Alberta Education granted approval for a new public classical education charter school for Edmonton-area students. ."While school should help prepare young people for the workforce, that should be a happy by-product of education, not the entire objective,” said Edmonton Classical Academy (ECA) Superintendent John Picard in a press release. ."We provide an environment which fosters a student's virtue, wonder and love of wisdom.”.The release said the ECA will offer classes from kindergarten to Grade 8 in the 2023-2024 academic year. It said the ECA is a geographic expansion of the existing charter from the Calgary Classical Academy (CCA). .The CCA took education in a new direction by being Canada’s first ever non-denominational classical education charter school when it launched in September. .READ MORE: Calgary Classical Academy offers different approach to education.“The classical movement has been growing in the United States, and we’re really the first of our kind in Canada,” said CCA principal Colleen Parks. .Classical education involves students studying classic works of literature, philosophy, history, and art. This curriculum is done through the trivium progression, moving through the stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. .The release went on to say the ECA’s distinct features will be a smartphone-free environment; the use of traditional pedagogy and teacher-led classrooms; a knowledge-rich curriculum centred on classical works of literature, philosophy, and art; a focus on character and nurturing virtues; and a clear commitment to the pursuit of truth. It added the program aims to develop students' intellectual, moral, and aesthetic reasoning, so they can distinguish truth from falsehood. .Charter schools operate independently of the central bureaucracy of large school boards, governed by autonomous non-profit organizations..“Choice in education allows students to grow and learn in an environment best suited for their unique needs,” said Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange. .“It allows parents to make decisions that will set their children up for personal, academic and professional success.”.LaGrange said this is why the Alberta government will “continue upholding and supporting the option to receive a public charter education in Alberta as well as our efforts to improve accessibility to public charter education across the province.”.The ECA has begun recruiting faculty members and is accepting pre-enrolment applications for students from kindergarten to Grade 8. Discussions are taking place with Alberta Education and local school boards to identify a facility to house the program. .Picard said parents with children attending the CCA tell the school “their kids come home excited to talk about their day, eager to share what they have learned, and intent on challenging themselves tomorrow.”.“This is the difference you will see in a classical education,” he said.
Alberta Education granted approval for a new public classical education charter school for Edmonton-area students. ."While school should help prepare young people for the workforce, that should be a happy by-product of education, not the entire objective,” said Edmonton Classical Academy (ECA) Superintendent John Picard in a press release. ."We provide an environment which fosters a student's virtue, wonder and love of wisdom.”.The release said the ECA will offer classes from kindergarten to Grade 8 in the 2023-2024 academic year. It said the ECA is a geographic expansion of the existing charter from the Calgary Classical Academy (CCA). .The CCA took education in a new direction by being Canada’s first ever non-denominational classical education charter school when it launched in September. .READ MORE: Calgary Classical Academy offers different approach to education.“The classical movement has been growing in the United States, and we’re really the first of our kind in Canada,” said CCA principal Colleen Parks. .Classical education involves students studying classic works of literature, philosophy, history, and art. This curriculum is done through the trivium progression, moving through the stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. .The release went on to say the ECA’s distinct features will be a smartphone-free environment; the use of traditional pedagogy and teacher-led classrooms; a knowledge-rich curriculum centred on classical works of literature, philosophy, and art; a focus on character and nurturing virtues; and a clear commitment to the pursuit of truth. It added the program aims to develop students' intellectual, moral, and aesthetic reasoning, so they can distinguish truth from falsehood. .Charter schools operate independently of the central bureaucracy of large school boards, governed by autonomous non-profit organizations..“Choice in education allows students to grow and learn in an environment best suited for their unique needs,” said Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange. .“It allows parents to make decisions that will set their children up for personal, academic and professional success.”.LaGrange said this is why the Alberta government will “continue upholding and supporting the option to receive a public charter education in Alberta as well as our efforts to improve accessibility to public charter education across the province.”.The ECA has begun recruiting faculty members and is accepting pre-enrolment applications for students from kindergarten to Grade 8. Discussions are taking place with Alberta Education and local school boards to identify a facility to house the program. .Picard said parents with children attending the CCA tell the school “their kids come home excited to talk about their day, eager to share what they have learned, and intent on challenging themselves tomorrow.”.“This is the difference you will see in a classical education,” he said.
