Inspire and Elevate: Prioritizing the Arts in Classical Christian Education
“Goodness and truth are often taken seriously, while beauty is seen as a mere pastime, hobby, or even an obstacle to efficient, important work. Beauty cares very little whether the trains run on time.” -Russ Ramsey, author of Rembrandt in the Wind
Is Russ Ramsey correct? Do we treat beauty as a mere play thing? How do we take it seriously? How do we meaningfully incorporate the arts into our schools, guiding our students to love the right things? How do we steward beauty, leisure, and time to shift our paradigms away from the performance-driven, practical priorities of our day and inspire our teachers and students? How can we immerse our school communities in beauty – tangibly giving them a sense of what truly matters – a taste of the good life?
Best practice teaching and leadership strategies
In-depth, discussion-based learning in small workgroup settings
Practical applications of learning among like-minded peers
A relaxed retreat environment at The Covenant School of Dallas
Meet Our Incredible Speakers
A native Oregonian, Joseph Clair followed his educational pursuits all over the world and earned degrees in both England and the United States. He became a professor of Theology and Philosophy and is now dean at George Fox University after receiving his doctorate in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Princeton University in 2013. He earned his bachelor's degree at Wheaton College (IL), a master’s in theological studies from Duke, a master’s in philosophy at Fordham, and a master's in philosophy of religion from Cambridge, where he studied as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. He is the author of Discerning the Good in the Letters and Sermons of Augustine (Oxford University Press, 2016) and On Education, Formation, Citizenship, and the Lost Purpose of Learning (Bloomsbury, 2017), along with numerous articles and essays on faith, culture, and ethics. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his wife, Nora, play with his four kids, fly fish in Oregon's many rivers, and work on his hobby farm.
Neil Anderson is the founding Head of School at Trinity Classical School (Houston) and a board member of Society for Classical Learning. After a few years of church planting and teaching at classical schools, Neil has been heading TCS for the last 15 years. He studied literature and theology at Wheaton College and then did his graduate work in the Liberal Arts at Houston Christian University. Classical Christian education is a family affair. Neil’s wife, Marian, is an administrator at Harbor Christian Academy (an urban classical school in Houston), and his four children are beginning to graduate from TCS (three so far) after being educated there in PreK-12. He loves poetry, 20th-century art and literature, music, cooking, hiking, running, birding, and donuts.
Chris Hall has a BA in philosophy from Gettysburg College and an MAT in elementary education from Towson University. He has been a classroom educator and administrator for 30 years, serving in public, independent, and classical schools. Although primarily a teacher of science and mathematics, Chris has also served as a teacher of music, literature, combatives, philosophy, and the common arts. He is an award-winning educator, a frequent speaker at Christian Classical conferences, and a national-level Alcuin Fellow. Along with his professional pedigree, he is a lifelong practitioner of several common arts and author of Common Arts Education: Renewing the Classical Tradition of Training the Hands, Head, and Heart (Classical Academic Press). He is the Founder of Always Learning Education, an organization dedicated to helping individuals, homeschool families, and schools cultivate an integrated liberal, common, and fine arts pedagogy. He lives on a small homestead in central Virginia with his wife and three homeschooled sons.
Kevin Clark, DLS, is the founder and President of The Ecclesial Schools Initiative, Inc. He believes his vocation as a Christian educator is to be in service of the Church and the family as they seek to train children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
Kevin’s experience in classical Christian education spans more than 20 years, including 15 years of teaching in the classroom and more than 10 years of academic leadership. He serves as a teaching fellow for Gordon College’s MA program in Classical School Leadership and as a board member of Society for Classical Learning, where he is part of a team that is piloting school accreditation and developing resources for SCL’s thriving schools initiative, and as a founding member of the Alcuin Fellowship, which regularly hosts retreats in conjunction with SCL’s Arete Fellowship.
Kevin earned a doctorate from Georgetown University, where he wrote his thesis on the interdisciplinary practice of liberal arts education in light of hermeneutic philosophy. He is co-author of the book The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Philosophy of Christian Classical Education (Classical Academic Press), now in its third edition, which is read widely by classical Christian school leaders and teachers. Kevin and his wife, Taryn, have four children—Aubrey, Caedmon, Naomi, and Eleanor.
