A Word from Our Teachers
Patricio Mendez
Philosophy Teacher and Director of Educational Technology and Analytics
“True North is a community that has enriched my professional life, personal life, and family life. I have become a better teacher, better coworker, and better father to my kids. This is because I work in a faculty of friends from whom I can aspire to become better. True North offers guidance and assistance to make one be the best one can be. I can’t speak highly enough about our community!”
Caitlyn Uzzi
Kindergarten Teacher at Pinecrest Campus and True North Fellow
“To be a teacher at True North means being part of a family. Working here is an opportunity to collaborate with faculty and staff who consistently guide and support one another in striving for excellence. Whether you are a ten-year veteran or a new teacher, you will find the support you need to grow and succeed. My favorite part of working at True North is the people—this community has truly become my family. The sense of belonging and connection here is unlike anything you will experience at any other school.”
Nicole Leon
6th Grade Teacher at Dadeland Campus and 2026 Florida Charter School Teacher of the Year
“True North Classical Academy is a place where everyone has the same mission and vision and collaborates together towards the same goal. We are not only a community, but a family, who works together and supports each other to meet the needs of every student. Our community is made up of not only our students, teachers, and administration, but also the parents who love our school and support the teachers and mission as well. Our TN Pride is strong and keeps growing every year. I am happy to be part of our True North family.”
Teaching at True North
Join us in shaping the future of education, where passion meets purpose at True North Classical Academy.
At True North, we believe education is about cultivating virtue, wisdom, and joy. Every role on our team contributes to building a community that pursues the True, Good, and Beautiful.
Here at True North, we take pride in recruiting and hiring the best faculty from around the country. In fact, for our logic and rhetoric schools, we place an emphasis on finding experts in their field, the majority of whom have a Masters or PhD in their field of study and come from the most well-respected learning institutions. This deep content knowledge comes through in many ways, including expert teaching and passion for the subject area that inspires and motivates students.
A Classical Education
The heart of a classical education is the Great Books curriculum. Students are exposed to adapted versions of great texts in the grammar and logic stage and read original classics in the rhetoric stage. Within a classical education, teachers use direct instruction in the grammar stage and begin to employ the Socratic method of teaching in the logic stage, with its full use in the rhetoric stage. The teacher moves from “sage on the stage” in the grammar school, to facilitator in the logic school, to the authors of original classics themselves in the rhetoric school.
True North’s culture of excellence is built upon two principles. First, all children should receive the highest caliber education, regardless of ability and individual differences. Second, there is a certain body of knowledge that is essential to human life and wisdom that all persons should acquire. This body of knowledge comes from a canon of great works including Socrates, Bach, Franklin, Michelangelo, Virgil, Homer, Lincoln, Newton, Jefferson, Plato, Shubert, Hume, Washington, The Constitution, Aristotle, Copernicus, Yeats, Melville, Augustine, Churchill, Plutarch, Emerson, Cicero, Chaucer, Hawthorne, Kant, Descartes, Aquinas, Sophocles, Dickens, Milton, and more.
Faculty Ethos
At True North, our faculty mission is to guide our students with relentless goodwill in pursuit of truth, goodness, beauty, and model excellence in all things. To do that, we have established our faculty ethos, our shared beliefs, values, and professional conduct that guide us in our efforts to fulfill our mission.
Excellence in All We Do
Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” We believe that each scholar can achieve at our high bar, and we are committed to providing additional support to scholars who need it to get there. While excellence does not equal perfect, we always maintain a growth mindset.
Respect for the Classical Tradition
We create an elevated culture that celebrates the best and most enduring of what has been thought, written, and created, free from the distractions of pop culture. We create classroom spaces where the noblest and most lasting things are honored.
Humility
Although experts in our content areas, we seek opportunities to demonstrate curiosity and humility in the pursuit of greater understanding. We create a culture of risk and error where we learn from mistakes and use them to deepen our mastery, and where failure and setbacks are seen as opportunities for reflection and growth. As Socrates said to the Oracle in “The Apology”, “It seems that neither of us knows anything great, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know. So it seems I am wiser than he in this one small thing, that I do not think I know what I do not know.”
Joy in Learning and Student Success
We show a genuine interest in student achievement and relentless goodwill. We notice even small successes when they occur for any student or team, especially naming successes that may be harder won or rare for a scholar. We acknowledge successes that happen within and outside of the classroom and use student writing, work submission, discourse or traditional assessments, team achievements, and extracurricular events or activities to celebrate.
Tenacity and Work Ethic
We believe that through focused hard work, anything can be achieved. We teach, model, and reinforce a growth mindset around our students’ abilities and talents.
Honesty and Integrity
We acknowledge effort and attention but reserve praise for truly praiseworthy moments. We recognize these moments with precise language so that the students and others know why the praise is being given and can learn/follow.
Respect for Each Other
True North faculty and students show their care for one another through their words, tone, and actions. We use appropriate formality in conduct and speech. We will not use sarcasm, apathy, or a condescending tone with our students.
Mentorship and Community
True North faculty take a genuine interest in each student and the broader school community, finding time to build rapport and partnership with them. We find time to build rapport with each student because we know it is foundational to their success. We find time to attend school events because we know a strong community is necessary for a strong culture, and we communicate with families and parents to provide the most robust support for our students.
World Class Training
At True North Classical Academy, we believe in building a culture of excellence in everything we do. This culture of excellence originates at the core from our faculty – the heartbeat of our school. We are dedicated, therefore, to building up and training an elite, world-class faculty of teachers and learners, who will continue to bring this level of excellence to the children of Miami, Florida.
To do this, True North offers a multi-prong approach with the two key components including professional development sessions and coaching.
Professional Development Sessions
As a new teacher at True North, you’ll receive extensive training before the launch of the new school year including onboarding, learning about the classical approach to education, impactful teaching techniques, and diving into content with colleagues, all with the support of administrators and returning teachers. These professional development sessions continue throughout the year as well as your professional journey at True North.
Coaching
Every teacher at True North receives an instructional coach who provides weekly or bi-weekly coaching. Our instructional coaches include administration as well as expert teachers who support the individual development of teachers. These coaching sessions include classroom observations, real-time feedback, and follow-up meetings for celebrating the successes and strengths of the teacher along with planning, practice, and problem-solving. Teachers are provided with one to two bite-sized goals per observation cycle so growth remains consistent and achievable. Instructional coaches may team teach with their mentee, co-observe another teacher, or share a video of a teacher implementing the technique or strategy that will help their mentee achieve their goal.