History of the Apostolate

Saint Alcuin Classical Academy was founded in 2021 by a group of devoted families who wished to create an enriching homeschool learning environment for their children at Saint Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in Flowery Branch, GA. Dr. Haynes was appointed as the Headmaster of the Apostolate by Fr. Timothy Watts. The parish Priest is the head of the program, but he delegates responsibilities and tasks to the Headmaster in order to further the mission of the Apostolate. All of the families in the first year worked together to craft the structure, policies, and management of the ministry. There were eight students for the first year of studies. 

While most families utilized their own chosen homeschool curriculum the first year, the Apostolate began moving towards a hybrid academy model the second year, where students take some of their core course requirements by the State at the academy. The Classical Liberal Arts Academy online was the chosen platform for students to engage in their classical studies and core curriculum, but Saint Alcuin offered enrichment classes in person one day a week. There were some classical studies courses blended into the enrichment day for older students over the next two years of the ministry.

In 2022 the Apostolate organized a board of Tutors (the Tutor Council) to assist the academy in terms of advising the Headmaster and Parish Pastor on governance and policy. The board consists of all Tutors in the academy, who are also predominately parents of students enrolled at Saint Alcuin. Parents who did not serve as Tutors were invited to offer feedback and requests to the Headmaster and Parish Pastor on any matter in the academy, and in 2023 a Parent-Tutor liaison was appointed to mediate requests by parents in an organized way to present them to the Tutor Council. The Liaison must be both a parent and Tutor in the academy.

For the 2024-2025 Academic Year, Saint Alcuin Classical Academy developed a two-day-a-week model, where core academic and classical studies were offered on Tuesdays and enrichment/elective studies were offered on Thursdays. Some families opted to continue using their homeschool curriculum of choice but wanted the Catholic social environment for their children with the Thursday enrichment/elective courses. Saint Alcuin also began a formal Sacred Music program during this academic year, which focused on the formation of a schola. Also during the 2024-2025 academic year, students were allowed to create their own after-school clubs, which consisted of art and chess.

Our Mission & Educational Philosophy

Saint Alcuin Classical Academy is an Apostolate of the parish of St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church. The philosophy of education and spirituality of Saint Alcuin Classical Academy is rooted in the traditions of English-speaking Catholicism—particularly as nurtured in the Patrimony of Anglican Christianity through its liturgical, spiritual, and pastoral traditions, which find new life in the Catholic Church through the formation of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter (POCSP) established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.¹

Saint Alcuin’s mission is to restore Catholic education through fostering a community of support for parents to educate their children intellectually, morally, and spiritually in the Catholic Classical Liberal Arts tradition and to share our patrimony of English-speaking Catholic education with the greater Church.

Our particular approach to education begins by reclaiming the traditional meaning of education. The Latin root words for education are educare and educere, which mean “to shape or mold” and “to lead out.” The Greek word for education is parádosis, which means to “hand on,” and generally refers to a tradition as passed on from one generation to the next. A true Catholic education is not just information transfer from one brain to another; it is a holistic reception in mind, body and soul of a 2000 year-old Tradition, which is lived out through prayer, service, teaching and worship.

At the center of the Christian Faith and our educational philosophy is the Incarnation of God in the Person of Jesus Christ: Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis, the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This is the motto of Saint Alcuin Classical Academy. God not only redeems our minds and souls, but He also redeems our bodies. Through Jesus Christ, God redeems matter. English Christianity was influenced by the Celts and Druids in their reverence for nature. Instead of worshiping nature in a Pagan way, Christianity proclaimed that through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ we can see the goodness of created physical reality and how it can serve as an icon into understanding God.

