Hillsdale College students wanting to teach at a classical school are in luck. Great Hearts Academies, a network of private classical schools in Phoenix, Ariz., is looking into opening a new school in Nashville, Tenn.
Last week, Great Hearts hosted an open house in Nashville. The event was well attended, said Cara Valle ’10 who now works at one of the Great Hearts schools in Phoenix.
Valle confirmed what the open house suggested.
“There are plans in the works to open a Great Hearts network school in Nashville,” she said.
Valle teaches sixth grade English and high school poetry at Glendale Preparatory Academy, one of 12 schools in the Great Hearts Academies network.
Another Hillsdale graduate, Joel VanDerworp, ’10, also works at Glendale Prep. He connected with Glendale Prep during Hillsdale College’s Classical School job fair.
Valle found her way into the Great Hearts network through her college roommate, who also discovered Great Hearts Academies at the job fair.
Valle said seven Hillsdale graduates teach at Glendale Prep and that there are about 15 Hillsdale alumni working throughout the Great Hearts network.
“I would absolutely recommend Hillsdale grads to pursue a position at a Great Hearts school,” VanDerworp said. “We have begun to build a real community among the different schools, so the social life is much better than I expected.”
When Great Hearts opens a new school, it begins with sixth through ninth grades and adds additional grades each year.
Before a school can admit students, though, Great Hearts first finds a location where families show interest in classical education. Then, it secures a headmaster.
Valle said all of the schools in the Great Hearts network teach the same classical, Great Books curriculum. They focus on pedagogy and Socratic learning. In her classroom, Valle tries to place the emphasis on students asking and answering questions as much as possible.
“Hillsdale prepared me well,” she said. “Most Hillsdale grads working here are doing well because Hillsdale is based on a Great Books curriculum.”
Valle said she is excited Great Hearts is continuing to expand.
“The advantage of the Great Hearts network is that it’s a good curriculum for average, middle class kids,” she said.
“The benefits of teaching at a classical school are obvious — I have the opportunity to discuss great texts with students each and every day,” VanDerworp said. “It’s awesome. One downside is that we are young and do not yet have the kind of facilities the local public schools have, but we’ve made it work.”