State approves Elko charter school tied to controversial ‘classical’ curriculum

BY: APRIL CORBIN GIRNUS, Nevada Current

The Nevada State Public Charter School on Friday approved the opening of an Elko charter school that plans to use curricula from Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian private college with an outreach program “devoted to the revitalization of public education through the launch and support of classical K-12 charter schools.”

Nevada Classical Academy Elko was given the greenlight to open in Fall 2025. Enrollment will start at 113 students in kindergarten to third grade, then expand to 357 students in grades K-8 over six years. On its public website, the charter school describes classical education as having an “emphasis on moral character, civic virtue, and servant leadership” and notes it “is the preferred choice by a growing number of homeschool communities, micro-school pods, private schools, and public charter schools.”

But critics say that in practice “classical” curriculum pushes a sanitized version of the nation’s past that whitewashes history by downplaying the significance of slavery and treating racism as something that no longer exists.

Brandolyn Thran, Nevada Classical Academy Elko’s newly hired school leader, in an interview with the Current acknowledged that Hillsdale College has a clear political reputation but said that the charter school is apolitical.

“The curriculum is phenomenal for all children and works to look at this experiment of nation-building in the most analytical and fair way possible,” she said. “The curriculum asks the question: What was happening at the time, what was the outcome, what can we learn from, and how can we do better? I think it tackles some very complicated, complex, tough conversations. The intention is to think critically and move in a positive direction from that.”

Thran, who has lived in Elko since 2016, most recently taught science in nearby Carlin at Battle Born Youth ChalleNGe Academy, a residential public school program sponsored by the Nevada National Guard for at-risk 16- to 18-year-olds who have dropped out or are at-risk of dropping out.

Nevada Classical Academy Elko was approved by the Charter School Authority Board without any discussion of the school’s curriculum. Charter schools must adhere to Nevada Academic Content Standards but have wide autonomy when it comes to choosing their curricula and approach.

Hillsdale College has become a go-to resource for Republican state leaders across the country as they seek to push back on critical race theory or what they see as “woke” ideologies.

Hillsdale’s charter school initiative already has a presence in Nevada. Founders Classical Academy Las Vegas is a member school and will be providing support to the new Elko charter school. The Las Vegas charter school’s website highlights an essay by an advisor to Hillsdale’s Barney Charter School Initiative describing classical education as “a clear break from modern, progressive education and a return to traditional aims and methods.”

“Some might call it ‘conservative,’ but we prefer the term ‘traditional,’” it also reads.

Nevada Classical will be Elko County’s second charter school. The rural county’s first charter school, Elko Institute for Academic Achievement, opened in 2009 and is a five-star rated school with around 200 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. EIAA is not associated with Hillsdale or any classical education groups.

EIAA this year expanded by moving into a newer, bigger facility, and Nevada Classical will be leasing its former facility, noting that it has already been set up for a school environment.

District input

As part of the application process, the public school district that serves students in the area where a proposed charter school wishes to open are asked to provide input on the possible impacts.

Elko County School District did not oppose or support the charter school, but noted in its statement that “according to the needs assessment criteria set forth by the SPCSA and completed by the NCEA, the applicant does meet identified needs for some of our community.”

The district included data from the 2023-24 academic year showing that only two of the 41 students who unenrolled from the district in order to attend a charter school had left one of the low-performing schools Nevada Classical says it is targeting.

The district also noted that of its three 1- or 2-star schools, two were rated 3- or 4-stars prior to the pandemic and saw a massive drop in ratings once school ratings resumed, but are now improving to pre-covid levels.

Students at 1- and 2-star schools, as well as students in populations like English language learners (ELL) that are considered historically underserved, are by law supposed to be considered as part of the approval processes for any new charter schools.

Only three of the 41 students who withdrew from the district for a charter school last academic year were classified as ELL, according to the district.

According to Nevada Classical’s application, 37 of the 117 children whose parents filled out a form stating they intend to enroll in at the charter school once it opens are currently homeschooling their children; 31 of the students are currently enrolled in public school.

Thran said she believes the classical education model’s focus on “virtuous living” — which Hillsdale describes as “courtesy, courage, honesty, perseverance, self governance and service” — is appealing to many homeschool families.

Elko County SD also acknowledged in its materials that it has contemplated adding a new elementary school or increasing capacity to a junior high school, but that “a severe lack of capital funding from the county has made this a very difficult effort to realize in the near future.”

This story was originally published by Nevada Current and has been republished under a Creative Commons license.

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