Mr. Garcia was previously the Head of School at Naples Classical Academy in Naples, Florida. Naples Classical Academy is a Hillsdale Member School that opened in 2021. It has 1,000 students K-12. There, Mr. Garcia inherited a school with cultural, pedagogical, and curriculum issues and assembled mission-driven faculty and staff, united them in the mission, and turned the school around.
Mr. Garcia started his teaching career in Glendale, Arizona at Great Hearts, the nation’s most prominent and successful network of classical charter schools. There he taught second grade for two years before moving to Great Hearts Cicero Preparatory Academy where he served as Dean of Students and taught Ancient and Medieval History. After four years he was given the opportunity to become the Assistant Head of School at a private classical liberal arts school in Ave Maria, Florida. Years later, he joined the administrative staff at Naples Classical Academy and fell in love with the Hillsdale K-12 approach to classical liberal arts education. He and his wife, Nicole, have four children, Therese, Dominic, Augustine, and Benedict. They love the family culture of Tulsa and in particular, Tulsa Classical Academy.
In addition to garnering the enthusiastic support of the board, Mr. Garcia has earned the coveted endorsement of the Hillsdale K-12 Education Office:
“We believe Mr. Garcia to be a good fit for leadership at TCA. He has capably managed another public charter school in the Hillsdale network, reforming its culture and pedagogy, clearly committed to the academic program and recommendations of the K-12 Education Office. When considering Mr. Garcia’s candidacy, we look to several of the most capable principals from our network who model a rare combination of education, experience, personality, and aptitude that best equips someone to establish and champion a classical school.”
– Hillsdale K-12 Education Office