Barney Charter Initiative adds three new schools

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Barney Charter Initiative adds three new schools
The Barney Charter School Initiative helped to open several new schools this year. Prexels

As schools close in the face of national unrest, the Barney Charter School Initiative continues to open classically-focused charter schools across the nation.

This fall, Hillsdale College is welcoming three new classical charter schools and one BCSI-affiliated school to the Barney Charter School Initiative: Ascent Classical Academy Northern Colorado in Fort Collins, Colorado, Jacksonville Classical Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, Tallahassee Classical School in Tallahassee, Florida, and the Barney Charter-Affiliated Orange County Classical Academy in Orange, California. Hillsdale will provide academic resources, curriculum guidelines, and teacher training to the new schools.

Currently, Hillsdale has  24 charter schools in 11 states, with more than 12,000 students. Four more schools will open next year and 4 to 6 more are expected to open by 2022. 

Recently, the program has expanded in response to the demand for quality education. At the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, the Barney Charter Initiative introduced four new charter schools. Assistant Provost for K-12 Education at Hillsdale College, Kathleen O’Toole, said the program will continue to open more schools.

“There is a growing desire for our charter schools and the education they offer, so we are working to prepare as many resources as possible,” O’Toole said.

O’Toole served as the Headmaster for Founders Classical Academy of Leander, which was  one of the program’s first classical charter schools. It started as a K-10 school, but transformed into a K-12 school after its founding in 2014.

There have been four graduating classes since O’Toole’s time as headmaster. As BCSI schools spread across the nation, classical learning has become the model for education. Students from BCSI schools perform 5 points higher on the ACT and 150 points higher on the SAT than average scores. As featured, a classical education develops a variety of faculties in students which benefit them in a variety of ways.

Ascent Classical Academy of Northern Colorado will open as a K-6 school this fall, with a student body of about 230 students. K-8 Tallahassee Classical School has a starting student population of 500 students with a waiting list of 100 students.  

With varied restrictions in each state, Hillsdale is working with schools that must transition to online and hybrid classes.  The college guides these publicly-funded schools to fit their respective communities. Hilldale’s mission is to ensure that each school  has access to the best resources and training, so students have an enriching classical education regardless of location and circumstance.

The Barney Charter School Initiative is a project of Hillsdale College, wherein, Hillsdale College works with communities all over the nation to create upstanding liberal arts institutions. These K-12 classical charters are created with the intention of providing its students with a content-rich education that forms the mind and soul of the students. 

Julia Mullins, a student research assistant for BCSI, noted the shared mission of Hillsdale College and the Barney project. 

“Hillsdale College has a wonderful network of teachers and school leaders who are committed to providing a really rigorous yet accessible education to students in BCSI schools across the country,” Mullins said.