Founders Classical Academy In Leander Garners $25K Education Prize

LEANDER, TX — The Founders Classical Academy in Leander has been awarded the Henry Salvatori Prize for Excellence in Teaching, officials said Wednesday.

Michigan-based Hillsdale College awarded the prize to the local school. The annual $25,000 award is bestowed on a public or private school exemplifying the principles of a classical liberal arts education, officials said in a news advisory. Recipients must have ties to a 501(c)(3) institution, officials noted.

“Founders Classical Academy is working hard to provide the students of Leander with a quality education,” Phil Kilgore, Director of the Barney Charter School Initiative at Hillsdale College, said in a prepared statement. “This award recognizes the diligence and drive of the teachers and administrators who have made the school a success.”

Founders Classical Academy is a tuition-free, K-12, charter school accredited through the Texas Education Agency. Under the leadership of Dr. Kathleen O’Toole, the school seeks to train the hearts and minds of students through a rigorous classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, according to officials.

Under a mantra of "the oldest ideas for the youngest minds," officials at Founders Classical Academy, 1303 Leander Dr., describes its mission as one devoted "...to train the minds and improve the hearts of young men and women through a rigorous, classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in good character and civic virtue."

The school's headmaster is Dr. Kathleen O’Toole.

Witnessing what they describe as "...the rapid decline in American K-12 education," officials at Henry Salvatori established a permanent endowment at Hillsdale College to recognize and promote exceptional teaching nationwide. The three objectives of the Henry Salvatori Prize are to:

• To increase focus on effective teaching as the core component of education reform;
• Support deserving schools with funds for books, equipment, and other educational materials;
• Celebrate and promote the principles of a classical liberal arts education.

For more information or to apply for next year’s award, click here.

Founded in 1844, Hillsdale College has built a national reputation through its classical liberal arts core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans, officials describe on their website. It also conducts an outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of more than 3.6 million. More information is available at hillsdale.edu.

>>> Courtesy photo from the awards ceremony