Adrienne is the founder and director of Beautiful Teaching, LLC, which produces the Classical Education Podcast. Her expertise is in collaborating and guiding new and established schools in classical curriculum and professional development. She worked with Dr. Matthew Post as the lead developer of the K-12 Curriculum and Professional Development Project at the University of Dallas and served as the Director of Classical Methods for Responsive Education Solutions. In both roles, Adrienne has collaborated with districts, boards, school leaders, and thousands of teachers, helping nearly 30 schools transition to a classical model. She has led teams in creating classical professional development, has taught parent education workshops, and has written customized educational materials that promote a strong virtue-based humanities curriculum for K-12 schools.
Join the top voices and minds in classical Christian Education
Join us at the 2024 SCL Fall Retreat at Covenant School in Dallas, Texas. This year’s retreat will offer two tracks: the Leaders Track (Arete) and a new Teachers Track. Our focus is on equipping educators with practical tools and mentorship around a unique annual theme, applying God’s wisdom and discernment for leaders and teachers of classical Christian schools.
Last year’s event sold out, so we highly recommend purchasing tickets early. Space will be limited.
Leader Track Overview (Arete)
A rich tradition for more than a decade, the Fall Retreat gathers the best minds in classical Christian education for practical leadership discussion. We invite all school leaders — heads of school, admissions and marketing directors, division heads, academic deans, department chairs, etc — to join us at the Covenant School of Dallas this year as we learn how to make beauty more than a mere play thing. We will wrestle wisely together through thorny issues to discern all God has for us as leaders of our classical Christian schools.
Leader Track Session Topics
A Vision for Beauty - Joseph Clair (Joint Session)
Featured Speaker: Joseph Clair
Beauty has become the step-child of the classical Christian education movement – the neglected transcendental in the trio of the true, good, and beautiful. We like capital-T Truth and cultivating good character, but how does beauty fit into it all when we have so little time, and our budgets always feel so tight? Saint Augustine teaches that human beings love most deeply what they find beautiful and are, in turn, formed deeply by those loves. Love for beauty can even save students from the dullness of mere knowledge and enliven them for action in the real world. But what is genuinely beautiful? And how do we cultivate a love for it in our culture of post-modern vanity, superficiality, elitism, and the endless hunt for efficiency and achievement? This session maps the philosophical terrain and explores practical ways to create a thoroughly classical and cruciform vision of the beautiful within your school that will enliven learning, deepen formation, provide a sense of place, and create a healthy culture in your community.
The Beauty of Christ: The Fuel for the Fine Arts - Neil Anderson
Featured Speaker: Neil Anderson
The best way for a school to emphasize and integrate beauty is to become fascinated with the beauty of Christ. A school culture that emphasizes transcendent beauty is not simply one with robust art courses or one that has classical art on its walls. It is a school that wants to participate in the seen and unseen things–a school that has fostered poetic knowledge. Authentic artistic expression comes from the inspiration to show what can’t be said, to transmit experiences that can’t be explained, and to keep moving past the place where language ends. There is no greater inspiration to operate this way than to be deeply moved through fellowship with Jesus. The experienced beauty of union with Christ will always instigate artistic participation and practice.
Common Arts from 10,000 Feet: What They Are, How They Fit Into The Great Tradition, and Why They Are Vital To Our Project At The Current Moment - Chris Hall
Featured Speaker: Chris Hall
The common arts are the arts by which we meet our basic, embodied needs in the world. Sometimes highly valued and sometimes relegated to the category of ‘vulgar’ arts, they have seen their highs and lows in the eyes of the authors in the Great Tradition. And yet, not only do the common arts provide students with nearly unlimited vectors for the practice of the liberal arts, but they also offer clear visions of beauty as well as goodness and truth here in the physical world. They offer ‘such a tincture of natural knowledge,’ as Milton put it, that they re-root our students to the givenness of Creation and, in the process, provide tools not simply to meet basic needs but to manage and mitigate some of the wildest disorders of our moment. Come find out how common arts, integrated with liberal and fine arts, round out a robust classical education.
Far Worse than Weeds: Awakening Wonder & Cultivating Loves - Kevin Clark
Featured Speaker: Kevin Clark
No one is ever bored in the presence of something truly beautiful.
This statement is not true; I have experienced the contrary. I have seen students bored while looking at a Rembrandt self-portrait, bored while listening to a performance of a Bach cello suite, bored while reading a Shakespeare play. Unfortunately, my experience extends beyond the Beautiful to include witnessing boredom in the presence of the True and the Good as well.
