This school year at Sherwood Christian Academy has been marked by a notable addition to our administrative staff – Mr. Jonathan Dyal, Secondary Principal. His dynamic presence has significantly enriched the school environment with his positive and encouraging personality and interactions. Walking through the hallways, you’re likely to encounter him engaged in conversations with students, checking in on teachers, sharing the gospel in chapel, and even challenging students to hoop contests on the court. If there’s a fun or unique activity or lab in one of the middle or high school classes, you can bet Mr. Dyal is going to join in to learn and connect with the students!
We are blessed to have Mr. Jonathan Dyal and his family as integral parts of our community. The Dyals recount the story of landing at SCA:
The Lord has truly done incredible things to allow my family the opportunity to be involved in the ministry at SCA. Before accepting the position at SCA, we homeschooled our children but prayed that the Lord would allow us to send them here. We did not realize that He would also allow me to work at SCA. Throughout the interview process at SCA, my wife and I felt such peace that if we were offered the position, we knew that the Lord was providing an incredible opportunity to partner with Him in a ministry that was already thriving. One of Henry Blackaby’s “Seven Realities” in his study “Experiencing God” is #3: “God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.” As the Lord started opening doors for us to be a part of the ministries at Sherwood, we knew that he was calling us to walk through those doors, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to be here.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in Middle Grades Education from Georgia Southwestern;
Master’s in Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri;
Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Valdosta State University
YEARS LEADING IN EDUCATION: This is my 12th year in education. I taught 7th and 8th grade math my first seven years. I was an assistant principal in Lee County for four years prior to accepting my current position at SCA.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A PRINCIPAL? My favorite thing about being principal is having an opportunity to share the love of Christ through challenging circumstance and situations, and partnering with families, students, and teachers to ensure the best atmosphere and experience for all involved in the process of education.
FAVORITE SNACK: My favorite snacks are any candy or Little Debbie snack cakes.
FAVORITE HOBBY: I love basketball. I love to play, watch, and sometimes coach.
FAVORITE BOOK OR MOVIE: I enjoy reading a variety of books and watching a variety of movies so it would be too much of a challenge to choose just one.
WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? When I was young, I wanted to be a professional athlete but realized quickly that was not going to happen. I started feeling led to go into education when I was 13 and have not wavered from that since then.
WHY DO YOU THINK CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT? Christian education is important to me to provide a Christian worldview and a solid foundation for faith through daily classes. Our job as educators in a Christian school is to provide students with the needed academic tools to be successful in the next level of education while embedding the needed spiritual tools to solidify faith and defend against future attacks from the devil. While the verse is well known, it is worth mentioning Proverbs 22:6, which says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
WHAT SETS SCA APART? One thing that really sets SCA apart is the partnership that we share with our families. The two-way communication and support from families to school staff and school staff to families is an incredible way to ensure that students are receiving training while they are on campus and while they are in their homes.
