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Forming Knowledgeable, Virtuous American Citizens

About Us

Atlanta Classical Academy is an open-enrollment, public charter school open to students who reside within the Atlanta Public Schools district. The school opened in 2014 with grades K-8 and has added a grade each year as students have advanced. It is now a K-12 academy.

The mission of Atlanta Classical Academy is to develop students in mind and character through a classical, content-rich curriculum that emphasizes the principles of virtuous living, traditional learning, and civic responsibility.

Our vision is for Atlanta Classical Academy to be a nationally regarded K-12 classical school and serve as a local and national incubator for the growth and promotion of classical education.

"Our classrooms are peaceful, and they are joyful. They are peaceful because we respect the books we are reading, the material we are learning, and because we respect our teachers. They are joyful because what we are learning is full of delight and wonder. A good education is going to be defined by those moments of joy."

- Mr. Josh Andrew, Head of School

Since our founding in 2014, Atlanta Classical Academy has...

 
Graduated 230 students and earned a
cumulative $32M+ in merit-based
scholarships
.
 
 
Maintained 100% college acceptance and 86% college retention.
 
 
 
Formed a faculty of subject-matter experts: 69% of ACA teachers have advanced degrees.
 
 
 
Won 4 state championships in athletics.
 
 
 
Maintained a faculty retention rate of 90- 95%.
 
 
 
Achieved the highest SAT and ACT scores in the district with multiple National Merit scholars.
 
 
Named a Literacy Leader by the Georgia Department of Education.
 
 
 
Ranked #1 performing school in Georgia on US History Milestone and #1 in district in all high school subjects.
 
 
Received the Henry Salvatori Prize for Excellence in Teaching twice (2019 and 2023), marking ACA as a leader in classical education.
 

Our Virtues: Courage, Courtesy, Honesty, Humility, Perseverance, Self-Government, Service

Our Pledge: “I will learn the true. I will do the good. I will love the beautiful.”

The following ‘extended mission’ is adapted from a speech delivered in June 2014 by Professor Joseph Garnjobst, Hillsdale College’s Chair of Classical Studies Department and Associate Professor of Classical Studies. 

"We believe that we are the heirs and the stewards of the Western Tradition and the fruits of civil and religious freedom. As such, we believe that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of this legacy, our aim is to provide a liberal education, an education suitable for a free citizen, not geared toward a specific trade or profession, but one that aims at understanding the highest matters and the deepest questions of Truth, Justice, Virtue, Right, and Character. We believe that we must engage those ideas and those principles in the original language in which they were written and passed down in the tradition, as they have both intrinsic worth and intrinsic beauty and are worthy of study and contemplation in and of themselves. We also find the clearest expression of this legacy both in the founding documents of our American nation as an experiment of self-government under law and in the literary and scientific education of the founders themselves. As they sought to avoid the problems of democracy as seen in Athens and of a republic that gave way to a monarchy in Rome, we too must engage in those ideas and the influences upon those ideas in order to have a citizenry worthy of the legacy of our Founders and the continuation of our American experiment. We do this through a rigorous classical, great-books curriculum designed to engage the student in the ideas and principles of our founding."

Our Partners

 

Atlanta Classical Academy is the flagship school in the Liberty Classical Schools network. Liberty exists to launch and support K-12 classical schools. Their team of experienced founders and operators of classical schools helps communities to start K-12 classical charter schools by determining feasibility, considering public demand and political climate, guiding outreach efforts, supporting site selection and facilities efforts, and more. Liberty also works with future school leaders, training them in current Liberty schools and preparing them as new schools launch, as a part of the Leadership Fellowship Program. Once a school is launched, Liberty provides guidance and support in a number of areas, including data and administration, human resources, operations, and advancement.

 

Atlanta Classical Academy is a Hillsdale College Member School. Hillsdale College is devoted to the education of young Americans by supporting the launch of K-12 charter schools. These schools train the minds and improve the hearts of young people through a rigorous, classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue. Click here to learn more.