Cohorts, Workshops & Seminars

The renewal of classical Christian education began with a compelling vision of teaching aligned with students’ stages of development. As the movement has matured, many educators have returned to a deeper understanding of the classical tradition itself. Rather than viewing grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric primarily as developmental stages, The Liberal Arts Tradition invites us to recover them as the arts of language, alongside the mathematical arts, and reconsider what this means for teaching, learning, and human flourishing.

Organized around the PGMAPT framework, each session explores one aspect of the tradition through conversation, practical application, and reflection. Distinguished guests, including authors Kevin Clark and Ravi Scott Jain, will help connect the philosophical foundations of classical education with the daily work of forming students.

This cohort is for school leaders and teachers who want to move beyond simply doing classical education toward understanding why we do what we do—and how the Liberal Arts Tradition can deepen their school’s culture, curriculum, and practice.

Seeing classical Christian education as a compelling means of discipling children, Brian Polk has worked in the movement since 2006. His roles have included Natural Philosophy and Science teacher, department chair, administrator, and board chair. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry and pursued doctoral work in educational leadership at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

Brian serves as Director of the Center for Christian Classical Education at College of the Ozarks, teaches in Gordon College’s Graduate Program in Educational Leadership for Classical Christian Schools, and chairs the Ecclesial Schools Initiative board.

Thriving lower schools must clearly and courageously articulate how they are Christ-centered and deeply rooted in the classical tradition. Every decision can point students toward—or away from—truth, goodness, beauty, virtue, and a love of learning. This truth should inform curriculum, culture, teacher hiring, recess, and every other facet of school life.

Across eight modules, participants will strengthen biblical worldview and virtue formation; discuss reading and Scripture memory; hire and train teachers; handle conflict; develop scope and sequence; and teach classically through memorization, narration, didactic, dialectic, and Socratic methods. Each session includes prayer and time to discuss real-time leadership challenges.

This new cohort welcomes lower-school leaders at every experience level. Participants are encouraged to read The Liberal Arts Tradition and Poetic Knowledge.

Jessica Gombert is in her 25th year in classical Christian education and her 21st as Grammar School Headmaster at Geneva School of Boerne. She holds an M.A. in Education, has led SCL’s Grammar School Head Cohort for several years, and has presented at numerous conferences. She is passionate about reading instruction and is writing a series of phonics readers.

Jessica has also trained teachers in Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Nigeria. She and her husband, Ronnie, have two married children, and she and her French Bulldog, Hamilton, serve as a trained therapy team.

Strategic Advancement (Standard 8) equips leaders to see fundraising, admissions, and marketing not as disconnected tasks, but as a unified, mission-driven discipline. Thriving schools advance by cultivating meaningful, hospitality-driven relationships with parents, students, faculty, alumni, and donors.

Participants will align internal culture with external communication, establish principled admissions and retention practices, and foster generosity and trust. Together, we will ask how a school’s external voice can faithfully reflect its internal culture—and how thriving schools cultivate loyalty and shared ownership.

Elizabeth Perkins is SCL’s Director of Strategy and Communications and previously specialized in enrollment marketing for K–12 independent schools with Tassel Marketing. During nine years as Director of Enrollment & Outreach at Westminster Academy, she achieved more than 60% enrollment growth, improved retention, and consistently exceeded budget targets.

Elizabeth has led SCL’s Admissions and Marketing cohort and presents nationally on admissions and marketing. She holds a B.A. in Political Science, an M.B.A., and Certification for Admission and Enrollment Professionals from AISAP.

Culture is the heart of the school—a living expression of what the community most deeply values. It is a formative force, shaping how students perceive reality, understand truth, and see their place in the world. This cohort equips school leaders with principles for cultivating a thriving upper-school culture.

Riley Gilmore is Principal of St. Stephen’s Academy in Beaverton, Oregon. He has been an educator for fourteen years, beginning as a science teacher with Teach for America before joining the faculty and later the administration of St. Stephen’s. He holds a B.S. in Physical Science and an M.Ed. in Secondary Curriculum and Instruction and is a perpetual member of the Torrey Honors College. Riley and his wife are raising five children in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

This cohort develops financial leadership and a roadmap for long-term health. Participants will learn the principles and practices of sound independent-school financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, strategic financial planning, dashboards, communication and reporting, fundraising, and more.

