Classical Education Stages of Learning

Curriculum from Hillsdale College

Wing 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 WCA 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 Wing Classical Academy, visit k12.hillsdale.edu.

What is American Classical Education?

Hillsdale Classical Schools Across the Nation

Founding a Hillsdale Classical School

Frequently asked questions about Hillsdale’s support for K-12 schools

The K-12 years are when we form our sense of who we are and our purpose in the world. Classical education provides the framework for developing the skills to think, the character to live a life of virtue, and the understanding to contribute to the community.  It focuses on cultivating wisdom and moral virtue by analyzing the great ideas and history of Western civilization through the prism of the Bible. It emphasizes the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.

Classical Christian Education (CCE) is a system that establishes a Biblical worldview and incorporates teaching methods based on the natural phases of child development.  The goal is formation of character rather than solely imparting knowledge.  It focuses on cultivating wisdom and moral virtue by analyzing the great ideas of Western civilization through the prism of the bible.  Students read, study, and discuss the great philosophers and writers of ancient Greece and Rome.  They study Latin to gain a firm foundation of English grammar.  This develops deep comprehension, logical thinking, and excellent skills in discussion and debate.

A CCE works in harmony with the family and prepares young people to think deeply and compassionately; it alters the focus of education to who we become, not what we know.  It trains students in reasoning through the Trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and incorporates the seven Christian virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, and charity).  

More specifically, classical education includes the study of the liberal arts and sciences;

• literature and art (the great books, including philosophy and politics), which explores human nature, mathematics, and sciences (these teach about the natural order)
• history, which helps us to understand the unfolding human story
• explicit instruction in phonics (which helps students decipher words on their own) and grammar, including the study of Latin

Classical education is effective because of how and when students are taught:

• In the grammar stage (K-6), students are naturally adept at memorizing through songs, chants, and rhymes. Learning information in this way means you remember it for a lifetime. 
• In the dialectic or logic stage (grades 7-9), students are naturally more argumentative and begin to question authority and facts. During this stage, students learn reasoning, informal and formal logic, and how to argue with wisdom and eloquence.
• In the rhetoric stage (grades 10-12), students become independent thinkers and communicators. They study and practice rhetoric, which is the art of persuasive speaking and effective writing,

 Wing Classical Academy views faith and religious liberty as essential. Our day will begin gathered as one community saying the pledge of allegiance and offering up a prayer. One student each day will recite a memorized verse of Scripture. We will also include a weekly chapel service.

Our Christian faith, however, is not confined to these activities. We will develop a school community culture of moral virtue, decorum, respect, discipline, and studiousness among students, faculty, and staff. Parents will be encouraged to attend our morning ceremonies, weekly chapel, volunteer in classrooms, and serve on our school board.

As a non-denominational Christian school we will accept all who commit to upholding our mission and values. We plan to be an environment where all can cultivate a personal relationship with God.

Statement of Faith

We humbly and joyfully give thanks for the privilege and responsibility of providing a comprehensive and rigorous liberal arts education, taught in the classical method, to the students of Wing Classical Academy. This education is imparted using traditional American values, underpinned by Christian principles, in a Christian environment. All our staff, teachers, board members, and families endorse our statement of faith.

The Holy Trinity:

We believe in one True God, who is all-gracious, all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26, Acts 7:54-60, John 1:1)

Creation and Man:

We believe that God, in His perfect love, created the heavens, the earth, and all things within it through Jesus Christ. He is the author, creator, and sustainer of all that exists. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. (Col1:16)(Heb1:3)(John1:1-3)
 

We believe that in His perfect wisdom, God created man in His image as related in the account of Creation in the first two chapters of Genesis. (Genesis 1:26 and 27, Psalm 139:13)

Salvation:

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior through His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His atoning death, His defeat of Satan and hell, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and we look forward to His personal return in power and glory bringing all of His followers into perfect relationship with Him and each other.

We believe we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. (Eph 2:8)

We believe in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for all who have accepted Jesus’ gift of His atoning death and have received Him as Lord. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, heirs of the perfect kingdom to come. He intercedes for us, aids us in our weakness, teaches us to pray, and reveals the hidden truths found in the Bible.

The Bible:

We believe the Bible is alive and active, the only inerrant, authoritative Word of God. It is God-breathed, a divinely inspired gift from God to reveal His character and His desire to have a relationship with the people He created. 

(II Timothy 3:16)

We believe the Bible is profitable for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” 

(II Tim 3:15, 16) (Heb. 4:12)

Sex:

We believe each person is created in God’s image. Our bodies, created male and female, are part of God's intentional design in creation and are, therefore, imbued with meaning and purpose. (Gen 1:26-27) As stewards of these gifts, we are called to accept, love, and care for our bodies as they were created. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God in that person.

Service:

We believe we are called to joyfully embrace God’s greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ " (Mat 37-39) 

Service is the fruit of faith in Jesus Christ. Our works do not save us but are a reflection of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. As such, we respect each other as made in the image of God. We treat and serve one another joyfully as we reflect the Father’s love.

Reflection of God’s Love:

We believe that we reflect God’s love for us through our love and good works for others and we demonstrate our faith through worship.

This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of school doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Board serves as the school’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

Wing Classical Academy plans to open in September of 2024, serving K-4 students We plan to add two grades per year for the four subsequent years. The grades we serve in the first year may change based on demand.

Wing will be leasing space at New Harvest church 11875 Jackson Rd, Dexter, MI

Wing Classical Academy will be funded through tuition and donations.  It is our desire that all children can attend Wing Classical  Academy regardless of income, so we plan in the future to establish an endowment which will generate funds for offsetting tuition for those needing assistance.

Classical curriculum emphasizes the arts, in the study of great literature, poetry and the great philosophers.  Art and music will be a regular part of your student's day throughout their years at Wing Classical Academy.