A glimpse inside a network of classical charter schools across the country.
Well, Founders community (and perhaps others!), I am now about a month into my new job here at Hillsdale College. As the Assistant Provost of K-12 Education, I'm in charge of the College's K-12 education initiatives, including the Barney Initiative, which has been such an important partner for the Founders community for so long. This… Continue reading Backstage in the Hillsdale College Film Studio
Though this is my last week at Founders Classical Academy and leaving is a very difficult thing to do, I am encouraged by the fact that the school will be in very capable hands next year. You already know all of the people who will be leading our school, and they know many of you… Continue reading Welcome, Mr. Sowers, Ms. Loy, Mrs. Apel, and Mr. Berndt
This year our head boys and head girls of the six houses came together to organize our first prom. We've always said that if we going to do something, we should do it well, and this event was worth waiting for. The students used Roberts Rules of Order to conduct their meetings, divided into committees,… Continue reading Pictures from Prom 2019
Last week was our chance to say goodbye to the class of 2019. In the coming days I'll be publishing the words our Valedictorian and Salutatorian spoke at graduation (they did beautifully), but in the meantime I thought you'd like to see how we celebrated these extraordinary students in their final days at Founders. Throughout… Continue reading How We Spent the Seniors’ Last Week at School
What is it about middle schoolers? This spring we had our first-ever dance just for 6th-8th grades, and it was about as much fun as I've ever had at a school dance. Thanks to the enthusiasm our high schoolers from the House of Euclid, the middle school students had an amazing time. The big kids… Continue reading Photos from Our Middle School Dance
Mary C. and Trevor S., two members of the high school string ensemble. After making an appearance at grammar school assembly this morning to entertain our Kindergarten-5th grade students, Mr. Stiglich's high school string ensemble held a little concert for the front office. The acoustics in the foyer are beautiful, and as they performed a… Continue reading Playing Bach in the Foyer
Our air conditioning was being repaired earlier this week, and for about 10 minutes we had no power in Building 3. Of course Mr. Sowers and I quickly went into emergency mode and starting making the rounds to check on teachers and students. It turned out that everyone was doing just fine and carrying on… Continue reading What Happens in AP Latin When the Power Goes Out
Something amazing happened today. I've been locked in my office in meetings all week, and this afternoon I had 20 minutes free, so I wandered out to the playground with my camera to enjoy the sunlight and talk to our grammar school students. Almost immediately one of our second graders came up to me to… Continue reading 2nd Grade Recites the Declaration of Independence at Recess
Dear Founders families, I am pleased to tell you I have been offered a position at Hillsdale College leading the efforts of the Barney Charter School Initiative and the College’s other programs in K-12 education. I have decided to accept that position, and that means that this will be my last year at Founders Classical… Continue reading Dr. O’Toole’s New Position