Though untrue, the claim above is not entirely misguided. It gets at the profound truth that the Beautiful, and with it the True and the Good, are not and never can be boring. They are, in fact, the inexhaustible sources of wonder themselves. What the claim fails to account for, however, is that our capacity for experiencing the wonder of these wonderful sources must be cultivated. This means boredom in the presence of beauty presents an educational opportunity—one that I believe Classical Christian Schools are uniquely equipped to meet, but that will take some reflecting on our practices and reimagining our pedagogy to realize.
In this session, we will reflect on the opportunity we have in our schools to awaken the wonder of our students and cultivate their love of what is True and Good, but especially what is Beautiful. Several clusters of questions will direct our reflection:
- What do we place before our students and how do we lead their souls as teachers?
- What do we believe about children, how they are formed, and to what end?
- What do we do as teachers and school leaders that gets in the way of awakening wonder and shaping loves?
The goal of the session is practical; the reflection and questioning will lead to the articulation of a handful of principles that must be worked out in the practice of teaching and learning and the context of the relationship between teachers and students. It will lead as well to the identification of features of modern education that are present in Classical Christian Schools that must go if we are to get at the heart of true education, ordering and shaping loves.
Integrating the Arts: What It Looks Like and How To Make It Work For Your School (Panel)
Featuring:
- Facilitator – Angie Copetillo, Chief Operations Officer, SCL
- Michael Attaway, Fine Arts Director, Covenant School of Dallas
- Brent Stevens, Grace Academy Head of School, Georgetown, TX
- Chris Hall, classical school leader and author of The Common Arts
- Thomas Fickley, Headmaster and Founder of St. Dunstan’s Academy
- Nathan Carr, Headmaster of The Academy of Classical Christian Studies
As administrators, we are always looking to make the most of what we have. Schools have limits, not just in terms of time but also of capital, material, and manpower. If we are committed to integrating the common arts and the fine arts into our program, how do we do so in ways that maximize what we have? In this session, we’ll address those questions with proven strategies and tactics. Be prepared to leave not only with plans in hand but also with the best questions to help you cultivate, assess, and further your programmatic goals in common and fine arts integration.
Why Attend?
- Coming for the first time? This is where you begin to develop deep relationships. Connect with others to celebrate your victories and carry you through the challenging seasons of classical Christian school leadership.
- Leave with plans in hand along with the best questions to ask to cultivate, assess, and further your programmatic goals in fine arts, liberal arts, and common arts integration.
- Live jazz, fire pit conversations, workgroups, inspirational and practical teaching – leave challenged, energized, and with deepened connections.
Teacher Track Overview
(New!)
For the first time, we’re introducing a dedicated Teacher Track at the Fall Retreat to provide practical tools for new and experienced classical educators. This track will feature insightful sessions and collaborative work groups using the Critical Friends model, focusing on real classroom challenges. By addressing real-world issues, teachers will gain relevant tools for immediate application in the classroom. Different from Alcuin in the past, this new Teacher Track is open to all teachers at every grade level.
Teacher Track Session Topics
Möbius Arts: The Interplay Between Liberal, Common, and Fine Arts - Chris Hall
Featured Speaker: Chris Hall
The liberal arts are, beyond dispute, the core of a classical education. And yet, we live in the world in an embodied way: we need to eat, find shelter, navigate, heal, trade, defend, and build. How do the two sets of arts relate, and how can we integrate instruction in these arts seamlessly into our classical model in mutually beneficial ways? Furthermore, how do the fine arts fit into that resonance?
In this session, we will explore how the liberal, common, and fine arts integrate, extend, and refine one another. When brought together seamlessly but in full knowledge of their individual identities and purviews, they contribute to a robust classical education that offers, in John Milton’s words, “such a tincture of natural knowledge that they shall never forget, but daily augment with delight.”
Timbers, Tools, Nuts, and Bolts: How To Implement Common Arts Integration - Chris Hall
Featured Speaker: Chris Hall
Taking the common arts to practice can be a daunting task, but there are time-honored strategies and tactics for doing so, ones that won’t stretch your time or classroom budget too far! In this session, we will consider some frameworks for planning and integration. Be prepared to leave with some concrete ideas that you could put into practice as soon as you return to school, as well as some frameworks that will help you avoid needless challenges and circumvent points of friction as you plan for the future.
