The Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) is an organization founded in 1994 to encourage the formation of

Christian schools A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...

using a model of

classical education Classical education may refer to: *''Modern'', educational practices and educational movements: **An education in the Classics, especially in Ancient Greek and Latin **Classical education movement, based on the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) an ...

. The association's website lists over 300 member schools with more than 40,000 students. The

classical Christian education Classical Christian education is an approach to learning rooted in the long story of Christian engagement with the classical tradition as exemplified first by figures such as the Cappadocian Fathers, Augustine and Jerome as well as the fullness of C ...

movement was launched by the publication in 1991 of a book entitled
Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning
' by Doug Wilson. Wilson was also the founder of one of the first classical Christian schools in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

Logos School
Wilson himself had drawn inspiration from an earlier article published by

Dorothy Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

entitled
The Lost Tools of Learning
(1948). Sayers was a colleague of

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

and

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

. In this article she derided modern education methods and called for a return to the ancient classical

trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the ...

. The classical Christian education movement has also been influenced by ''Norms and Nobility'' by David V. Hicks as well as th
CiRCE Institute
founded by Andrew Kern, which exists to promote classical Christian education. In 2016, Kevin Clark and Ravi Jain authored ''The Liberal Arts Tradition'', published by Classical Academic Press which was later revised in 2019, with a foreword by Dr. Peter Kreeft. This work was widely endorsed as an essential explanation of the philosophy of classical Christian education by over 14 leaders within the movement, including Dr. John Frame, Andrew Kern
Dr. Phillip J. Donnelly
(Baylor Honors College), and David Goodwin, President of the ACCS. The ACCS conduct
Repairing the Ruins
an annual conference in June that draws between 1000 and 1300 classical educators annually. The conference took its name from an essay "

Of Education The tractate ''Of Education'' was published in 1644, first appearing anonymously as a single eight-page quarto sheet (Ainsworth 6). Presented as a letter written in response to a request from the Puritan educational reformer Samuel Hartlib, it r ...

" by John Milton. The public information service of the ACCS i
The Classical Difference.
This service operates online and in print. The Classical Difference magazine has a circulation of more than 16,000 parents and educators quarterly.

References

External links

Official website
{{Association of Classical and Christian Schools Christian educational organizations Christian schools in the United States Classical Christian schools Organizations established in 1994 Private and independent school organizations United States schools associations