A glimpse inside Hillsdale College's network of classical schools across the country.
One of the best parts of working at a new school is starting traditions that can carry us well into the future. One of my favorite new Founders traditions is the senior sidewalk. The walkway that goes along the side of Sherwood Forest has enough space for all of our current students to write their… Continue reading The Senior Sidewalk
Clubs and activities are an important part of a student's experience at Founders Classical Academy. On top of chess club, soccer club, French club, and many others, we've offered a few unusual clubs in past years: lawn games club, for example, or ukulele club. This year we introduced a knitting club for grammar schoolers, and… Continue reading Knitting Club
Cultivating Good Habits for Success in High School by Mrs. Walley, Upper School Science Teacher Use Your PlannerDon’t just have a planner--please use it! You can purchase a beautiful Founders planner from the front office. It's customized for our school and you will find it very helpful for tracking weekly assignments, planning your academic year,… Continue reading Mrs. Walley’s Tips for Success in 9th-12th
Though the Barney Charter School Initiative (BCSI), Hillsdale College partners with charter schools across the country and provides recruiting help, teacher training, a comprehensive liberal arts scope and sequence for grades K-12, and curriculum advice to us free of charge. Schools working with Hillsdale College adhere to ten principles that are essential to classical education… Continue reading The Ten Points
One of the students from the class of 2017 presents a thesis on C.S. Lewis When we started Founders Classical Academy of Leander in the Fall of 2013, in the middle of countless unknowns there were a few things we were certain of: we were going to commit to the ten points on the Barney… Continue reading The Senior Thesis
Unintended Consequences: How Four Kids' Classical Education Affected Mom and Dad by Kyle Swartz, the parent of four students at Founders Classical Academy of Leander: Anna (Class of 2019), Emily ('20), Jonah ('23), and Michael ('26) We all want what’s best for our kids. What our kids to be happy in this life. We want them… Continue reading Unintended Consequences: How Four Kids’ Classical Education Affected Mom and Dad, by Mr. Swartz
While I was visiting classrooms a couple of weeks ago, I got to see our second graders learning cursive handwriting with Mrs. Horton and Ms. Sowell. They were working on capital letters and sentences from their literature and history studies. Handwriting practice is an essential part of our students' elementary education in K-2, and after… Continue reading Learning Cursive in 2nd Grade
The Seminar Discussion by Mr. Peterson, Literature and Philosophy Teacher This is an abridged version of a lecture given at Hillsdale College on June 29, 2017 as part of the Barney Charter School Initiative's summer teacher training. The original (available upon request) includes details about seminar setup procedures, grading, how the other components of a literature class… Continue reading Seminar Discussion in 9th-12th Grade, by Mr. Peterson
Our object is to provide education which will not produce a standardised or utility child, useful only as a cog in a nationalised and bureaucratic machine, but will enable the child to develop his or her responsible place, first in the world of school, and then as a citizen. Many parents will be able to… Continue reading Churchill on Education
Our curriculum requires students to study Latin I, Latin II, and Latin III. Students typically complete Latin III at the end of 9th grade, and from there they may go on to study advanced Latin or another language in the high school. To see how our students are introduced to Latin and learn a little… Continue reading Resources for Latin Students in 6th-12th
The Classical Classroom 