New Catholic High School in Fairfax County Emphasizes Classical Education and Parental Partnership
A new Catholic high school, Saint Jerome Institute, has opened in Fairfax County, Virginia, with 21 ninth and tenth-grade students from 20 families. The school aims to provide an alternative to traditional public and private education by focusing on a classical liberal arts curriculum and a distinct school culture. Its educational approach is built on the belief that parents are the primary educators and that the school should support them in the intellectual, moral, and physical formation of their children. The curriculum includes grappling with works from figures like Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare, delivered through a seminar-style teaching method where teachers lead discussions rather than passive lectures. Art and music are integrated into the core curriculum, and science subjects like biology, chemistry, and physics are taught in an integrated manner each year. The school is intentionally small, with an anticipated peak enrollment of around 150 students across all...
