Why We Use Hillsdale Curriculum
The Hillsdale Curriculum Guide, known around the school as “The Blue Book”, is absolutely essential to our program, but it’s important to note that it’s not the actual curriculum. Rather, it is our guide by subject by grade, for how to implement the curriculum Hillsdale recommends. It is available for any parent to look at. All you need to do is make an appointment, and we’re happy to let you come in to review it.
Hillsdale has been developing its curricular priorities since the Barney Charter School Initiative began almost fifteen years ago. It has gone through a number of iterations to reach the place it is now. The first of the Hillsdale schools (one of which was the Founders Classical Academy that we run in the Dallas area) did not have the benefit of the guide. But a decade of work by Hillsdale and school leaders has given us this excellent roadmap.
The program is based on the idea that students must know things, in particular what it means to be a human being. It starts with the fundamentals: students must understand reading, writing, and math. Hillsdale’s selection of the Literacy Essentials phonics and orthography program laid the foundation for the excellent reading and writing performance at program schools. Dimensions, a top-tier Singapore math program, ensures that as our students move from a pictorial to a concrete to a conceptual understanding of math, that they are well-prepared for the demands of high school math and science.
The rest of the program relies heavily on the Core Knowledge (CK) curriculum (not to be confused with Common Core). The idea behind CK is that it’s integrated between subjects. When students study a historical period, topics and people from that period will show up in literature, art, science, and music. This integration creates a richer dynamic where students are more likely to retain their knowledge because it is connected to every subject they study in a year.
Another important aspect of The Blue Book is that it is a guide, not a contract. Schools are not required to move through it at a certain pace. Some years, teachers will spend more time on particular units than others. While an entire grade should be moving at the same pace, because we return to the historical periods three times between Kindergarten and Twelfth Grade, going slower or faster shouldn’t impact a student’s exploration of particular topics or periods.
Schools that use the Hillsdale program or something very similar to it have a track record of excellence. I can certainly say that about our Founders Classical Academy campuses in Texas and Arkansas. They stand out in a way I expect HOCA to stand out in time. While high performance doesn’t come about overnight, it usually isn’t more than three or four years before a new school based on the Hillsdale program guide is providing an education that is leaps and bounds beyond what most students will find in any other school, public or private.
Mike Terry
National Director of Classical Education
Founders Classical Academy