About
Forming Saints
Rooted in faith and guided by the Gospel, our holistic approach to education nurtures spiritual formation, academic excellence, artistic creativity, athletic strength, and a deep sense of community.
Living our Mission
Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School prepares students to become strong in mind, body, character, and spirit for lives of learning and service, according to the Gospel.
We prepare future leaders who are grounded in the values of the Christian faith, community service, and lifelong learning. Our students experience a supportive, faith-filled community dedicated to empowering the next generation to reach beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary!
Students have many opportunities to explore their faith life through all programs at JPII, including community events like this one!
Sharing our Vision
To form young people who love God, self, and neighbor; seek Truth; serve others; and lead courageously.
While we live our mission each day, our vision, inspired in part by JPII's World Youth Day homilies to young people, informs our ultimate goal for our graduates as they move to adult life. They will be "saints of the new millennium"!
Our graduates use their gifts and talents to serve the world through their vocations, careers, and lives of service to others.
School History
1997
A meeting with Pope John Paul II inspires a vision to build new high school for young people.
2002
Pope John Paul II High School opens its doors to the first students.
2021
A middle school program is added, and we are renamed Pope John Paul II Preparatory School.
2023
We return to our roots and celebrate our namesake when we become Pope Saint John Paul II Preparatory School.
Our school's story begins with a supernatural encounter with Pope John Paul II.
After an inspirational papal audience with Pope John Paul II arranged by Bishop Kmiec, Ann and Monroe Carell returned to Nashville with a desire to do something for the diocese to honor the ministry of their beloved Pope.
Building a new high school for the young people
Bishop Kmiec, understanding the importance of their vision, responded, “We need a high school north of Nashville.” The Carells endowed our school with its principal gift to create a place where young people may “exercise their talents that they may later enlist those talents in the service of this world that God has made.” This became the mission and vision of the school, thanks to the Carells and other benefactors.
Welcoming students in 2002
In August 2002, our school opened its doors as Pope John Paul II High School, welcoming Catholic and non-Catholic students who yearned for a faith-filled school community.
Welcoming middle school students into the program
In the fall of 2021, we incorporated a middle school comprised of grades 6-8 and renamed our school Pope John Paul II Preparatory School. Our middle school program is designed to create a cohesive middle school and high school experience for our students.
Returning to our Roots
In July 2023, we moved to a President/Principal model of leadership and focused on returning to the ideals Pope Saint John Paul II modeled, which were so important to our founders. As a result, we created a new vision statement, developed a strategic plan, added “Saint” to our name, and began using our beloved nickname again: JPII.
“Christ is the foundation and focus of the school, as it has been since our school’s inception. I treasure the fact that our patron is Pope Saint John Paul II. He, like all Saints, is a model of how to surrender our lives completely to Christ.” - Dr. Erick Chittle
Ann and Monroe Carell's Story
In 1997, Bishop Kmiec arranged a private audience with Pope John Paul II for Ann and Monroe Carell, who were deeply moved by their meeting with a man who, according to Mrs. Ann Carell, had a “beautiful aura of bright light” around him and “would surely be a Saint.” So inspired by their meeting, the Carells endowed our school with its principal gift to create a place where young people may “exercise their talents that they may later enlist those talents in the service of this world that God has made.” Thanks to the Carells and other benefactors and visionaries, Bishop Kmiec confidently answered Pope Saint John Paul II’s direct question in a later meeting about what he was doing for the young people: “We are building a new high school for the young people!”