The Art of Incarnating Beauty - Adrienne Freas
Featured Speaker: Adrienne Freas
John Wolfgang von Goethe says it best, “A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
A classical education leads us to do what is GOOD, love what is BEAUTIFUL, and know what is TRUE. The transcendentals function in a trinitarian way each with distinct roles. Each will be explored but with an emphasis on helping students apprehend the beautiful. We will explore a few practical examples from the tradition as ways you can help students recognize, behold, and incarnate beauty.
Shaping the Affections Towards Beauty - Adrienne Freas
Whether you are a Lower or Upper School teacher looking to enrich the study of a specific subject through the arts, this session will both inspire and equip you.
A Vision for Beauty - Joseph Clair (Joint Session)
Featured Speaker: Joseph Clair
Beauty has become the step-child of the classical Christian education movement – the neglected transcendental in the trio of the true, good, and beautiful. We like capital-T Truth and cultivating good character, but how does beauty fit into it all when we have so little time, and our budgets always feel so tight? Saint Augustine teaches that human beings love most deeply what they find beautiful and are, in turn, formed deeply by those loves. Love for beauty can even save students from the dullness of mere knowledge and enliven them for action in the real world. But what is genuinely beautiful? And how do we cultivate a love for it in our culture of post-modern vanity, superficiality, elitism, and the endless hunt for efficiency and achievement? This session maps the philosophical terrain and explores practical ways to create a thoroughly classical and cruciform vision of the beautiful within your school that will enliven learning, deepen formation, provide a sense of place, and create a healthy culture in your community.
Why Attend the Teacher Track?
- Take away practical plans for weaving beauty seamlessly and intentionally into your classroom and day
- Collaborate with seasoned educators to learn to foster the loves of your students
- Learn hands-on methods to inspire love for beauty and virtue in your classroom
Schedule at a Glance
5:00 PM - 6:15 PM
Reception (heavy hors d'oeuvres & live jazz) & Registration
6:15 PM - 6:30 PM
Welcome & Introduction
6:30 PM - 7:10 PM
Session 1 with Joseph Clair (Joint Session)
7:10 PM
Dinner on Your Own
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Registration & Coffee
9:30 AM - 9:50 AM
Welcome/Devotional/Worship (Joint Session)
10:00 AM - 10:10 AM
Introduction
10:10 AM - 10:50 AM
Session 2 with Neil Anderson (Leader Track)
Session 2 with Chris Hall (Teacher Track)
Session 2 with Chris Hall (Teacher Track)
10:50 AM - 11:15 AM
Table Discussion
11:25 AM - 12:05 PM
Session 3 with Chris Hall (Leader Track)
Session 3 with Adrienne Freas (Teacher Track)
Session 3 with Adrienne Freas (Teacher Track)
12:05 PM - 12:30 PM
Table Discussion
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch (provided)
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Leaders Work Groups 1 & 2
Lower School Teacher Work Groups 1 & 2
Upper School Teacher Work Groups 1 & 2
Lower School Teacher Work Groups 1 & 2
Upper School Teacher Work Groups 1 & 2
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Coffee & Fellowship
9:30 AM - 9:50 AM
Welcome/Devotional/Worship (Joint Session)
10:00 AM - 10:10 AM
Introduction
10:10 AM - 10:50 AM
Session 4 with Kevin Clark (Leader Track)
Session 4 with Chris Hall (Teacher Track)
Session 4 with Chris Hall (Teacher Track)
10:50 AM - 11:15 AM
Table Discussion
11:25 AM - 12:05 PM
Session 5 - Panel (Leader Track)
Session 5 with Adrienne Freas (Teacher Track)
Session 5 with Adrienne Freas (Teacher Track)
12:05 PM - 12:30 PM
Table Discussion
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch (provided) & Covenant School Art Walk
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Leader Work Groups 3 & 4
Lower School Teacher Work Groups 3 & 4
Upper School Teacher Work Groups 3 & 4
Lower School Teacher Work Groups 3 & 4
Upper School Teacher Work Groups 3 & 4
Experience SCL’s Fall Retreat 2024
Whether you’re leading a school or inspiring a classroom, the SCL Fall Retreat will equip you with the tools, wisdom, and support to flourish in your school and classroom. Hurry to secure your spot before the event is sold out.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is Alcuin part of the Fall Retreat? Alcuin is not directly part of the Fall Retreat, although all Alcuin teachers are invited. The new Teachers Track is open to and practical for teachers of all grades, featuring sessions tied to the theme, practical working group discussions built around actual issues you bring from your schools and classrooms, and topics designed around the classroom.
