A New Way of Learning

"The basis for classical education is that you want to instill wisdom. So rather than teach subjects, you teach them the art of learning," says co-founder Mandi Moore.

The students are in a classroom setting two days a week and the schedule is rigorous.

"Rather than just asking questions that require an a, b or c answer, the students are asked to tell back information in their own words," says Moore.

For one mother cross classical academy is a dream come true.

"They strive as a school to go above and beyond what's expected," says Lacy Matthiesen.

She has experienced this first hand with her 5 year-old daughter.

"My kindergartener came home and we were doing our little math lesson. We started with the half dollar and she begins to tell me all about John F Kennedy. What happened to him, that he had children, who assassinated him. The whole bio of him, only because he was on the half dollar," says Matthiesen, mother of two students at Cross Classical.

Children are encouraged to expand their mind far beyond the typical curriculum.

"We did a report on an octopus. She's writing reports in kindergarten and reading chapter books. And all of them are doing it, not just her."

On days children are not in the classroom, it's the parents responsibility to guide them in their studies.

"I get to be hands on with how they're learning and what they're doing. And so at the dinner table, we can talk about things versus me asking 'How was school today?' 'It was fine.' You know I know what they're learning and that's a really neat part of it," says Matthiesen.

Christianity also played a large role in her final decision to send her two children to cross classical.

"I'm hoping that they become good soldiers for Christ and that they just kind of bloom and shine in that way so that people can see that in them and be motivated to do the same," says Matthiesen.

And that's what Cross Classical Academy aims to do, better the world, one student at a time.