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\u201cMore learning happens when students know that you care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faith is another basis of Josh\u2019s leadership. At Winchester Christian Academy, character-building and spiritual growth are integrated into every aspect of the curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students study the Bible daily, attend chapel services twice a week, and explore ethical principles based on scripture. The school\u2019s theme verse, Micah 6:8, serves as a guidepost: \u201cTo act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to make sure that students are at the top academically, spiritually, and in their character, knowing who they are and who they belong to before they go out into the world and the world tells them differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, Josh has noticed a growing divide between parents, school leadership, and staff nationwide, which often leads to misunderstanding and frustration. But at WCA, Josh focuses on bridging that divide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I was growing up, and an adult corrected me or helped me with something, my parents didn\u2019t question it,\u201d he explained, \u201cbecause they trusted them to make the right decisions. We try to show parents that we love their children. We are here for their children. We want to teach them the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the Neal family, education is truly a family affair. He and April nurture little learners, from infants to preschoolers, through their \u201cIt Takes a Village Academy and Daycare\u201d program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They founded the academy, which Josh lovingly refers to as \u201cHarvard pre-k,\u201d in 2014. At the time, the Neals \u2014 young parents with their fourth child, Scarlett \u2014 realized that the type of care they wanted for their daughter simply didn\u2019t exist yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By 2016, with their fifth child on the way, the Neals moved their growing child care center to a larger location, expanding from 15 children to 99 in just two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough the whole thing, we knew that God had a purpose for us to be a light for many children and provide for children to be loved in a place where they could also learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While April oversees the classrooms, Josh supports the program through human resources, logistics, and mentoring young parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Josh has made it his purpose to mentor young people, just as his teachers did all those years ago. As a husband, father, and leader in his community, Josh\u2019s mission remains to educate, empower, and uplift future generations in hopes that they will, in turn, do the same. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" JOSH NEAL, the principal of Winchester Christian Academy\u2019s Upper School, remembers his eighth grade year as the moment that jumpstarted his career in education. \u201cThere were a couple of teachers along the way who inspired me to become a teacher,\u201d he recalled. \u201cMy eighth grade reading and science teachers really made an impact. They took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":23807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/franklin-county\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/04\/Story-1-photo1-1-2-1024x683.jpg\")