The Incarnation of God in the Person of Jesus Christ and His real presence in the Eucharist is our true study in this life; it is also the core of our Catholic worldview. This is what our Bishop, the Most Rev. Steven Lopes, calls developing a Sacramental Worldview:²

The Church’s mission of Catholic education is refined in the Ordinariate according to its vocation to preserve and promote the Patrimony of English Christianity for new generations for the enrichment of Christ’s Church. This demands an understanding of the Patrimony that is deeper than a collection of sacred history of things, words, or even actions. The rich Patrimony of English Christianity is the sacred history of the Church’s own faith and its interaction with a particular people and a particular culture. Over the course of centuries, English culture made its own the Faith once delivered to the Saints, interiorized it and expressed it in an imagery, language, and a logic all its own. All the while, the Gospel penetrated that culture, transformed it from within, and used it as a privileged canvas on which to portray love’s redeeming work. At its best, English Christianity encompassed a sacramental worldview: a view of God, Man, and the right ordering of things so that the world itself and all its wonders is understood as the burning bush of God’s revelation.

Catholic education for the Ordinariate aims to recapture this sacramental worldview, equipping and empowering young people to see beyond the ephemeral to the deeper truth of God in Christ. It is less education and more formation in the beauty of Truth, in the rhythm of prayer, in the cultivation of virtue, and in the vibrancy of a creative imagination. The particular contribution of the Ordinariate in this is to ensure that this type of Christian formation as it developed in the English context never becomes a museum piece, but rather is lived by well-formed, intentional Catholics, and so contributes to the conversation of faith for generations to come.³

Saint Alcuin Classical Academy aims to help parents instill a sacramental worldview in their children. Such a grounding will form students as disciples of Jesus Christ with the goal to know, love, and serve the Blessed Trinity in this world and receive the gift of eternal felicity in heaven (Baltimore Catechism). Put simply, we wish to help grow Saints.

Saint Alcuin Classical Academy seeks to develop a sacramental worldview in students by offering a community and curriculum that helps parents:

1. cultivate in their children a virtuous life of discipleship to the Lord Jesus Christ;

2. form their children spiritually through regular instruction in the Catholic Faith and participation in prayer and Mass according to the Ordinariate form;

3. immerse their children in the excellence of the Catholic Classical Liberal Arts tradition of education, which fosters the intellectual and moral virtues needed for serious study, for living a Christian life of discipleship, for sharing the Faith with others and for developing the vision of Christian unity underlying and integrating their education;

4. foster a deep desire in their children for living life within a community of Christian charity—a Eucharist-centered way of life; and

5. imbue in their children a love for the historic Anglican Patrimony’s choral tradition, as well as the great artistic treasures of the Church.

Our Model

The mission of our Apostolate is supported by the Four Pillars of Catholic Education in the Ordinariate, rooted in the Medieval Cathedral school model, such as developed by our Patron Saint Alcuin in the 9^th century during the Carolingian Renaissance: Sacred Art, Sacred Music, Sacred Wisdom, and Sacred Worship. At Saint Alcuin Classical Academy, students will study the seven Classical Liberal Arts, as well as take courses in Philosophy and Theology, which will help guide children into the four pillars. Also, the four pillars of education in the Ordinariate help to form a Sacramental Worldview. The Bishop of the Ordinariate in North America, the Most Rev. Steven Lopes, outlines the four pillars and sees them as essential for the educational identity and mission of the Ordinariate:⁴

1. Sacred Worship: Primacy is given to the daily celebration of the liturgical life of the Church since the first education of the soul is conducted not by programs but by the Word of God and sacramental grace. This is accomplished through the daily celebration of Holy Mass, the source and summit of the life of the Church, and in the daily offering of the Divine Office.

2. Sacred Wisdom: Academic rigor in the Liberal Arts is essential to the formation of rational, free, and virtuous persons. Ordinariate education ensures a firm grounding in literature, grammar, mathematics, science, and other core subjects.

3. Sacred Music: Music is an integral part of the Patrimony of English Christianity, and singing has been an essential expression of faith and worship for centuries. Music education is therefore central to the curriculum in the Ordinariate and provides a point of integration for the other core subjects.

4. Sacred Art: Also a strength of the Patrimony, Sacred Art is taught in the Ordinariate not just from the standpoint of appreciation, but in the creation of it. Students will explore the fine, applied, and performing arts as an integral part of learning and not just as an “extracurricular” activity.

