General Information

General Goals

We believe that if we fulfill our larger mission, we can also fulfill our secondary goals of providing the accepted educational requirements that will allow our children to pursue college and university degrees. We will recognize the standards that these institutions will generally require.

One of the main problems with modern education is that the parent has been almost totally left out of the process. Chesterton Academy will insist on parental involvement in their children's education. A well-coordinated network of volunteers is necessary to the success of the school. We believe this is not only the right philosophical approach, but the most practical approach as well, to monitor and maintain our standards, and to keep the costs manageable. We wish to combine the strengths of home schooling with the advantages of an institution. This requires keeping a balance and a clear vision.

General Characteristics

  • Well-defined Integrated Core Curriculum with Classical Emphasis
  • Catholic-centered - All subjects will be taught through a Catholic lens
  • Emphasis on General Knowledge - not  Specialization
  • Mixture of Socratic Method and Lecture format
  • Basic college preparation
  • Training culture warriors - Defending the Faith and the Family and actively engaging the Culture of Death
  • Regular and committed involvement in Pro-Life activities and strong ties to established Pro-Life organizations

Distinctive Characteristics

  • Daily Mass
  • Rigorous academics
  • Clearly-defined discipline policy and conduct code
  • Uniforms .

Start up plan and other considerations

  • The American Chesterton Society will act as an umbrella organization to get fund-raising started and will provide an official point-of-contact at the outset. But the plan will be to create The Chesterton Academy as a separate entity, a non-profit and tax-exempt school with its own separate Board of Directors.
  • We are building off a core group of families who presently have students at Holy Family Academy in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. These families already share a vision. They want to continue the excellent Catholic education that their children are presently receiving.
  • Chesterton Academy will be created as a private, independent high school. There will be no public or arch-diocesan funding either solicited or expected.
  • Opening. Fall 2008. Ninth and Tenth grade only. Add 11th grade in 2009. 12th Grade in 2010.
  • Initial location in a rented, temporary facility in the Twin Cities West  Metro area.
  • We have hired a head master, and he will be introduced at the information meeting on November 15, 2007. He will begin implementing the vision of the school's founders. In addition to hiring faculty and coordinating a volunteer network, the headmaster will be in charge of all administration and admissions.
  • There will be no facilities available for sports and there are no gym classes planned in the curriculum. All sports will be an extra-curricular activity, organized by the parents or other interested parties. In the initial stages of the school, students who are interested in team sports will have to participate through nearby schools.
  • There will be extensive after-school activities for a variety of special interests, all coordinated by volunteers.
  • Tuition goal: about $5500/ year. We estimate that the actual cost to educate each student will be about $10,000 a year. Each family will also expected to help with fund-raising to cover the balance of the costs in the budget.