Founders Classical Academy - West Little Rock

ocated throughout Texas and Arkansas. Frequently Asked Questions:

- What is the location of the school? Founders Classical Academy - West Little Rock is located at 1815 Rahling Road, Little Rock, AR 72223.

- Will uniforms be required? Yes, school is a special and distinctive place. We are working on those styles and will have the information out ASAP.

- What is the classical approach to school and how is it different from what we have been doing? Founders Classical Academies utilizes a traditional, teacher-led approach to education characterized by a traditional liberal arts and sciences curriculum and whole-group teaching methodology with an orientation towards truth, beauty, and goodness. Our approach to classical education is a mindset, a body of knowledge, and an instructional method:

The Mindset - The mindset says that well-informed and self-governing people who pursue the common good promote a healthy and free society. That mindset is informed by a distinct body of knowledge and tools of learning that promotes an understanding of the human experience and the world in which we live. A Body of Knowledge - That body of knowledge and tools provide us simultaneously with a common language and principles, and compelling and beautiful content around which to form thoughtful and rational thinkers. An Instructional Method - Our classical threefold method of instruction recognizes that all learning is built upon previous learning and that students learn in a hierarchical manner: systematic knowledge acquisition, dialectic, and logic that is an extension of the knowledge, and rhetoric or the art of persuasion, which provides for the eloquent expression of thought.

- What are the priorities at Founders Classical Academies? The centrality of the Western tradition in the study of history, literature, philosophy, and the fine arts;

A rich and recurring examination of the American literary, moral, philosophical, political, and historical traditions;

The use of explicit phonics instruction leads the reading fluency, and the use of explicit grammar instruction leads to English language mastery;
The teaching of Latin;

The acknowledgment of objective standards of correctness, logic, beauty, weightiness; and truth intrinsic to the liberal arts;

A school culture demanding moral virtue, decorum, respect, discipline, and studiousness among the students and faculty;

A curriculum that is content-rich, balanced, and strong across the four core disciplines of math, science, literature, and history;

A faculty where well-educated and articulate teachers explicitly convey real knowledge to students using traditional teaching methods rather than "student-centered learning" methods;

A school that uses technology effectively but without diminishing the faculty leaderships that is crucial to academic achievement.

- What will the homework load be? A reasonable and developmentally appropriate amount of homework is essential to complete the coursework that enables Founders Classical Academy to provide students a quality education. The majority of class time should be spent in instruction and dialogue. Homework is mainly reserved for reading and meaningful independent activities that provide for practice of content learned in class, preparation for upcoming lessons and assessments, or work on long-term assignments such as essays, reports, presentations, etc. Students at Founders Classical Academy will be assigned targeted homework on a regular basis (as opposed to “busy work”). Parents should help communicate to students the importance of establishing silent and distraction-free environments for completing all homework.