The way forward for a renewal of Catholic Education is to ground our children from the very start in ultimate Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. Saint Alcuin Classical Academy assists parents in this challenge by providing a nurturing environment for the formation of their children’s mind, body, and soul in the perennial tradition of the Catholic Faith and Catholic philosophy. This is best done in a parish environment, which is why Saint Alcuin integrates learning and worship within the local parish and not in a separate school. Saint Alcuin is an Apostolate offering an educational program for Saint Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church. However, we also will partner with diocesan parishes who wish to offer the same educational program to their families as a satellite campus.

Saint Alcuin Classical Academy is a hybrid homeschool academy offering Classical Studies in person one day a week with a Tutor (which we call our “Academic Day”), who partners with parents to continue studies at home the rest of the week. Non-Classical Studies, such as Modern Math and Science, will also be offered at the academy on Academic Days based on the needs of families. These courses support the second pillar of Sacred Wisdom. 

A second day during the week is dedicated to enrichment electives (which we call our “Enrichment Day”), which supports the pillars of Sacred Music and Sacred Art. Enrichment Day courses generally include a rotation of Art, Music, Bible Imaginative Play, Catechetics, Fables and Fairy Tales, Saint Stories, Theology electives, Physical Education, and other Humanities courses. Enrichment Day courses are not designed to have substantial studies at home in order to not overload students.

Both Academic and Enrichment Days include our first pillar of Sacred Worship. Students will pray Morning Prayer and celebrate Mass together as a worshiping community. Further, all of our life together as a community is integrated with our Disciples of Christ Education in Virtue curriculum (https://openlightmedia.com/education-in-virtue/). We work with parents to integrate the life of the virtues both at home and at Saint Alcuin. The natural and theological virtues are the foundation of a thriving life, and they form an essential component to our model of education.

In addition to our four pillars, our model of Classical education is driven by three elements from our mission: (1) helping parents educate their children in the Catholic Classical tradition; (2) provide a nurturing Catholic environment for the growth of natural and theological virtues; and (3) to share our patrimony of English-speaking Catholic education with the greater Church.

Catholic education for Saint Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church will follow the model of our Cathedral in Houston, TX, Our Lady of Walsingham. The Cathedral first developed a hybrid homeschool academy on campus and then a full five-day-a-week High School. Saint Margaret of Scotland plans on following the same blueprint of development in its educational programs through Saint Alcuin Classical Academy.

Our Classical Liberal Arts Curriculum

The first element of our mission is accomplished by our Classical Studies curriculum. As already mentioned, Saint Alcuin Classical Academy offers our Classical Studies curriculum on Academic Days. We use a mix of popular Classical home school curricula from leading companies, such as Mother of Divine Grace and Memoria Press. Several courses have also been developed at Saint Alcuin. Of what does Classical Studies consist?

Historically, Classical Studies generally include: Greek, Latin, Grammar (learning how language works; also meets the ELA core requirement for homeschoolers), Philosophy (logic or reasoning), Rhetoric (communication), and Theology. Academic Days will also offer a rotating selection of non-classical courses in Literature (meets the Reading core requirement for homeschoolers), History (meets Social Studies core requirement for homeschoolers), Math (meets Math core requirement for homeschoolers), and Science (meets Science core requirement for homeschoolers). These courses will be based on the needs of the families.

Classical Education can be a confusing approach to education because so many curriculum companies package such programs in a way that looks like a Modern “method” of instruction or learning. Put simply, Classical Studies is an educational curriculum consisting of certain arts to master. Any modern educational method (such as Montessori, un-schooling, Charlotte-Mason, etc.) can be used with a classical studies curriculum because it is not neccarily about how students learn but what students learn.

Education up until the Modern period was uniform in overall structure even if specific texts differed from region to region. It consisted of a core curriculum of the seven Liberal Arts divided into two main divisions: the Trivium consisting of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric; and the Quadrivium consisting of Arithmetic, Astronomy, Music, and Geometry. The Classical Trivium was a sequence of Arts studied to the level of mastery and in proper order. The Arts built on top of each other leading to science and Wisdom; so, competence in each Art was critical.

