Lionheart Classical Academy (LCA) provides students a full and complete liberal arts education which challenges each student to excel both in learning and in character. Combining a content-rich, classical education with civic virtues, LCA strives to develop the minds and improve the hearts of its students. The goal of the academy is to graduate students who are highly literate, can communicate effectively, are virtuous, possess cultural literacy, are prepared to continue academic achievement and are ready to become active and productive members of American society.
Having an established content curriculum not only assists achievement but it also cultivates a strong learning culture among students, teachers, and parents. From month-to-month and year-to-year, students know what they are responsible for learning. Teachers build on learning from prior grades and are able to focus their efforts on new learning and creating effective lesson plans instead of identifying “what” to teach. Parents are aware, engaged and can support the learning. Instead of asking the general questions “What did you learn today in school?”, parents can ask “What did you learn today about Ancient Greece? Electricity? The Gettysburg Address?”
Curriculum from Hillsdale College
Lionheart Classical Academy is a Hillsdale College Curriculum School, a distinction that offers our school access to a tried and true K-12 Curriculum from the Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office.
About Hillsdale
Hillsdale College was founded to provide the kind of sound learning necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. For over 175 years, it has offered an outstanding liberal arts education for undergraduate students. Restoring excellence to American K-12 education is a natural extension of the College’s mission, and Hillsdale has been helping K-12 schools for over three decades.
Hillsdale teaches K-12 schools to provide an education that is both classical and American in its orientation; one that is rooted in the liberal arts and sciences, offers a firm grounding in civic virtue, and cultivates moral character.
Hillsdale’s curriculum, contained in the Hillsdale College K-12 Program Guide, is available to LCA at no cost; it is made possible by the generous support of friends of Hillsdale College.
Helpful Links
For more information about Hillsdale College support for schools like Lionheart Classical Academy, visit http://k12.hillsdale.edu.
What is American Classical Education?
Hillsdale Classical School Across the Nation
Founding a Hillsdale Classical School
Frequently asked questions about Hillsdale’s support for K-12 schools
Core Knowledge
The Core Knowledge Sequence (not to be confused with Common Core) is based upon E.D. Hirsch’s idea of cultural literacy. The Core Knowledge Sequence provides a grade-by-grade sequence of specific topics to be taught in grades K-8. Topics taught include history, geography, literature, visual arts, music, language arts, science, and math. The content of the topics is based upon basic principles that are lasting and solid. For example, important events of world history, essential elements of math, and essential elements of written expression.
As learning becomes more meaningful if knowledge is built on prior knowledge, the Core Knowledge Sequence provides a specific outline of the skills and content to be learned grade by grade. Thus, all children are exposed to knowledge needed to be included in a shared literate culture. Teachers and parents are all on the same page, and the chance of repetition and/or gaps as children move from grade to grade are eliminated. The curriculum constitutes approximately 50% of what is taught so teachers have the freedom to develop their own knowledge goals as well.
