Local Parents, Community Members Announce Plans to Open Classical K-12 Private School in Columbus, Ohio

Headmaster, Daniel Gibson, taking the reins of new school effective immediately

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of parents and community members in Columbus, Ohio plan to open Columbus Classical Academy (CCA), a private classical school in Columbus, Ohio, in the fall of 2023. 

As a Hillsdale College Curriculum School, CCA plans to open as a K-8 tuition-based private school, adding one grade annually, until it serves all grades K-12. The school will focus on K-8 instruction that is rooted in the liberal arts and sciences, offers a firm grounding in civic virtue, and cultivates moral character.

Hillsdale College has worked with, and has been integral in the starting of, dozens of classical public charter schools throughout the U.S., and, in recent years, has expanded operations by supporting the opening and continued operation of private classical schools, like CCA. Through its affiliation with Hillsdale College, the CCA Board of Directors receives support from Hillsdale in the form of its world-class, K-12 curriculum and access to model bylaws and best practices for school administration. Long term, CCA intends to pursue an even more robust relationship with Hillsdale College that could provide ongoing board training, assistance with hiring needs, and regular pedagogical and curricular training for faculty.

"Today, there is an urgent need to return to time-tested principles in the education of our children, while teaching them to be model citizens in contemporary America. We believe that a classical liberal arts curriculum is the best way to achieve the true purpose of K-12 education, which is to develop virtuous citizens capable of personal and political achievement and self-governance and devoted to what is eternally good," said Mike Gross, President of the Columbus Classical Academy founding group. "Nearly all education in America was classical until recent generations, and it served our nation and our children well. CCA will offer an option that restores education to its original purpose, methods, and subject matter, and we believe that parents in Columbus will embrace it."

CCA will faithfully implement the Hillsdale College curriculum to provide a content-rich course of study with emphasis upon the four core disciplines of math, science, literature, and history, an attention to music, art, physical education, and foreign languages, and the strong conviction that classical and civic virtues are necessary in the formation of the American citizen.

The Hillsdale College K-12 initiative was started because, although there are numerous educational options available to families, very few are grounded in the classical model that emphasizes liberal arts learning and personal virtue. Hillsdale has created an exceptional curriculum that soon will be available to families in Central Ohio.

In addition, CCA has tapped Daniel Gibson to serve as the founding headmaster of the school. Gibson, a graduate of Davidson College and Stanford Law School, was a partner at the Columbus law firm, Bricker & Eckler LLP, and left his position at the firm to take on the role of headmaster at CCA.

"I am so blessed to be part of the founding of Columbus Classical Academy," said Gibson. "I truly believe in the mission of a classical education to instill in students the knowledge and virtue upon which independent, responsible, and joyful lives are built and am grateful to the CCA board for entrusting me with the leadership of this good and necessary work." 

CCA is in the process of finalizing a location for the school.

To learn more, visit https://columbusclassical.org.

About Columbus Classical Academy
Columbus Classical Academy is a classical K-8 private school located in Columbus, Ohio. As a Hillsdale College Curriculum School, CCA instills in students, through a genuine and rigorous classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, the knowledge and virtue upon which independent, responsible, and joyful lives are built, in the firm belief that such lives are the foundation of a free and flourishing republic. CCA plans to serve students in grades K-8, starting in the Fall of 2023, and to add one grade each year until it includes grades K-12. Learn more at https://columbusclassical.org.

SOURCE Columbus Classical Academy