Grammar⁵ was generally studied first until a child was able to engage in the more rigorous training in Dialectic, Rhetoric, and the sciences. Since Grammar maps onto how humans reason, a mastery of language is required prior to anything else. Modern education over-focuses on the syntax of speech when studying Grammar, but traditionally Grammar training was more extensive. It included orthography (proper spelling and penmanship), and etymology (origins and comprehensive meanings of words). In addition, many ancient philosophers, such as our patron Saint Alcuin, included many other elements of Grammar: accent, analogy, differentiation, glosses, histories, meter, prose, punctuation, schemes, tales, and tropes.⁶ Surprisingly, Grammar was the bulk of what today is typically considered “elementary education.” Also, Latin is the most robust and consistent grammatical system a child could study. English grammar is excellent, but it does contain numerous exceptions and excludes grammatical elements that Latin retains. A thorough mastery of Latin will give a child a comprehensive understanding of how language works.

The ancients considered Grammar to be “pre-scientific” knowledge. The linguistic structures of Grammar, which are the symbolic language of thought (proper Grammar =>> proper Reasoning) begin mapping in the young mind with facts and knowledge gained from sense experience. From this interaction comes the intuition of some basic laws and principles. With this foundation in place, a student’s pre-scientific knowledge can transition into the ten Aristotelian categories of existence that will be the basis of their formal education in Philosophy: Substance, Quantity, Relatives, Quality, Place, Time, Position, Condition, Action, and Affection. This training leads to the study of Reasoning, which is considered “the Art of Arts.”

Reasoning (or “Logic” and “Dialectic”) is called the “Art of Arts” since every other science and art depends upon it. Reason is the intellectual tool by which certain and true knowledge is realized. Logic is also the science by which we discover how to properly use reason. Why does this “Art of Arts” hold such a high place in the Classical Liberal Arts? If a student wishes to study any Art or discipline and apply reasoning to it, then they must first learn how to properly reason. An example from Modern education might help, imagine conducting a science experiment in a lab without first understanding what a methodology is, what measurement instrument to apply, and how to interpret the results. It would be difficult to draw a conclusion from the experiment. This is precisely how much of Modern education operates. The focus is more on practical applications of an Art (or discipline) without clear reasoning and philosophy of the Art being in first place. For example, in our program students will get a philosophical grounding in ancient Mathematics, such as Euclid’s Geometry, as well as Modern calculative Geometry.

The Trivium and Quadrivium prepare students for the goal of a Classical education, which is equipping them for scientific inquiry. To the ancients, “science” simply meant “knowledge” and referred to having a true understanding of something by analyzing its causes. The higher Arts prepare a Christian mind to the study of Theology, the Divine science.

Modern education creates a core list of “subjects” with a lot of “facts” that students have to learn, but they do not teach them how to learn, which is the focus of a real human education. A Classical Education simply teaches children how to read well (understand how language works through grammar), think well (logic), and communicate well (rhetoric). With these three core skills students can learn anything. A Classical Education is then rounded off with disciplines from the fruit of Western Civilization, such as Literature, History, Social Studies, Math, and Science.

Our Nurturing Environment

Saint Alcuin Classical Academy seeks to provide a holistic and nurturing environment for the growing of Saints. Our curriculum is centered around the natural and theological virtues. We integrate the virtues through our instruction and help to give families the language of the virtuous life. We recognize students when they exercise the virtues and use an honor system to reinforce the goodness of living a virtuous life.

Further, Saint Alcuin centers learning on Academic and Enrichment Days around Divine Worship. This is done through Morning Prayer and the Mass. We want to foster a learning environment of prayer and worship so that children encounter Jesus Christ, and we want them to grow in friendship with others who are seeking heaven as well.

Sharing Our Patrimony

The Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter seeks to evangelize non-Catholic Christians and to share its patrimony with the greater Church. Saint Alcuin Classical Academy seeks to further this mission by sharing our educational patrimony with other parishes in local dioceses. We have established organic relationships with other parishes in the region to offer our educational programs within those parishes. It is very difficult for Catholic families to receive a solid Catholic education due to the loss of religious vocations and the cost of Modern schools. Saint Alcuin seeks to remedy both of these barriers by bringing a solid Catholic education directly to families in their parish as a satellite campus and to do so at a fraction of the cost of a traditional school.