Charter school offering Hillsdale College's 'classical' curriculum opening in Dublin
A new charter school is set to open this fall in a former Dublin office building, offering a no-cost "classical" education based on conservative Hillsdale College's curriculum to hundreds of students.
The Heart of Ohio Classical Academy, located across Interstate 270 from Tuttle Mall in Dublin, will be a free to students charter (or community) school that is open to enrollment for all Ohio students. The school currently has over 200 students enrolled for the fall, but Sam Weisbrod, the headmaster of the new school, said the school could grow to over 400 students.
The Heart of Ohio Classical Academy purchased the former office space from the previous owners for $7.5 million in early June, according to the Franklin County Auditor's Office. Funds were raised for the purchase by issuing bonds, Weisbrod said, and the academy will use state-issued funds to work on servicing the debt when it becomes available to the school in October, Weisbrod said.
The location of the property right off of I-270 and near U.S. 33 makes the location a prime spot for students across the region and state, he said.
Weisbrod said he wants the Heart of Ohio Classical Academy to be a viable alternative to the public school system, which he says is "in disarray, to say the least."
"The idea here is taking a curriculum that hitherto has only been available in private schools, and making it accessible to everyone," Weisbrod said.
What is a 'classical education?'
The Heart of Ohio Classical Academy will be using the conservative Hillsdale College's Barney Charter School Initiative classical education curriculum. Weisbrod said nearly 100 schools nationwide use the curriculum, although Weisbrod said the Heart of Ohio school will be the first in the state to offer it at no cost to students as a charter school.
According to Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian college in Michigan that has refused federal funding to avoid government regulations, the "classical" curriculum offers an education where "teachers lead students toward moral and intellectual virtue by means of a rich and robust course of study in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue." Students take courses in literature and mathematics, history and the sciences, the fine arts, Latin and physical education.
More: Two 'classical education' schools tied to Hillsdale College planned for Greater Columbus
Weisbrod said the model employed under the Hillsdale curriculum is one that has worked "for a very long time across western civilization."
"We've got a superior product to help kids become the best that they can be to help train people to their potentials, giving them a clear and concise roadmap on how to get there," Weisbrod said. "And that's, I think, everything that a parent wants for their kids."
What will Heart of Ohio Classical Academy offer?
Despite the school's use of conservative Hillsdale's curriculum, Weisbrod said the charter school will not be political or religious and will offer school services like intervention specialists and Individualized Education Programs (IEPS) like any other charter or public school. Weisbrod, who is Jewish, said he was impressed by the range of backgrounds and minority groups interested in a classical education in central Ohio.
"Because they recognize that there's this discipline inherent in the education that we're helping to provide," Weisbrod said. "Compared to more of an arbitrary 'Okay, this teacher, this classroom, thinks that, or thinks this.' This is a consolidated approach."
Weisbrod said that the classical academy model offers a balance between fostering the individual characters of each student while also providing a strong structure to help them grow.
He said many of the teachers at the academy have even taken a pay cut to work there because they believe in the school's mission. The school was first conceptualized in 2020 from a group of people interested in promoting classical education opportunities for central Ohio youth, according to the school's website.
The school will begin offering kindergarten through sixth grade, with plans to add a new grade each year up through 12th grade. The school building is currently being renovated from a former office space, but the building already features a large auditorium and the first two floors of the four-story building with plans to expand over time.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Classical education' charter school opening in former Dublin office
