North Shore group wants to open 'non-woke' private school with Hillsdale curriculum

Mequon resident Cheryle Rebholz, a boutique gun range owner who in 2021 attempted to recall and replace a school board member, is doubling down on her latest pursuit to create her own school to teach "love of country."

Since her application to start NorthShore Classical Academy as a publicly funded charter school was rejected, Rebholz is now looking to launch it as a private high school to serve the northern suburbs of Milwaukee — if she can find the money.

Rebholz, who is listed as a board member for the Ozaukee County Republican Party, embraced the change in an April 13 email to supporters, saying that being private would give the “non-woke” school freedom without “hindrance of government oversight.”

The school would use curriculum from the Christian conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan, which lists the NorthShore Classical Academy as a “candidate” to become one of its "member schools." The college provides free curriculum and consultation to 23 member schools across the country, covering kindergarten through 12th grade.

Rebholz, founder and president of the hopeful academy, has repeatedly declined interview requests from the Journal Sentinel.

Sid Terry, reached Monday by the Journal Sentinel, denied an interview request but confirmed that he is vice president of the organization, that they are planning for the school to be nonreligious and that any timeline for opening will depend on fundraising.

Who is behind the school?

The group's plans for the school grew out of a 2021 failed attempt to recall school board members in Mequon over pandemic protocols and commitments to equity. The recall effort attracted national attention and major Republican donors.

Rebholz, who ran in the recall election to unseat an incumbent, lost that race in November 2021. The next month, she used an email address associated with the recall effort to notify supporters that she and unnamed others were considering developing a charter school for North Shore families, dedicated to "civic service, love of country, and moral character."

The group formed a nonprofit last year as it sought to open the charter school. In January, the group's application was denied, reportedly due to a lack of detail.

Terry said the private school would be operated by the same nonprofit that was already formed for the charter school proposal. According to incorporation documents filed with the state, NorthShore Classical Academy directors include Rebholz, Terry, and Roger Holtmeirer.

Rebholz previously served on the Mequon-Thiensville School Board from 2012 to 2015 and later opened Bear Arms Boutique Shooting Range, which blends a beauty product store with a gun range and shooting simulators. Terry ran for school board in 2014 and facilitated an event that was part of the recall attempt.

What are Hillsdale schools?

All of the other Hillsdale member schools are charter schools except one, Capstone Classical Academy in North Dakota, which is billed as the Hillsdale's first private member school. It, like Hillsdale, is based on a "Christian worldview," while charter schools are public and not allowed to promote a religion.

The Hillsdale curriculum and ideology have come under scrutiny across the country. In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee's push for 100 Hillsdale charter schools in his state sputtered last year after the first charter applications were rejected by local school boards.

More: Here's what charter schools are and how they work in Wisconsin

At an event with the Tennessee governor, Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn came under fire for insulting teachers, saying they are "trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country." He also said in an email that "subjects like racism and sexuality" should not be broached by teachers, according to NewsChannel 5 in Nashville.

Arnn chaired former President Donald Trump's 1776 commission, which called for "restoring patriotic education" in a report derided by historians. Hillsdale's own "1776 curriculum," used by its affiliated K-12 schools to teach history and civics, quoted extensively from the commission's 1776 Report, as of 2021. The curriculum, like the report, derided pursuits of equity as "identity politics," which it said make it "less likely that racial reconciliation and healing can be attained."

Wisconsin already has one Hillsdale member school, Lake Country Classical Academy in Oconomowoc, which last fall reported serving 508 students in kindergarten through 10th grade and plans to expand through 12th grade this fall. It was started by Kettle Moraine Middle School parents unhappy with the public school district. The same year the new school opened, 2021, the middle school's enrollment fell by about 50 students.

That school was originally chartered through Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University, until the university demanded the school end its relationship with Hillsdale, according to reporting by the Wisconsin Examiner. Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow then said he would provide the school a charter.

What are the NorthShore plans?

Rebholz has said the NorthShore Classical Academy would teach "love of country" and use Hillsdale curriculum. It would offer four pathways for students: college preparation, career technical education, military leadership and entrepreneurship, according FAQs on its website at ncawi.org.

The school would implement "classical education," meaning a focus on literature, history, science and math. It would include Latin, cursive writing, phonics-based reading and "life skills" like how to do laundry and get out of bed on your own, according to the website. Uniforms would be required. The school would not offer transportation.

According to a fundraising page, the school had raised about $1,000 on the platform as of April 18, with a goal set at $3 million. The page noted the group had also raised about $15,500 in non-electronic donations. It states the funding would help hire a head of school and human resources manager to plan the school opening, recruit school staff and pay for marketing and other supplies.

The group is also looking for an "angel donor" to allow it to build the school, the fundraising page notes, adding that the group has been advised that new construction would be more efficient than retrofitting an existing building.

Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: NorthShore Classical Academy, rejected as charter, seeks private funds