Students of Color and the Study of the Western Canon: An Invitation to a Conversation

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Angel Adam Parham

Dr. Angel Adams Parham is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nyansa Classical Community. Nyansa provides after-school programming and curricula designed to connect with and draw students of color into the beauty of classical literature and the great conversation. She is also Associate Professor of Sociology at Loyola University-New Orleans. Dr. Parham's sociological training provides an in-depth understanding of the social and economic challenges facing many low-income communities of color, while her Christian faith emphasizes the importance of combining this sociological knowledge with a commitment to students’ spiritual formation and the cultivation of their moral imagination. She is also a wife and mother of two beautiful girls who are homeschooled according to classical Christian principles and pedagogies.

Patio Q&A With Angel Adams Parham and Anika Prather

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Angel Adams Parham

Dr. Anika Prather has earned her B.A. from Howard University in elementary education and graduate degrees in education from New York University and Howard University. She has a Masters in liberal arts from St. John’s College and in 2017 completed her PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park with a focus on literacy education. She has served as a teacher, director of education and the Head of School for public and Christian schools. Currently she is the founder of The Living Water School (www.thelwschool.org). The inspiration for starting this school comes from her three creative and curious kids. Anika lives in Maryland with her husband Damon (an engineer and business manager for the school), 2 sons (Dillon-10/Destin-9), 1 daughter (Day-6) and way too many pets. Anika also enjoys urban farming and raises angora rabbits and spins yarn from their wool for her hobby of crocheting and knitting and a few herbs and veggies. Her inspirations in life are her grandmother (who taught her to crochet and garden), her mom (who led her to faith in Jesus Christ and introduced her to classical education), and Marva Collins and Anna Julia Cooper (whose lives and work serve as North Stars for her work in education).

Anika Prather

Dr. Anika Prather has earned her B.A. from Howard University in elementary education and graduate degrees in education from New York University and Howard University. She has a Masters in liberal arts from St. John’s College and in 2017 completed her PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park with a focus on literacy education. She has served as a teacher, director of education and the Head of School for public and Christian schools. Currently she is the founder of The Living Water School (www.thelwschool.org). The inspiration for starting this school comes from her three creative and curious kids. Anika lives in Maryland with her husband Damon (an engineer and business manager for the school), 2 sons (Dillon-10/Destin-9), 1 daughter (Day-6) and way too many pets. Anika also enjoys urban farming and raises angora rabbits and spins yarn from their wool for her hobby of crocheting and knitting and a few herbs and veggies. Her inspirations in life are her grandmother (who taught her to crochet and garden), her mom (who led her to faith in Jesus Christ and introduced her to classical education), and Marva Collins and Anna Julia Cooper (whose lives and work serve as North Stars for her work in education).

The How of Reading Instruction in a Classical Education

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Teacher preparation and knowledge are fundamental to student reading achievement. In this session, we will discuss why a systematic phonetic approach to reading instruction is classical, brain-based and effective. We will address the importance of phonemic awareness, language and vocabulary development and best practices for reading instruction. Practical strategies for providing support in the grammar school classroom will be shared. Participants will be able to apply their knowledge of reading development into effective instructional practices as well as assessment tools.

Jessica Gombert

Jessica Gombert is in her 16th year as the grammar school headmaster at the Geneva School of Boerne. She holds a MA in Education and has been involved in many aspects of education for 30 years. Teaching experiences include special education, kindergarten, adult classes for Region 20 Alternative Certification program and student teacher supervision at University of Texas at San Antonio. She has a passion for teaching students to become lifelong learners, mentoring teachers and for classical and Christian education. She is currently writing children’s readers to supplement the phonics curriculum.

Melissa Siller

Melissa Siller has spent the last 20 years in various areas of education, including assessment item writing, classroom teaching, teaching pre-service teachers in field based teacher education, and is currently in her 8th year as the reading specialist at the Geneva School of Boerne. In addition, she is an adjunct faculty member in Trinity University's Department of Education. Her research focuses on teacher education, brain-based teaching practices, curriculum and inquiry as well as beginning in-service teacher induction support. She earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Effective Classroom Discussion

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There is more to discussion than merely getting students to talk about the material. There is more to it than provoking their opinions. Is your classroom a place where students think well, listen well, and speak well? What practices stifle those qualities? This practical workshop provides ideas about how to get our students to interact with the material, with the instructor, and with one another.

Chris Schlect

Christopher Schlect, PhD, has worked in classical and Christian education for nearly thirty years. He is the Director of the Classical and Christian Studies program at New Saint Andrews College, where he also teaches courses in history and classical rhetoric. Schlect has also taught at Washington State University, and remains active with his historical research related to American Protestantism in the early 20th century. He taught many subjects in grades 7 through 12 at Logos School in Moscow, Idaho. He now serves classical and Christian schools around the country through his consulting and teacher training activities, and his writings appear in various school curricula and other outlets. He and his wife, Brenda, have five children, all products of a classical and Christian education. They also have four grandchildren.

Lessons from America

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Over the last 40 years, classical Christian education has been recovered and renewed in North America. What has been learned in this process? Dr. Perrin presents key lessons gleaned from this resurgence. Educators from around the world seeking to recover this ancient tradition will find these lessons insightful and helpful.

Chris Perrin

Christopher Perrin, MDiv, PhD, is the CEO with Classical Academic Press, and a national leader, author, and speaker for the renewal of classical education. He serves as a consultant to classical Christian schools, classical charter schools, and schools converting to the classical model. He is the director of the Alcuin Fellowship, former co-chair of the Society for Classical Learning, an adjunct professor with the honor's program at Messiah College, and previously served for ten years as a classical school headmaster.

