For many years, the culture of our nation has been obsessed with the “wave of the future,” much to the detriment of school children and families. Classical education is better described as “a wave of the past” and it is exactly what Idaho needs. Rather than emphasizing college and career preparation or other vocational aims, classical education champions the character and intellectual capacity of its students. Classical educators see their students for who they truly are: the next generation of citizens, spouses, parents, friends, and neighbors. In the tradition of Aristotle and the ancient Greeks, we acknowledge that the decisions students make determine the sort of human beings they will become. Consequently, we spread the gospel of good habit formation and moral virtue to twenty first century students and families. There is no other model of education available outside the home that is so thoroughly concerned with the sort of people children are going to become, as opposed to the kind of jobs they will be capable of fulfilling.

While public school enrollment declines, demand for classical education continues to increase. Many families have begun to recognize that the prevailing progressive model of education offers little of value to their children due to its extreme emphasis on college and career preparation and the extent to which it has become intertwined with social causes and politics at the expense of actual education. When K-12 schools graduate students who cannot read, write, or engage in mathematical problem solving at a high level, but who fully understand the partisan controversies of the day, something is terribly wrong. Classical educators remember that knowing and being able to articulate a wide body of information is of great importance and that political and religious controversies are best navigated by families, not schools. We haven’t forgotten that parents are a higher authority than educators, so we seek to honor mothers, fathers, and grandparents through our work.

Idaho Novus Classical Academy is only two years old, but parent interest in our model is already extremely high. Schools like ours offer a true partnership with families, rooted in an understanding that parents are the first and primary teacher of the child. We offer a rigorous, teacher-led academic program rooted in the Western and American traditions with a balanced curriculum that rejects specialization. Novus is an American classical academy, which means we provide all the hallmarks of a classical education, paired with a rugged commitment to forming future citizens who uphold the ideals of our country’s founding and promote the continuation of our American experiment with liberty and self-government. This form of education demands more from families, students, and educators than what is available in any other public school environment, but those who have committed themselves to it already see the fruits of their labor, which has galvanized support for our school.

Unlike many schools today, we administer a comprehensive annual parent satisfaction survey that takes approximately 30-minutes to complete. Our response rate is tremendous, encompassing the vast majority of our parent community. Consider the following information and contrast it with what you understand about the state of American public education at large. On our 2024-2025 survey, 95.88% of families expressed satisfaction with the education their children are receiving at Idaho Novus Classical Academy and 2.94% offered a neutral response. During the 2025-2026 survey administration, 97.45% expressed satisfaction and 1.28% offered a neutral response. I wholeheartedly believe that these extraordinary figures reflect a high degree of trust and the reality that parents are looking for an unapologetic commitment to the basics. In an educational landscape full of buzzwords, acronyms, and reckless innovation, we provide an educational option where nothing supersedes the “Three Rs” and our unwavering commitment to character development.

The best news I can offer to Idaho parents is that American classical education may be coming to your community. Idaho Novus Classical Academy is part of a federation of schools united under the banner of American Classical Schools of Idaho. Next fall, there will be schools in Fruitland, Eagle, Kuna, and Bonners Ferry. In 2027, a school will open in Heyburn, and there are founding groups active in Boise, Priest River, Blaine County, Rexburg, and other locations. Moreover, there is a team beginning to explore how an American classical education could be offered to families in homeschool environments where brick-and-mortar charter schools are not yet available. It won’t be long before American classical education is so widespread in Idaho that any family who wants their children to be classically educated can access it at no cost.

Dr. Vincent Kane is the Founding Head of School at Idaho Novus Classical Academy in the Avimor Community of Eagle, Idaho.