John Paul II Catholic High School Expands, Embraces Growth
The John Paul II Catholic High School Academic Building that is undergoing a major expansion.
Katie Stanley, John Paul II Catholic High School principal (center) joins the school’s softball team to celebrate a winning game. With the completion of a 31,000-square-foot, two-story addition this summer that’s even larger than the 20,000-square-foot original school building, John Paul II Catholic High School (JPII) is in a position to double its enrollment, enabling even more students from Greenville and surrounding areas to receive an excellent, private, faith-based education.
Katie Stanley, beginning her fourth year as principal after joining the faculty nine years ago as a Spanish teacher, says she and JPII faculty and staff are enthusiastic about the upcoming school year and the healthy growth the expansion will spark.
“With the completion of our addition, we will have 16 more classrooms and be able to almost double our student population from 250 to 400-500 students. “We’re also adding a new dining hall, two physics labs, two chemistry labs, two biology labs, a STEM lab, a computer lab, and art classrooms for performing arts, general arts, and one dedicated to pottery. We’re really, really excited.”
Katie is quick to point out that this level of growth won’t happen overnight. “We aren’t doubling in size all in one year. We’ve had very healthy growth, especially over the last three years – about 20% a year, which has helped us keep the essence of JPII the same. Right now, we have about 80 students in a class, which allows kids to find their own specific group, but it keeps it to a size where they aren’t a number. It allows the faculty to know students by name and there is nothing more special than having someone call you by your name. So far, this model is working. As we grow into the new space, I think that’s really going to be a sweet spot for the student experience at JPII,” says Katie.
JPII primarily attracts students from Greenville as well as Rocky Mount, New Bern, and Washington. Katie says the school provides a bus service for students coming from New Bern and Washington.
JPII is a private, Catholic, four-year, coeducational, college preparatory high school that is grounded in a love for Christ. The school’s mission is to educate and build character in its students through the development of the whole person – mind, body, and spirit – and to instill a commitment to lifelong learning.
While approximately 50% of the student body is Catholic, students of all faiths are welcome. “We are inclusive. Come one, come all,” says Katie. “When families choose our school, they know that every year their child will be required to take a Catholic theology class. The conversations that happen in our theology classrooms, and the different perspectives that come into play, create a beautiful learning environment.”
Founded in 2010 under the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, the school officially transitioned in 2021 from a diocesan school to an independent school, still embraced by the diocese, but owned and operated by Richard and Colleen Balot, a principal, and a nine-person board of directors.
The Balots became involved in JPII when Rich was on the exploratory committee and a founding member of JPII’s board of directors. Since then, the Balots have invested their time, energy, and capital into the school, including $2M in tuition assistance which has been integral to JPII becoming the fastest-growing private high school in eastern North Carolina. The Balots have set up JPII as a 501(c)3 nonprofit as part of their philanthropic commitment to the Greenville community.
Katie Stanley, beginning her fourth year as principal after joining the faculty nine years ago. Wes Barnes, commercial banker in Greenville, explains how TowneBank first connected with JPII. “Rich reached out to me via a shared contact, a retired banker who Rich knows and trusts and someone I worked with previously. There’s no better compliment than a referral from a well-respected person in our community.”
“When Rich and I began our conversation, he was looking for a bank that saw the value in what he wanted to do with JPII. He explained that the demand far outweighs the supply and capacity of JPII currently. He wanted to expand and build a state-of-the-art private school for all to enjoy. TowneBank committed to finish what he had started, and a construction loan closed in November 2023 so that the project would be completed in time for the fall 2024 school year.”
“A huge positive of working with TowneBank is that they are a local bank, and they understand our community,” says Katie. “They are readily available and easy to access if we have questions. They understand Greenville, and that’s especially helpful for us as we’re trying to grow another Greenville institution here in the city.”
Words Katie lives by are “Don’t wait for life to be easy to be happy; choose joy.” While transitioning into a new building, hiring additional faculty, and helping to maintain morale during a time of change may prove to be anything but easy, Katie and JPII are up to the task.
“I have a really great team of people working with me – from our admissions and marketing team to our directors for athletics, student life, spiritual life, academic life – it takes all of us working together every day. We have a motivated faculty who jump in and make it happen. They make each day at JPII easy and fun.”
One thing Katie is sure of is that she will be getting more exercise with the new addition. “We were touring the new building with its two stories, whereas our current academic building is only one level. We all thought, ‘Wow! We are going to have to climb steps now, like a real big school!’” She laughs, adding, “We’ll be walking much more this year and getting our steps in.”
For more information on JPII, visit JP2HighSchool.com.