New charter school bringing contentious Hillsdale College curriculum to Copley

Northeast Ohio Classical Academy, a new school for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, is acquiring a 9-acre campus in Copley Township with plans to open next year. The location is in the Montrose area of the township on Heritage Woods Drive.

David Baum, head of the school, said the academy will be rooted in the classics, using a curriculum developed by Hillsdale College. The small, private college in Michigan is known for its extensive ties to prominent U.S. conservatives and its traditional liberal arts approach to education at all levels.

NEO Classical Academy will be the ninth school in Ohio to adopt the Hillsdale curriculum. They are scattered throughout the state, including in Cincinnati and Columbus.

"We tell people straight up this is a rigorous curriculum," Baum said. "If your kid is coming to us, they better bring their 'A' game."

Controversy over curriculum

Some educators and organizations, however, have raised objections to the curriculum, saying it indoctrinates children with an understanding of American society and history that trivializes the impacts of slavery and the civil rights movement.

Hillsdale's K-12 curriculum, summarized in a note to teachers on its website, emphasizes that "America is an exceptionally good country" with founding principles that "have outlasted and extinguished from law various forms of evil, such as slavery, racism, and other violations of the equal protection of natural rights."

Critics of that approach say it stands at odds with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that recognize historically disenfranchised groups' lasting struggles to overcome societal biases and mistreatment.

Who can attend NEO Classical Academy?

As a tuition-free, public charter school, the academy will accept students on a first-come, first-served basis for pre-enrollment. If the number of students exceeds the total the school can take, a lottery will take place for enrollment.

Baum said he's confident the academy won't have difficulty enrolling enough students.

"If we are successful, we'll go to K-12 in half a dozen years or so," he said.

The school has already held a couple parent information nights in local communities, with about 40 people attending, Baum said. Several more are planned in December and January.

A 9-acre campus in Copley

Baum said the initial investment in the school will be about $11 million. With those funds, the 36,000-square-foot former officer building will have to be renovated to abide by state standards for schools.

Work on that should start in January, Baum said.

The building is large enough to eventually accommodate about 450 students, he said.

What will be taught at the school?

All the traditional basics: math, science, literature, history, grammar, languages, fine arts and physical education.

NEO Classical Academy's website describes its curriculum in this way: "… American Classical Education is traditional education based on seeking and discovering truth, goodness, and beauty. This approach includes the study of Latin and teaches students how to learn and think for themselves."

Baum said the school will emphasize memorization and use the Singapore method for mathematics, which focuses on understanding mathematical concepts and applying them in new ways to build understanding.

'How Western thought is built'

Baum said a liberal arts education at classical academies encourages the understanding and expression of different opinions. That includes perspectives commonly considered left and right.

"How can you ask [students] to think as modern citizens of the world without knowing Karl Marx and other controversial thinkers?" he said.

Knowing the roots and diversity of political and philosophical thought helps students become civil and informed citizens, he said.

"Modern thinkers as well as classical thinkers are going to be a part of our education," he said. "If we get kids for a bunch of years, we will be able to show them how Western thought is built."

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hillsdale College curriculum coming to new charter school in Copley