Charting the rise of classical ed in US, North Carolina

A new Classical Schools Database shows the proliferation of classical schools throughout the U.S., including in North Carolina. The database includes profiles for nearly 900 classical private and charter schools, 43 of which are located in North Carolina.

The database, released earlier this month, shows renewed attention to and interest in classical education across the country and is meant to “inform parents, teachers, school leaders, lawmakers, and citizens interested in the revival of classical liberal arts education.”

Most classical schools educate students using a method of instruction called the Trivium, which consists of the grammar, logic, and rhetoric elements of learning. Using the Trivium, students progress from learning the basic facts and rules of a subject to learning how to process the facts to obtain a deeper understanding about how a subject works and finally to combining facts and logic to communicate and persuade.

For example, in one small network of charter schools in North Carolina, students study historical eras in four-year cycles. They progress from studying the basic events, dates, people, and places of the era (grammar stage) to discussing the causes and effects of those events (logic stage) and finally to having deep discussions about what they have learned, focusing on persuasive techniques including establishing credibility on the topic, reasoning logically, and appealing to emotion (rhetoric stage).

Classical schools are often concerned not only with academic achievements, but also with character formation and preparing students to be lifelong learners. Many include instruction in the “great books,” including the works of Homer, Shakespeare, and Plato, and focus on the “transcendentals” (i.e., truth, beauty, and goodness).

Classical education isn’t a new phenomenon. It’s a way of imparting knowledge that’s existed for thousands of years. Recently, however, the U.S. has seen a resurgence in classical education, inspired at least in part by parents’ negative experiences with online schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A study by Arcadia Education estimated that for the 2023–24 school year, more than 677,500 students attended 1,551 classical schools across the country. The schools ranged in type from homeschool groups and microschools to charter schools and full-fledged private schools. More than 250 classical schools were started from 2019 to 2023 alone, and those that were already operating saw increased enrollment.

The Classical Schools Database currently documents 894 classical schools across the country. Of these, 137 are charter schools, and 757 are private schools. The state with the most classical schools is Texas with 141, followed by Florida (53) and North Carolina (43).

For each school, the database includes general information about the school as well as curriculum details, including whether the school provides instruction in classical languages, teaches the great books, or uses the Socratic method, among other things.

Making this information easily accessible will help parents who are seeking classical schools for their children. Increasing numbers of them may be seeking just such an option. According to a January 2025 Carolina Journal poll, 55 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the quality of the education K–12 students receive in their local schools. It’s not hard to imagine why. According to the poll, nearly 35 percent of respondents said that the main purpose of education is to master core academic subjects, yet across the state, student test scores in reading and math leave much to be desired. With many students underprepared for academic, personal, and professional success, more and more parents may be seeking the content- and character-rich education that classical schools offer.

View the Classical Schools Database here.

The post Charting the rise of classical ed in US, North Carolina first appeared on John Locke Foundation.