After overcoming a number of hurdles, Tallahassee Classical School is preparing to open its doors for its inaugural class this fall. The tuition-free charter school will provide students with a classical liberal arts education.
Tallahassee Classical School has been in creation for years. It was initially supposed to open last school year, but it was set back by issues with the Leon County School Board and other delays.
Back in 2018, the school board rejected Tallahassee Classical School’s application. The Florida Department of Education then overturned the rejection, allowing the school to open in 2019.
Then, missed deadlines caused the school to push back its opening to 2020. According to WTXL, 450 students who had enrolled in 2019 were forced to wait another year and find a different school to attend.
Now, Tallahassee Classical plans to officially open on the Leon County School District’s start date, which is currently set at Aug. 31, 2020.
The school, which is located on 13 acres off of Tram Road, will have more than 500 kindergarten through eighth-grade students, according to WTXL.
The school was founded by Adrienne Campbell, M.Ed, who will serve as principal, and Jana Sayler, CPA. The school is part of the Barney Charter School Initiative (BCSI), a Hillsdale College project that supports new K-12 charter school openings and emphasizes classical learning. Tallahassee Classical School will follow a classical education model.
“Classical education is the study of the traditional liberal arts and sciences, which cultivates wisdom and virtue through the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty,” the school’s website reads.
The school will use the Core Knowledge Sequence for its curriculum. According to the school’s website, “The Sequence is a spiraling curriculum, where students in early elementary grades receive a firm but broad understanding of the core subject areas, building a strong foundation for later learning in greater depth. The Sequence provides a grade-by-grade series of topics which build on prior knowledge that is coherent, cumulative, and content-specific.”
Main components of Tallahassee Classical School’s curriculum are Latin, which students will begin learning in fourth and fifth grade, and Singapore Math, a program that aims to lay a solid foundation in math from kindergarten through seventh grade as preparation for learning algebra.
This year, the school will also implement precautions to protect against COVID-19. According to the school’s COVID-19 opening plan, students will wear masks on the way to and from their classrooms each day but utilize face shields during learning.
The school opted for face shields because wearing masks “impedes a student’s ability to see the instructor’s mouth during phonemic instruction,” according to the plan.
Teachers will also check students’ temperatures using noncontact infrared thermometers twice per day—at the beginning of the school day and before lunch.
The school will also use the iWave air purifier, which is installed in the air conditioning system to reduce pathogens, allergens, and other particles in the air.
According to the plan, the school encourages all students to attend classes in-person “due to the benefits of in-classroom instruction.” However, the school also has a distance learning plan for families with immunocompromised students or relatives.
Tallahassee Classical School currently has seats available in some grades and is accepting applications. The school plans to start this year as a K-8 school and add more grade levels each year until it is a K-12 school.
Tallahassee Classical School Opening for the First Time This Fall added by Lexie Pitzen on
View all posts by Lexie Pitzen →
Glad it is finally opening! If my child was younger I’d send him there! However, since he’s now in 8th grade I don’t think he’d reap the benefits as much as if he were starting in elementary school.
Further I am APPALLED by the hateful comments directed at teachers in other posts here! Teaching is not an 8-3 job whether in class or virtual. There are lessons to plan, work to grade, parents to respond to. It is not paid or valued enough for what teachers do.
Yes, there are bad/lazy teachers out there, but like all groups those are the minority not the majority. And obviously those posting the unkind words must have had one of those teachers in kindergarten because they were never taught “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
ARTICLE: KUDOS TO Tallahassee Classical School: PROACTIVE, PRUDENT MEASURES, FAIR, DILIGENT (“VIRTUAL ONLY” SCHOOL SYSTEM ADMINSTRATORS AND TEACHERS ARE LAZY, SLOTHFUL: DON’T WANT TO WORK EXTRA HARD FOR KIDS AND PARENTS),
AND WISE (WHAT DO COOPED UP KIDS AND TEENAGERS DO WITHOUT A POSITIVE FOCUS OF THEIR ENERGY? MASS AND UNSAFE SOCIAL GATHERINGS, OUTINGS, PARTIES==> MASSIVE INFECTIONS).
Dear President Trump and Vice President Pence,
It’s highly disrespectful to take a knee at the NFL or MLB games but I believe that the time to kneel at the White House meetings has come.
Can there be any harm done in heads bowed in prayer to King Jesus the ruler over all the nations including the United States and His Father the one true God of heaven and earth, for His guidance during this tumultuous time and economic distress in our country? (To learn more about Jesus, go to Biblehub and READ John 1-21, SONG: https://soundcloud.com/eternal-city/king)
What other nation or people on earth could or would do that both in their political realm and personal lives? NOT ONE.
America is special because the Lord Jesus founded this nation under God bequeathing the honor of first leadership to George Washington, a godly man regardless of slanderous depictions of him by vile “historians”.
(Renaissance and a gentleman through and through: Rejecting his delicious retirement with his family and friends, sacrificing ease for hazard, As the general of the War he was paid today’s equivalent to $200k a year but stated that he did not wish to profit [??!!] from it and would keep an exact accounting and only accept EXPENSE incurred. In other words, return the rest!
IN STARK CONTRAST: Tenet Healthcare Corp, the second richest Dallas-based hospital, received $500 million in COVID 19 grants that DON’T HAVE TO BE REPAID. Its CEO Rittenmeyer made $24.3 million in total annual compensation last year [~100x]. During a presentation to investors in May, Rittenmeyer said the federal aid has been helpful, but “we believe that more is needed from the government.” [!!!!] )
When Boston was cannonaded by the British while the first American Congress met in Philadephia, Rev Mr. Duche extemporaneously lead them in prayer. Most of the members stood during the prayer. George Washington was on his knees. (In those days men stood in prayer while women kneeled.)
And the fruition of months of prayers? the decisive victory in the battles of Lexington and Concord, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.” PROVERBS 21:30-31
As the White House leads by example in prayers, won’t the righteous meme spread throughout the nation and even the whole world?
When we bring honor to His Name, will He not act on our behalf as He did in delivering a great triumph for George Washington and The Continental Army?
Consequently, this nation was born.
Thank you for your warm consideration.
Sincerely with prayers,
Hope your last post deserves a Mic Drop! BAM! And for those walking in a FOG seeking a RETURN on their PENNIES from Government run schools whether public or private as a tax payer well NOT Happening and that’s straight TALK!
The Bible and God feeds my soul. But, I respect your opinion.
Yes, you are correct – God likes art and He is the source of it -You can find this in Exodus.
The arts (art, music, etc) are actually kind of secondary in importance in a “Classical Liberal Arts” education. Science, math, and “rhetoric” are primary, then Latin/foreign language studies, then art/music/aesthetic endeavors. At least the arts won’t be CUT from this school! Nice response on the Exodus reference!
Arts feed the soul and the soul is the gateway to humanity. This school has my blessing.
Liberal Arts Education. Live with your parents, hope grandparents leave you some money, feel good about yourself as you write your poems, and for God’s sake do not think that you have to work. Support the Democrat Party if you want to maintain your free lifestyle. Did I miss anything?
Shows what you know about the meaning of “Liberal Arts” or “Classical” education. Liberal isn’t used here as a social or political term. It ascribes certain core (pretty traditional) subjects areas and pedagogical methodologies that are more associated with the (often) socially and politically CONSERVATIVE upper middle class. Don’t believe me? It’s funded by a Hillsdale College initiative. While HC offers a classical “liberal” arts education, it’s a right leaning institution (you often here it mentioned as a sponsor of shows on talk news radio). Liberal in this context doesn’t mean what you clearly think it does. Here’s some content from HC webpage:
“…The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law…” Suffice it to say, HC isn’t typically turning out militant Democrats lol
@Alex –
You are so right! think you should take the next year and not consume any non-fiction, literature, art, music, television or film. It’s all useless junk created by hippie Democrats that don’t work. Basically you’re supporting people living in their parents basements when you take in culture, so you should probably stop doing that. That will show ’em!
So… Latin, Singapore Math, and a firm but broad understanding of the core subject areas… as oppose to shorthand texting, proper bowl packing, car jacking techniques, blunt rolling, hatred for America, and twidiot studies…
Sounds good folks… best of luck and Godspeed. Teach our children well, for they are our future.
You forgot Ebonics.
I wish I’d been able to take a class in that back in my “UTE.”
Not really sure how latin and cursive helps, but thats up to the parents. Everything is an opportunity cost so I would think more English and technology skills would be better.
Tony, you pay for every school. Do you demand 3.0 or higher from everyone?
It is tuition free. Think of it as another, or better Florida High.
Most of what you want to know is here:
http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/charter-schools/
I watched daily this building getting built. Curious to know what it cost to build and what is being charged per Student to attend. Is the amount for each Student attending in person the same amount for those attending on line?
NO, it is NOT “Tuition-Free “…….. we are ALL paying for it. Since it will be TAX Funded, I think all Students should be earning a “3.0 GPA” or Higher or made to leave so we get a positive return on our Money. K thru 8th, everyone has the same chances to make a 3.0 GPA or better.
ALL property owners pay for ALL Leon County Schools whether we have children who utilize them or not. And we have ALL been paying for them for them since March with nothing happening. The Teachers Union and powers that really want us ALL to continue to pay while the teachers sit home and do nothing. This school has a plan! I will gladly pay for it……you can pay for the failures of other Leon County Schools.
Ok, they are fancy Public Schools that are privately owned. That tells me that they are paid MORE per Child than our Public owned Public Schools so, how much MORE does it cost US to send your 6th Grader to a Charter School then it would to send your Kid to Cobb Middle School? I am sure this School wasn’t built to break even like County Schools are.
ALSO: If the Charter Schools are that much better than the County Public Schools, why hasn’t the County copied what the Charter Schools are doing?
Teachers Union. They are the problem with public education which is why they are so opposed to charter schools. Highest ranking school is charter: Arts & Sciences.
If you think teachers (who were in charge of scrambling to make distance learning possible—digitizing learning materials, resources, lessons, video tutorials, leading zoom classes and facilitating office hours and extra help sessions for students AND parents struggling with the curriculum or digital media platform, AND creating over 8 weeks of physical packets, readings, and assessments, and still grading and giving feedback on work and assessments ETCETCETC) were just sitting at home doing nothing, you don’t know anything about teaching or it’s value. I hope your children, if you have any, have a better teacher than your level of appreciation warrants. Oh, that doesn’t include them having to care for and educate their own children from home at the same time. Caring for their own children’s needs and education is a lot on its own, and while still being responsible for the education of all of their regular students. Shame on you!
Don’t presume to tell me what I know about teaching. My children both went to Leon County Schools before there were Charter schools. They both did well in school not because of their teachers but in spite of them. Because, parents and not teachers are the primary educators of their children.