To say that Alaska’s public school system has serious problems is to state the obvious. Declining enrollment, dismally low test scores, ranking nearly last in the country in reading and math proficiency – despite one of the highest median expenditures per student nationwide – our state’s education system is a litany of failures.
This stark reality is why a growing number of families are choosing to homeschool or send their children to private or charter schools. But homeschooling isn’t an option for some families, and for many others there simply aren’t enough alternatives to public school available.
That’s one reason we’re founding Thomas More Classical School in Anchorage, a private Christian school that will open its doors in Fall 2026 and eventually serve grades K-12. Thomas More Classical will be free from state mandates and restrictions, committed to offering a timeless classical education committed to the pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful.
Education should do more than prepare students for college or careers – it should form their souls.
To do this, we’re working with Hillsdale College, the renowned Michigan liberal arts college that takes no money from the federal government and makes no apologies for its embrace of American heritage and Judeo-Christian western civilization. Thomas More Classical will be Alaska’s first Hillsdale-supported founding effort – a significant milestone in the college’s initiative to help launch at least one member school in every state by 2030. As a Hillsdale-supported school, we will use its acclaimed K–12 classical curriculum, which emphasizes the liberal arts and sciences, civic virtue, and moral formation through a content-rich education rooted in primary sources and great books.
In other words, this is not an attempt to reform the current public education model but a rejection of it and a return to what education once was and should be again. By teaching a tried-and-true classical curriculum, we believe Thomas More Classical will attract families in Alaska who are desperate for an alternative to public school and want their children educated to become virtuous, upstanding citizens – and, ultimately, saints.
How did all this happen? It began with a handful of families in Anchorage concerned about the state of local schools. They began gathering around kitchen tables and in coffee shops in 2023, and eventually approached Hillsdale College’s K-12 Education Office with a question: could Anchorage, like dozens of other American cities, start a new classical school grounded in faith and civic virtue?
The answer was yes, and a partnership was forged. After submitting a detailed business plan and proposal, our group was approved by Hillsdale as a founding effort – joining a growing national network of Hillsdale-supported schools. Since then, the team has expanded to include experienced educators, entrepreneurs, military veterans, airline pilots, and civic leaders, all drawn together by a shared conviction: that education should do more than prepare students for college or careers – it should form their souls.
As both a graduate of Hillsdale College and someone raised in Palmer, Alaska, I was honored to join the founding board of Thomas More Classical earlier this year. My time at Hillsdale, where I majored in history and minored in Classical Greek, revealed to me exactly what an education is for, and how profoundly a classical education in particular can shape a person’s character and habit of being.
We chose a private school model that allows full fidelity to the Hillsdale approach and a secure future, regardless of shifting politics.
When I realized there was an effort underway to bring that kind of education to Alaskan families, I wanted to be a part of it. The Hillsdale model, proven across dozens of classical charter and private schools across the country, will be fully implemented at Thomas More Classical – with one important distinction: this school will be privately run, not publicly chartered.
Why a private school? Put bluntly, we’re opting for a private school to be free from government constraints and mandates over our curriculum and operations. In many states, Hillsdale-affiliated schools have taken the form of public charter academies. But Alaska’s political and legal climate makes that route unworkable. Rather than wait for reform, we chose a private school model that allows full fidelity to the Hillsdale approach and a secure future, regardless of shifting politics.
Our plan is to open next fall with a lower and middle school, depending on enrollment demand, and grow one grade per year to become, eventually, a full K–12 school. The curriculum will follow Hillsdale’s scope and sequence, which includes: literature based on the Western canon and classic children’s books; history grounded in American and world history, geography, and civics; math using the Singapore Math method; science, Latin, debate, the fine arts, physical education; writing rooted in logic and composition.
Students will also engage daily in Christian formation – through prayer, stories of the saints, service projects, and a school culture that reinforces moral character, Christian virtue, and joyful service. What parents can expect is not just academic excellence but the cultivation of habits, manners, and meaning.
To achieve this vision, we recently signed a Letter of Intent with Unite Church in South Anchorage to lease up to 30,000 square feet of classroom, office, and multi-use space starting July 2026. The church – a like-minded partner – will provide a below-market rate, making the school’s launch financially sustainable.
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We have also hired our first headmaster: Sarah Spaulding, the founding principal of Columbus Classical Academy in Ohio and a veteran of Hillsdale’s charter school network. Spaulding will begin her tenure in July 2025 and spend a full year preparing the school for launch.
Thomas More Classical plans to offer a reasonably affordable tuition with additional financial aid available through scholarships. We’re also preparing to capitalize on emerging state and federal incentives that could significantly enhance the effect of private support for student scholarships. Applications for enrollment and employment are expected to open in Fall 2025.
Over the next 12 months, we will finalize our facility lease, recruit teachers and students, and continue fundraising before opening day. But launching a school like this isn’t just about all those nuts and bolts, important as they are. The entire team behind Thomas More Classical believes we are tapping into something timeless – and urgently needed. Education should not be a bureaucratic service or an economic utility. At its best, it’s the acquisition of knowledge and the cultivation of virtue in pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Here in Alaska, this kind of education shouldn’t be a luxury, and families shouldn’t have to move out of state to find it. So, we’re going to build it.