A Guide to Common Placing Practices

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Attendees will be introduced to essential aspects of both good and bad approaches to commonplacing. They will be given very practical tips on how to organize their commonplacing program in a way that cultivates an affection in students for commonplacing, provides continuity in their program across grade levels, directs students towards virtue, and truth, goodness, and beauty, and makes commonplacing an integral part of their classroom. Finally, attendees will be introduced to a practical exercise they can do with students to cast a vision for commonplacing.

Chris Browne

An Idaho native, Chris teaches classical humanities at the Ambrose School in Meridian, Idaho. He earned an M.A. in History with a Latin minor at Boise State University in 2011, and has the distinction of being the final graduate student of noted Constantinian scholar Dr. Charles Odahl to complete his program before Dr. Odahl’s retirement. Chris is deeply committed to classical Christian education as the cultivation of virtue and writes a blog exploring the cultivation of virtue in the lives of students. He loves Tolkien, Virgil, and all things Roman. When not teaching, he spends his summers working as a river guide on the majestic Hells Canyon portion of the Snake River in Idaho, rebuilding his 1966 Ford Mustang coupe, converting Tolkien stories into stage plays, and spending time in the mountains of Idaho with his beautiful wife, 2 daughters, and Rosie Cotton and Pius Aeneas, their family's Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.

Connecting the Dots: The Practice of Oral Narration in the Lower School

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We are all storytellers. We tell stories every day in our jobs, in our conversations at the grocery store, and with our friends. Children love to tell stories. They are excited to share their ideas and all of their experiences seem worthy of a discussion. In this session, you will hear how I’ve used flannel boards and story pieces to practice narration – the art of telling, with my students. My students have become confident storytellers through the practice of oral narrations. They listen to a variety of stories, create their pieces, organize their thoughts, and tell the story in their own words. Oral narration reinforces reading skills such as fluency, beginning, middle, and end, setting, and characterization. It has allowed my students to express themselves and to practice communicating with others effectively. They are connecting the dots to become better listeners, thinkers, and speakers.

Valarie Rennie

Valerie Rennie is a Kindergarten teacher at Trinity Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in educational technology. She has taught grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade. She has a passion for Classical Christian education because she has seen how it has transformed the lives of her two boys, both Trinity graduates. When she isn't with her favorite 5-year olds, she enjoys reading, listening to music, drinking coffee, and spending time with her family.

Augustine, Africa, and the Idea of the West

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From the continent of Africa came the greatest ancient Church father and an influential classical educator—St. Augustine. Dr. Grant Horner explores how the education Augustine described and practiced is now what we call “classical Christian education.”

Grant Horner

Dr. Grant Horner is a full-time Associate Professor of Renaissance and Reformation Studies at The Master's University in Santa Clarita, California, where he was named “Professor of the Year” in 2001 and 2007. Dr. Horner received his PhD from Claremont University. He specializes in literary and cultural studies, philosophy, theology, art history, and film studies. He teaches Medieval and Renaissance literature and courses on Milton, Shakespeare, Poetry and Poetics, The Epic, Dramatic Literature, Critical Theory (Pre-Socratics through Derrida), Art History, Film Studies, Classical Christian Humanism, Classical Latin, and Comedy. He is the founder and director of The Master’s University in Italy Program, an intensive study abroad experience for the university’s students. Dr. Horner also crafted the Humanities program at Trinity Classical Academy and continues to mentor teachers at the school. He has discussed theological trends, philosophy, and popular culture in numerous radio, television, and college-campus speaking engagements. *Adapted from The Master’s University website

Drawing from Black Intellectual Tradition in Our Classical Curricula

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Many urban classical schools serve a culturally and racially diverse student body. As students study great writing and great ideas, it is important for them to see that people from many different backgrounds have deeply appreciated and carefully studied these writers in ways that have often been transformative. It is especially important for African American students to know that writings from the Western tradition that are often perceived as belonging only or mainly to those of European descent have been embraced by black intellectuals of the past who went on to create their own classic writings. In this workshop we learn more about key writers of the black intellectual tradition and how their writings engage with the great conversation. We conclude with practical suggestions for enriching classical school curricula at both lower and upper school levels with contributions from black writers.

Angel Parham

Dr. Angel Adams Parham is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nyansa Classical Community. Nyansa provides after-school programming and curricula designed to connect with and draw students of color into the beauty of classical literature and the great conversation. She is also Associate Professor of Sociology at Loyola University-New Orleans. Dr. Parham's sociological training provides an in-depth understanding of the social and economic challenges facing many low-income communities of color, while her Christian faith emphasizes the importance of combining this sociological knowledge with a commitment to students’ spiritual formation and the cultivation of their moral imagination. She is also a wife and mother of two beautiful girls who are homeschooled according to classical Christian principles and pedagogies.

Fundraising During and After COVID-19

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The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted how you carry out your mission as a school, and it also impacts your fundraising. If you have been overly-dependent on events, you may be re-thinking your approach. Learn a more strategic, relational and sustainable framework for raising your annual fund, and transform donors into lifelong partners. Time will be available for Q&A.

Brad Layland

Brad Layland is the CEO of The FOCUS Group. He lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where he is a founding parent and serves on the board of trustees for Veritas Classical School. In addition, he serves on the boards of directors for Young Life St. Augustine, Christian Surfers US, the Reid Saunders Association, and Young Life of Greater New York, and is an elder at Good News Church. Brad received his BA in Communications from the University of Florida and his MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary. For over 35 years, The FOCUS Group has helped nonprofits raise money more effectively through capital campaign counsel, major donor strategies, planned and estate gifts, and training. It currently serves twelve classical Christian schools across the United States.