Our Mission
TO NURTURE AND ELEVATE A NEW GENERATION OF JOYFUL LEADERS, EDUCATED IN THE CLASSICAL TRADITION AND THE TRUTH OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH.

The SMA Vision
Founded in 2013 by an intrepid committee of faithful parents who wanted a Catholic high school for their children, St. Michael Academy (SMA) is both a “college prep” and a “Heaven prep” school, focused on developing the whole child – mind, body, and soul – always remembering that the ultimate goal is not merely success in this world, but salvation in the next.
The abiding vision of SMA is to create a rising generation of students filled with a sense of awe and wonder about all of God’s creation, encouraging them to look beyond the temporal and mundane towards the eternal and transcendent.  With such a vision, SMA prepares students to triumph over the materialism and despair that pervade our culture and to accept the Lord’s offer to have life and have it abundantly.  With its “Authentically Catholic, Rigorously Classical” approach, SMA is the logical landing spot for any family in the region that seeks a safe, nurturing, and devout learning environment for their child.

The Classical Catholic Education Model
In fulfilling this noble vision, SMA adopted what has today come to be known as the Classical model of education.  Through the great works of Western Civilization, the Classical model imparts essential knowledge in an ordered way.
In the humanities, students progress chronologically from antiquity to the modern age.
In math and science, learning begins with observation and basic skills, advancing toward greater complexity and abstraction.
In the fine arts, students are encouraged to refine their creative natures and develop the tools and techniques with which to express their ideas, feelings, and loves.
Most importantly, however, our faith is the central reality from which all academic disciplines derive their meaning, an insight that makes our approach unique and powerful at a time when modern education and many educators question the very existence of transcendent truth.  Faith and prayer permeate all that we do during the school day and beyond.

About St. Michael Academy
SMA is a private, independent Classical Catholic high school (7th through 12th grades) in Petoskey, Michigan, that operates under the blessing of the Diocese of Gaylord.  It is the only Catholic high school in the Little Traverse Bay region and the only high school in Northern Michigan with a classical curriculum.