Friday Feature: Merit Academy

Colleen HroncichOne reason educational freedom is so important is that it allows a variety of learning options to sprout and flourish. In recent years, classical education hasexperienced a resurgence.Last year, a group of parents in rural Colorado wanted to open a classical charter school in their community because they weren ’t satisfied with the local district’s curriculum. The district rejected the charter application.Fortunately for the families involved, they discovered an alternative way to create their school. In Colorado, there are Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) that provide various services to local school districts. BOCES (pronounced BO ‐​sees) are also empowered to start their own schools.Education reEnvisioned BOCES (ERBOCES) operates statewide and its mission is “to expand availability and access to quality, innovative public education programs Colorado families and students seek.” When the local district rejected the classical charter school application, ERBOCES was there to help. AndMerit Academy, which opened this year in Woodland Park, CO, is the result.John Dill is one of the founders of Merit Academy. A 20 ‐​year Army vet, he and his wife were homeschooling their twins until this year because they didn’t like the Summit Learning program used by their district. He’s amazed how quickly they were able to get the new school up and running. Due to a legal challenge against ERBOCES, their approva...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs