Seven thirty two at above Krcity Talk Station. Happy Wednesday to you and happy welcome back to the fifty five CARSC Morning Show from Cincinnati Classical Academy. Doctor Jed Harding's Doctor Harding's is good to heav you back on the program.
Yeah, great to be here. Brian, Good morning.
How things going in since Sant Classical Academy this school year?
My friend, Brian, it's just unbelievable. The school continues to grow and achieve like none of us could have ever expected. We're you know, we've got we're our third year, seven hundred and fifty students this year, and we're we continue to expand twenty five thirty percent growth each year. So next year we've got nine hundred and fifty students coming in.
Wow, which is yeah, and that's our fourth and that does not satisfy the demand, does it. You have nine hun and fifty, but I bet there's a whole bunch of of families and children that weren't able to get in because you have a limited number of spaces.
Right, That's right. Nine to fifty is going to be our capacity next year, but then the wait list is still four hundred and four hundred and five hundred students, So yeah, well as practively as we can. And that's that's been a big problem. We We've spent the last five years looking for a campus where we could serve our eventual enrollment of thirteen hundred students, but that's been
really difficult on a charter school budget. But we have some big news from this past fall that we finally found that campus solution and we purchased the property we've been renting and renting, the former Olsh School, and that's thirty acres. And then we also acquired a nine acre campus in Blue Ash, the former Belcan building, and are remodeling a one hundred thousand square foot office building there to serve as a home for our middle and upper schools. Guys.
Cool, And those are the grades you're going to be added? I guess it's grades five through twelve from from at least the materials that I'm looking at presently. Are you still serving grades K through eight?
Yeah, that's correct. It's K through eight this year, and then next year we're going to add the ninth grade, our first high school class, and they're they're going to be going to school at the new campus and Blue Ash So it's really exciting.
Well, I guess, you know, you have a freshman class and what you got to I guess if they stick around, you'll be adding the additional high school years after that. So to be able to stay with this unbelievably. Uh,
it's a traditional classic liberal education. If you're familiar with Hillsdale College, folks, it's the same kind of thing, classic liberal education, focusing all the on all the important skills and the classic ways they do it phonics, for example, the Singapore math core knowledge sequence, Latin reading classes, classics. I mean, I just I'm so pleased that this is this is this type of education even still exists, sir.
And obviously if you build it, they will come. The number of students that want to get in is just an illustration that this there's a huge demand out here in the world to get you know, to go back to the basics and go to a classic liberal education where you actually learn something and have these foundational building blocks to survive and thrive in the world.
Yep, since that's only public classical school bringing the best of Western civilization direct to the people.
All right, Tuition free, it's intuition free, and I think that's an important component. It's also important to note that since Sant Classical Academy receives some state funding but only one thousand dollars per student, you don't get any property taxes, and that funding is only going to cover sixty percent of the cost required to provide educational facilities. So there needs to be more money there. You can't even do
a public levee for to service the school. So ergo, if you're building these new facilities in Blue Ash, you need some help. Tell my listeners about the Raise the Torch campaign.
Yeah. So the property purchase, which was thirteen million dollars and then the construction cost everything total was financed by twenty nine million dollars in tax examponds. But that only gets us, It gets us most of the way there. But we need to raise at least another four million dollars to complete construction of our campus to serve you know, K through twelve with extracurriculars and that kind of thing. So, and it's funny, Brian, you know, the school has really
never had a major benefactor. Someone who says, you know, here's a million dollars, five million dollars go create my dream of a classical school. It hasn't happened. It's really been grassroots effort with one hundred dollars yere, one thousand
dollars there, ten thousand there. But we haven't given up on a dream that there are major benefactors out there who understand what we're doing, who appreciate what Hillsdale College is doing for the Cincinnati community and what a great success story this has been.
In this this is going to lose magnets for our region. I mean, the idea that you have this wonderful institution of learning and I even want to call it higher learning even though we're like talking about K through eight right now, but the demands there, but that it exists, that it is a it is it is truly a magnet for folks to want to, you know, maybe move here.
I mean, it's an idea that could be expanded. Can you imagine if the if Ohio just adopted this wonderful education process among even in its public schools, I mean, the curriculums right there for all to enjoy. Just adopt it, you will demonstrably the number one school in the area. You will be turning out these brilliant young people who are prepared to meet the challenges of life. That's a magnet and that's a that's a it's a model for
others to follow. So this is an important thing to fund, I would argue to my listeners.
Absolutely, And it's it's a movement that I mean, this transcends consideration just of where your kids go to school. We are our school in particular, is helping to lead and build a national movement. Yes, I mean we're having national impact in Ohio alone. There have been four more schools that of these schools that have been created in our wake, inspired by our success and our leadership. So yeah, it's about restoring education that's needed for a free thinking
and self governing citizenry. It's not you know. So the aims are really high again, tuition free.
They could use all the help they can get. And because you are a five oh one three C entity, these donations to the Raise of Torch Foundation or fund qualify as tax deductible for tax purposes, right, that's right, yep, yep. Well I can encourage my listeners enough to help this process out. The idea of just motivating others to follow
in your path is worthy of any donation. People can give and maybe one of my listeners out there can be that wealthy philanthropist who understands and gets the point of all this and maybe write a check for a million dollars to help you meet your goals with raise the Torch. That would be nice.
We never give up on the dream, you know, Brian. People love to sit around and write about problems in this country and say that, you know, kids don't know how to think any more. This school's doing something about it. Think anyone who's interested can visit sincey Classchool dot org click on the giving page to learn about our campus development how they can support us with these the Torch campaign.
You anticipated my question, how do people help out since with the y Classical dot org. Please do I mean ten bucks? They'll take it. You got a million dollars you want to don eight they'll definitely take it. Doctor Jed Hardings, thank you for all that you do and all the teachers at since Anti Classical Academy keep up the wonderful work. I wish you all the well wishes that I can possibly wish you in terms of the fundraising and for the future of the young people that you are teaching.
Thanks a lot Brian.
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