When and where is the SCL Fall Retreat 2024?
The Covenant School of Dallas, one of our Thriving School Partners, is the gracious host of this year’s event.
October 24-26, 2024
Covenant School of Dallas
7300 Valley View Lane, Dallas, TX 75240
What is the nearest airport to the venue?
The nearest airport is Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), which is a 15-20 minute drive to both the venue and the recommended hotel.
What are the registration fees?
Early Bird (until October 3, 2024):
Member: $389
Non-Member: $429
Regular Registration:
Member: $425
Non-Member: $470
What is the registration deadline?
The Early Bird registration cutoff date is Thursday, October 3, 2024.
How do I register for the event?
You can register via this link: SCL Fall Retreat Registration.
Where should I stay for the event?
We recommend staying at The Westin Dallas Park Central, just a 5-minute drive from the event venue. Address: 12720 Merit Dr, Dallas, TX 75251
How do I book my hotel room?
You can book your stay at the Westin using this link: SCL Group Rate Booking Click Here. The group rate booking cutoff date is October 6, 2024.
What time does the event start and end each day?
Thursday, October 24: Registration opens at 5:00 PM, and the evening ends by 7:45 PM.
Friday, October 25: The first session begins at 9:30 AM, and the day wraps up with work groups around 4:00 PM.
Saturday, October 26: The day begins at 9:00 AM and concludes by 3:30 PM.
What are the key sessions for each track?
For the Leader Track, expect sessions on topics like “A Vision for Beauty” and “The Beauty of Christ in the Fine Arts.” For the Teacher Track, sessions include “Möbius Arts” and “Implementing Common Arts.” Read above for the details on each session.
Will there be time to connect with other attendees?
Yes! Work groups and table discussions provide ample opportunity for collaboration. You’ll also have time during receptions and optional dinner groups on Friday night to connect with fellow educators.
How do I get to the venue from the airport?
The venue is about 15-20 minutes from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. You can take a taxi, ride-share service (Uber/Lyft), or rent a car to reach the Covenant School of Dallas.
Is there parking available at the venue?
Yes, there is on-site parking at the Covenant School of Dallas, and the Westin Dallas Park Central offers parking for $10 per night.
Are meals provided during the event?
Yes, heavy hors d’oeuvres will also be served during the reception on Thursday, October 24. Lunches will be provided on both Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26. Dinner on Thursday and Friday will be on your own, but Friday night offers optional dinner groups for food and fellowship.
What if I have dietary restrictions?
If you have specific dietary needs, please reach out to the event organizers in advance.
What is the recommended attire for the event?
Business casual attire is recommended. Comfortable shoes are also a good idea, as the venue may require some walking between sessions.
What should I bring to the event?
Bring a notebook, pen, and any devices you may need for note-taking or session participation. Consider a reusable water bottle and anything else that helps you stay comfortable and engaged throughout the sessions.
What if I need to cancel my registration?
Contact marissa@societyforclassicalearning.org with any registration questions.
Who can I contact for more information?
Please contact SCL’s event coordinator, Sarah Spencer, with any further questions. We are happy to assist!
sarah@societyforclassicallearning.org
Registration Details
* Last year’s event sold out! Space is limited, so we recommend purchasing tickets early.
The Early Bird cut-off date is Thursday, October 3rd.
DATE
October 24 – 26, 2024
(Thursday – Saturday)
LOCATION
Dallas, Texas
Nearest airport – DFW
(15-20 min drive to our venue and the hotel)
VENUE
The Covenant School of Dallas
7300 Valley View Lane
Dallas, TX 75240
COST
EARLY BIRD PRICING *
(Through October 3rd)
- SCL Member: $389
- SCL Non-member: $429
REGULAR PRICING
- SCL Member: $405
- SCL Non-member: $449
Lodging Information
Many thanks to our Thriving School Partner, The Covenant School of Dallas, for hosting this year’s Fall Retreat.