The cohort also focuses on the Head of School as the school’s financial leader and on growing in that vital role.

Keith Nix has served as Head of School at Veritas School in Richmond since 2010. He is on the Classic Learning Test Board of Academic Advisors and SCL’s President’s Advisory Council, consults with classical Christian school boards and leaders, and co-directs Gordon College’s Graduate Leadership program.

Keith formerly chaired SCL’s board, served as ACCS board vice chair and CLT Board of Academic Advisors president, and is a founding Arete Fellow. He and his wife, Kim, have three grown children and five grandchildren.

Lead your school with clarity, conviction, and faithfulness. This eight-month cohort equips heads of school and senior leaders to evaluate and strengthen every dimension of school life through SCL’s Eight Standards, drawing from the SCL Playbooks and veteran educators including John Heaton, Travis Koch, Jef Fowler, Jessica Gombert, and Riley Gilmore.

The school-centered model allows the Head of School to assign up to two participants per session—ideally executive team members and, when appropriate, board members—to the sessions most relevant to their roles. This broadens institutional knowledge and strengthens internal conversations.

As SCL’s Director of School Improvement, Starrla Fowler combines her passions for developing leaders and expanding collaborative schools. She and her husband co-founded Veritas Academy in Austin, where she served for 18 years as Academic Dean, Academic Team Chair, Grammar School Head, and School of Logic Head.

Starrla has developed curricula, trained hundreds of teachers, served on accreditation teams, and helped classical collaborative schools launch and grow. She earned a master’s in Leadership from Gordon College and continues to serve on the Veritas Academy board.

Effective school leadership requires proficiency across a wide range of responsibilities, and even experienced leaders benefit from intentional reflection and sharpening. Designed for Heads of School who are new to the role, in their first several years, or transitioning into a different context or model, this cohort uses the Executive Leadership Playbook to provide practical guidance, strategic best practices, and collaborative encouragement.

Participants will grow in character, competence, and capacity as they faithfully advance their school’s mission.

Ron Hoch is an SCL Fellow and Head of School at Redeemer Classical School in Keezletown, Virginia. He earned a B.A. in Bible with an Education concentration, an M.A. in Religion from Reformed Theological Seminary, and a master’s in School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Redeemer, he spent eleven years as a teacher, coach, and administrator at Delaware County Christian School. Ron and his wife, Julianna, have four children.

Academic leadership in a classical Christian school requires more than managing curriculum, schedules, and faculty responsibilities. Leaders must articulate a coherent philosophy, mentor teachers toward excellence, foster a faculty culture of friendship and growth, and shape classrooms where wisdom and virtue—not merely information transfer—remain the central aim.

Designed for principals, deans, division heads, instructional leaders, curriculum directors, and aspiring administrators, this cohort draws primarily from SCL Standards 2 and 3. Participants will explore how leadership shapes pedagogy, culture, faculty development, mentorship, assessment, and the daily experience of students and teachers.

Andrew Smith has taught and administered in Christian classical schools since 2003. Before joining Veritas in 2017, he was Director of Upper School at The Geneva School and Head of Upper School at Westminster Academy. His academic work focuses on rhetoric, curriculum development, and teacher training.

Andrew holds a B.A. in History, an M.Div., and an M.A. in Philosophy. He and his wife, Keri, have four children.

Compensation is one of the most important strategic decisions a Christian school makes, yet many schools inherit systems rather than intentionally designing them. This seminar offers a framework for making decisions that attract and retain exceptional faculty while preserving financial durability.

Matt Skinner brings more than two decades of financial and operational leadership in classical Christian education. Through Fortis Consulting, he advises schools nationwide on governance and financial sustainability. As Head of School at Heritage Preparatory School, he more than doubled enrollment, grew annual giving from roughly $125,000 to nearly $1 million, and led more than $40 million in fundraising.

Matt began his career in public accounting, holds a B.B.A. in Accounting and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership, and has led schools through enrollment turnarounds, deficit elimination, capital projects, and campus expansion.