Hillsdale cuts ties with charter school after controversy

Hillsdale cuts ties with charter school after controversy

Michelangelo’s “David” causes controversy in charter school in Florida.

Hillsdale College cut ties with Tallahassee Classical School after a controversy surrounding the school’s art curriculum and its headmaster’s resignation. 

Former Tallahassee Classical Headmaster Hope Carrasquilla resigned following backlash from three parents over teaching Michelangelo’s “David” statue in a 6th-grade classroom, but the Florida charter school said the resignation was unconnected to the conflict. 

The school had a license from Hillsdale K-12 to use its curricular materials, but, according to a statement released March 29 by Hillsdale College, that agreement will soon end.

“That license has been revoked and will expire at the end of the school year,” the statement said.

The controversy made global news as parents complained about showing 6th graders the “David” statue, which depicts the biblical figure fully nude. Tallahassee Classical board chair Barney Bishop said in a Facebook comment that one parent found it to be “pornographic.”

Hillsdale’s statement said it wanted to “set the record straight” and that the drama over the statue at the Tallahassee Classical was “a distraction from, and a parody of, the actual aims of classical education.”

The statement emphasized Hillsdale’s view of education and the goal of its partnership with charter schools around the nation.

“Hillsdale College provides a classical scope and sequence to many schools across the country as a free resource,” the statement said. “Hillsdale’s relations with those schools are founded upon a mutual understanding about the aims of education. Education is a cooperative endeavor between students, parents, and teachers. Discretion, good judgment, and prudence are essential for that endeavor to be successful.”

Tallahassee Classical Interim Headmaster Cara Wynn said the school will continue its dedication to classical education, despite losing the curriculum license.

“We remain hopeful that this decision may be reversed,” Wynn wrote on April 3 in a statement. “There are many great schools in the country that are not affiliated with Hillsdale College and are very successful classical schools. While we are disappointed in their decision, this will not affect our ability to provide the highest quality classical education.”

Previously, Tallahassee Classical School had been a member school of the Hillsdale K-12 program, which meant it received advice and training from Hillsdale, but Hillsdale ended that affiliation in March 2022. 

Even after it was dropped as a member school, it remained affiliated through the curriculum agreement.

In a statement from Tallahassee Classical on March 31, the school wrote it had retained legal counsel to push back against “false and defamatory” reports that stated the school itself had characterized the statue as “pornographic.” 

It also stated that Carrasquilla was not asked to resign because of the “David” incident, but because of “two additional unrelated incidents of poor job performance.”

The school said it plans to continue to use the “David” in its curriculum.

“A false narrative has sadly spread due to inaccurate reporting,” the statement said. “At no time have we viewed that work of art as pornographic. At no time have we considered removing the David statue from our curriculum, and Michelangelo’s ‘David’ will continue to be studied as part of our curriculum next year, as it has in years past.”

Hillsdale’s curriculum will also continue to use Michelangelo’s “David” statue in the classroom, as well as other “works of art that depict the human form,” its statement said.

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