New Charter School Plans To Bring Classical Teaching Model To Tulsa

A new charter school under construction in South Tulsa is scheduled to open in the fall. Tulsa Classical Academy started construction last September on a 15-acre site at 98th & Sheridan.

Head of School Jason Poarch said during an enrollment lottery earlier this year, the school filled 700 available seats, and has a waiting list for any spots that open, with students from 60 zip codes represented.

A two-story main building, with a wing for elementary and another middle school, recently had the roof added, and is on track for completion in early August.

Poarch said the design is intended to complement the curriculum, with art highlighting a large atrium and a large library with windows overlooking the front of the campus.

TCA will open with students from Kindergarten through 8th grade and add an upper grade each year.

The school has plans to add another wing to the building and a gymnasium in the coming years.

The school will offer basketball, volleyball and soccer, in addition to music and art classes. Regular classes are limited to 25 students per classroom in the upper grades.

Poarch said the school was founded by a group of local parents, who created the nonprofit Classically Formed Schools, and it's affiliated with Hillsdale College, in Michigan.

The charter school will receive Oklahoma public funding for operations and is authorized by Rose State College. The construction of the building is being privately financed, said Poarch.

Poarch believes parents are attracted to a back to basics education for their children, what he described as the way school was done 100 years ago.

“Latin, how to learn and study, good discipline, robust curriculum, that's what we're after here,” he said, noting students will not be allowed to have phones in classrooms and computers will be rarely used. “We really like books here. We're not a 1-1 technology school. We're normally known as low technology school, where we have real books, real classical textbooks. We teach handwriting, cursive and students are learning with paper and pencil all day long.”

Poarch said the results for students have been good in other Classical schools in the same network, which are mainly in Texas.

“It doesn't matter if they go off to college or not, they'll be prepared coming out of our program, for making good life choices and continuing life-long learning," he said.