To learn more, donate, or get involved, visit www.moreclassical.org.
21 Comments
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Agree, Please take your kids, out of these Woke Sick Disgusting schools.
dunleavys an EDUACATOR! What a joke!
Clearly you’re a product of the failed institution of education.
This will be a tremendous asset to Alaska’s youth. Wonderful that a classical education will now be in the reach of many Alaskan children. They will truly benefit.
This is phenomenal. We are in Fairbanks and our children go to a private Christian school ~ however it’s only K-8 so we have to go homeschool next year or move somewhere else!
So if Alaska started doing ESAs or some other voucher program, would this school take them?
This is the best news I’ve read since moving to Ak 34 years ago. Upon my passing Hillsdale will inherit my estate. A decision made years ago.
“We’re also preparing to capitalize on emerging state and federal incentives that could significantly enhance the effect of private support for student scholarships.”
Does this mean “we won’t take state or federal dollars at the outset, but will as soon as we/parents can”? “Affordable” is highly nuanced term…
Prayerfully, Fairbanks will follow suit! Thank you for what you are doing. Been talking to people about this very thing for at least three years!
This is awesome! I have looked into these schools and was so jealous that there wasn’t one in Ak. Now there’s hope.
Outstanding!!!!
Hillsdale College is (to me) the last beacon of light for education.
The true purpose of education is to motivate and inspire – a classical education does just this with a panoply of subjects that teach our children HOW to learn. I’m so happy for the kids who will be attending.
John,
Your recent article for the new school in The Alaska Watchman is misleading and reflects a troubling lack of awareness regarding the well-established educational landscape of our community-particularly the excellence of Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage.
If your intention is to present your institution with intellectual and moral integrity, it is essential that you acknowledge the presence and achievements of Holy Rosary as a longstanding, faith-based, independent PreK-12 school. Holy Rosary Academy founded in 1987 by parents and educators has been consistently supported by families , business leaders, civic leaders, and devout Christians in and outside of Anchorage who sought a better alternative to public schools long before your inception.
HRA’s track record speaks for itself. It offers a rigorous classical education rooted in the Catholic tradition, is accredited by the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools, and is a full member of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education. The Cardinal Newman Society has honored HRA as a Catholic Education Honor Roll school. It was ranked the top private high school in Alaska by Niche and is one of the few Alaskan institutions listed in the Heritage Foundation’s database of classical schools.
For nearly four decades, Holy Rosary Academy has remained steadfast in its mission offering an education grounded in faith, reason, and the pursuit of virtue, in fidelity to the Holy Catholic Church and her Magisterium. In contrast, your new school pledges fidelity to Hillsdale.
Every school should aim for excellence, but true excellence begins with honesty. If you wish to contribute meaningfully to education in Alaska, start by respecting the legacy and accomplishments of those who have been doing this work for generations.
Well, if I wanted to attract families, I don’t think I’d mention my competition right out of the gate…I don’t think it’s dishonest not to mention the other classical school in the neighborhood, esp since Thomas More will not be Catholic and will certainly offer a curriculum different from HRA’s. As a parent with school age kids, I appreciate the freedom to choose, year to year, what works best for my kids, and I’m glad to know there’s another option offering a solid education for those who are seeking to raise good citizens on earth and future Saints in heaven.
Oh, stop. This long comment is over-the-top. While speaking of Christian and private education, it isn’t necessary to heap praise on any other institution. If your school is doing well, then that is great. But not all private, Christian schools are Catholic. The thrust of the article was to give details about what the Thomas More/Hillsdale affiliated school will teach and to broadcast an alternative to the loathsome, perpetually failing public school system.
I had my kids at HRA for 2 years: 2020-2023. In that time the learning losses in math were so severe that my son, whose final year at HRA was 4th grade, who received an “A” in math, had to move backward a full grade level to make up for all the math he DID NOT LEARN at HRA. I was one of the “two families” involved in the founding of the Hillsdale School, and as a founding board member, I can tell you that Hillsdale’s chosen Singapore Math curriculum is the best I’ve ever seen. I spent two years re-educating my young man in a homeschool pod, which was the progenitor for this effort, and now my son is capable of doing Algebra and all the basics he DID NOT LEARN from 2nd-4th grade at HRA. Sadly, HRA has a severe pride problem and its old-time Alaska families, descendants of the original founders can’t walk the talk. Lots of good things come out of HRA, but mathematicians are certainly NOT among them. I helped found the Thomas More effort, and stepped away so I could focus more on my own job and family, but I 100% support their effort. The results (in my sons case) speak for themselves. Hillsdale’s recommended math curriculum, Singapore Math, saved my son’s mathematical future. Thank you to all the families now pouring themselves into building this future school. HRA needs a reality check, and Thomas More is going to give it to them. And I’ll put this out there: if HRA’s board would have some circumspection about the real performance of their elementary school, they’d probably achieve greatness. Unfortunately, they don’t have that yet. A little competition will do them a lot of good.
Palmer Alaska would be great place for Christian school
Glad to see this. Anchorage needs other options.