“The Dao of great learning lies in making bright virtue brilliant; in making the people new; and coming to rest at the limit of the good.”
—Confucius

Our Approach

Our summary of Northern Schoolhouse: An open-ended learning model rooted in classical literature, nature, and the arts. 

The timeless “one-room schoolhouse” model provides a recipe for upholding the culture we value. Mix in the educational philosophies of Socrates and Confucius, and the richness of the Schoolhouse takes shape. 

Our approach, divided into Form and Study, is highlighted by the following attributes:

Our Form

  • High standards, flexible pace (to help our advanced learners progress further and faster, and for our progressing students to catch up)
  • Mixed-ages (into upper and lower cohorts)
  • Tech-free
  • Family emphasis
  • Character Map and Three Paths of Attention (Knowledge, Genius, Heart)
  • Individualized, on-going assessment and feedback

Our Study (Academics, Arts, & Culture)

  • Living books and storytelling
  • The four classical pillars: poetry, literature, logic, ethics
  • Nature-based science program
  • Time-tested math rigor (program created in 1834)
  • Language focus (Chinese, and Latin and Greek for upper students)
  • Arts and music
  • Friday Faires (project-based workshops), Summits (school-wide performances), and Amendments (standards of revision)
  • Problem solving “Missions”

~ Academics ~

We study the following subjects during the daily morning lessons:

  • History through storytelling
  • Literature through rich classics and poetry
  • Language and writing through time-tested practices (narration, dictation, recitation, copy work, composition, cursive, and inquiry)
  • Personalized arithmetic program tailored to each individual’s skill level, up through 8th-grade proficiency
  • Science through the direct observation of nature

~ Arts & Culture ~

We include the following areas of study in the daily afternoon arts and culture program:

  • Dance
  • Music, including composer study and voice training
  • Art
  • Chinese
  • French
  • Latin & Greek primer (for upper students)

Please see our Parent Guide for more details on our curriculum and programs

Summer Camp

Visit our Summer Camp website.

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Our mission is to nurture students to become well-educated individuals of exemplary moral character. To this end, we provide a rigorous college preparatory and classical arts education steeped in the traditional values of the West and the East.