Independence
Total Independence from the State
Columbus Classical Academy is totally independent from the state. We do not accept any direct government funding, which allows us to maintain an unwavering commitment to the classical principles of education to which we are committed.
Virtually all of Ohio’s “private” schools—college prep, Catholic, evangelical—accept significant, state dollars to support their institutions. As a result, they are beholden to state curricular and operational mandates that often reflect and reinforce
the educational ideologies and practices that CCA seeks to correct.
As a result, we have chosen independence.
What does it mean to be a nonchartered, nonpublic school in Ohio?
Nonchartered Nonpublic (NCNP) schools are schools that, because of truly held religious beliefs, choose to not be chartered by the State of Ohio and receive no funding from the State of Ohio. Information about nonchartered, nonpublic schools can be found on ODE’s website.
Why is it important for CCA to be a nonchartered, nonpublic school?
CCA’s nonchartered status means that we are free from a number of state regulations and mandates that directly affect the kind of education your child receives. These include:
- State testing obligations
- State teacher licensure
- State professional development standards
- State curricular mandates
- State graduation requirements
Each state mandate is informed by the state’s educational philosophy. CCA instead conducts its own testing (the Classic Learning Test), establishes its own teacher qualifications and professional development standards, has adopted the Hillsdale College K-12 curriculum, and sets its own graduation requirements. In most cases, these self-imposed obligations are more rigorous than those of the state; in all cases, they are more consistent with the classical approach to education to which CCA adheres.
