Now Accepting Applications!
Fall Application Cycle: Aug 31 – Dec 1
Spring Application Cycle: Jan 1 – Apr 15
Space is limited.
Applications received by the deadlines will be considered in the first round of seating. Applications will continue to be considered monthly as seating allows.
Classical Thought for Contemporary Culture
The cohort is designed to support school leaders, headmasters, department heads, board members, and heads of school by enriching their understanding of classical education and developing their seven commitments in order to build a healthy Christ-centered school.
Participants commit to a two-year study under the CiRCE head mentor meeting remotely from September to April and onsite for a two-day retreat in October and in March (both retreats will meet in Norwalk, OH). The retreats and webinars consist of literature discussions from selected readings and training directed towards the commitments, stewardships, and dimensions of a logocentric school.
By the end of the course, each participant will have developed his own 7 commitments and have written a scorecard that draws these commitments into the 4 stewardships of the school.
Do you have questions about the School Leadership Apprenticeship?
Join Molly Rychener in a Live Q&A:
- Fri, February 28 Molly Rychener, 4:30pm ET
- Tues, March 11 Molly Rychener, 4:30pm ET
- Fri, March 28 Molly Rychener, 4:30pm ET
- Tues, April 8 Molly Rychener, 4:30pm ET
- Fri, May 2 Molly Rychener, 4:30pm ET
Course Overview
| Term: | 2 years |
| Fee: | $3,500 per year |
| Retreats: | October and March (2-day retreat) |
| Webinar: | 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month, September through May, from 4:30-6:00 ET |
| Literature: | Norms and Nobility, Getting Things Done, Unless the Lord Builds the House, Aeneid, and Shakespeare’s Henry V |
| Topics: | Dimensions, Commitments, and Stewardships of a school; developing a scorecard; the 5 Rs; Elements of Classical Education; Logocentrism; Three columns; Classical curriculum; Liberal Arts; Assessment; Mimetic form; Socratic discourse |
| Head Mentor: | Molly Rychener |
"I doubt whether we are sufficiently attentive to the importance of elementary text books."
Further Information
- Participants can expect to spend 4-6 hours per week, reading and working through the commitments and scorecard for their school.
- Attendance at the two retreats and two webinars/month are mandatory as well as engaging on the class Canvas forum.
- Summer- Unless the Lord Builds the House and Getting Things Done
- Norms and Nobility, David Hicks; Aeneid, Virgil; Henry V, Shakespeare
- Participants will travel to two in-person retreats through the school year.
- Fall Retreat: October 2-4, 2025 in Norwalk, OH
- Spring Retreat: March 19-21, 2026 in Norwalk, OH
- 9am – 5pm daily
- 9am – 12pm last day
- Retreats held in Norwalk, OH
- Time spent at the retreats will allow for in-depth discussion on the school-building and culture-building of Andrew Kern as well as discussion on Christian classical education itself. This will be a time of developing a peer group to share the unique joys and burdens of running a school.
- Webinars will be held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month, September through May, from 4:30-6:00 ET.
- Reading discussions
- School leadership
- Building and leading a classical school
Your Mentor
Molly Rychener graduated from the East Coast CiRCE Apprenticeship program in 2014 and is now Head Mentor for the Midwest Apprenticeship. Molly has progressively served as room mom, part-time teacher, head teacher, and principal since 2004 at Trinity Christian Academy, a small K-8 classical school in Ohio. She currently teaches Latin (3rd-8th grades), LTW, and English (7th-8th grades), and she serves as the head of school. Molly is also on the board of directors at her local library. She has two grown daughters. Molly has a passion for classical education, quality literature, and quiet time to enjoy her family.