of their own design tied to themes from Athens’ Black history. In the first quarter we explore entrepreneurship, inspired by the story of the Waterfront business district. In the second quarter we focus on the arts, inspired by the Hot Corner. In the third quarter, we explore innovation, inspired by the stories of Reese Street, and in the last quarter, we focus on community service and activism, inspired by Linnentown.

At Joy Village, the city is our classroom! Our bimonthly “Field Trip Fridays” allow us to get outside the four walls of the school to visit Black historic sites, parks, theaters, museums, the local art studio, local colleges/university and more. We also frequently invite community leaders and elders with dynamic stories and skills to share into our school. Our goal is to expose Joy Village students to as many real world cultural experiences as possible.

One of the core values of the Joy Village School is REST. We believe in reserving after school hours for rejuvenating family time and good ole fashioned child-led, play-based learning. And the big secret is…there’s no research basis for the usefulness of nightly homework for young learners anyway!

In addition to traditional report cards, we find family conferences and written narratives on student progress to be useful for painting a more full picture of students' abilities. We believe in letting students SHOW what they know. One of the central traditions of Joy Village is Village Nights - a quarterly night of presentations and performances that allow our students to demonstrate their learning to the whole community! It’s a whole cookout too. You’re invited!