Q: “My children attend a classical Christian school and we love it. However, I’ve realized that several families in our school have felt it necessary to split their families with regard to schooling because our school does not have classes for children with special needs. I am considering having some of our board members, teachers, and parents read your book with me to consider beginning such a program. Do you know of any classical Christian schools with special needs programs?”

A: Yes! See the list below.

Two highlights:
1. You can create an effective classical school-within-a-school model, Imago Dei School.
2. Or you can improve your own classical inclusion model with extra assistance to students and good support for their teachers.

As you may know, Memoria Press now offers six levels (with more to come) of the multi-sensory, research-based Simply Classical Curriculum for children with special needs. This could be a place to start. Homeschoolers are teaching from this special-needs classical curriculum with remarkable success, so special training may not be as important as a willingness to teach children who need modifications, a slower pacing, and extra encouragement.

Here are a few other examples. This is just a partial list:
GreatHeartsAmerica.org

Classical Academies

Vanguard Classical Charter

Nova Classical

Veritas Classical 

Huntsville Classical

Where to begin? A “book club” in-service with interested school board members, volunteers, parents, and prospective teachers can be an effective way to begin. We offer bulk discounts of the book Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child for just such a purpose. Contact me privately, cherylswope@memoriapress.com, and I will connect you with someone from Memoria Press who can offer you special bulk pricing.

Which classical schools am I missing? We love to hear about these programs. If you know of more, please let me know!