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Guide to Enrolling at Founders Classical Academy of Schertz for 2024–25

November 28, 2023

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Founders Classical Academy of Schertz art class
Founders Classical Academy of Schertz art class

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz offers students a classical liberal arts education with a grounding in United States history, character education, and fine arts. This Founders Classical Academy campus is located on the Northeast Side of the San Antonio metro area, and is part of a larger network of tuition-free public schools offering a distinctive classical education. Open enrollment for the 2024–25 school year began on November 1, 2023 and will continue through February 1, 2024. We have put together a guide to help you learn more about Founders Classical Academy of Schertz and take steps to enroll your children. 

About Founders Classical Academy of Schertz

Classical education is part of a long tradition that emphasizes the seeking of truth, goodness, and beauty, focusing on the study of the liberal arts and sciences and reading the great books. The Founders Classical Academy network is under the umbrella of ResponsiveEd, a charter management organization that operates many types of charter schools to meet the needs of families across Texas.

The Founders Classical Academy model uses a classical approach to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences. The network has a set of commitments on matters such as offering a knowledge-rich curriculum, leading students to read classic works of history and literature, and appreciating math and science for their beauty—not just their utility.  

The curriculum is built around stories of heroes who go through trials. As students learn about historical figures and literary characters who faced those trials with courage, they are inspired to adopt those values in their own lives.

The curriculum also prioritizes teaching civics and American history. All students in grades K–5 study American history for at least part of the year. “Founders” in the name of the school refers to the group of leaders who formed the United States on a set of principles about democracy and freedom. 

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz classroom

The campus has substantial open space that is used for extracurriculars and outdoor learning. When the campus opened as Founders in 2016 on the site of a now-closed charter school, it served grades K–7, and in the 2021–22 school year, it graduated its first group of seniors.

Schools using the Founders Classical Academy began in 2012 with a campus in Lewisville, Texas, and now there are schools across Texas and Arkansas. There is also a full-time, online school, Founders Classical Academy Online. The ResponsiveEd charter management organization, which was founded in 1998, also operates dropout recovery and prevention schools, including two in San Antonio: Premier High School—San Antonio Ingram and Premier High School—San Antonio Windcrest. ResponsiveEd also operates a unique charter school, the Foundation School for Autism—San Antonio, that provides early intervention special education services for children with autism from Pre-K 3 through first grade.

All Founders Classical Academy campuses are open enrollment public charter schools, which means they don’t charge tuition, there are no selective admission requirements (unlike magnet schools), and they are open to all students—including special education, 504 plans, and English language learners. The enrollment area for Founders Classical Academy of Schertz covers the entire state of Texas.

To read more about Founders Classical Academy Schertz in the news, we recommend that you click on the articles linked at the bottom of this post. Also, we invite you to join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook and ask questions; the group includes current Hoplite families who can comment with answers based on their own experiences.

bookshelves at Founders Classical Academy of Schertz

Founders Classical Academy in the Greater San Antonio Area

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz opened in 2016 and has grown to serve students in grades K–12. The Founders Schertz campus is located at 8453 E FM 1518 North, Schertz, TX 78154 (map). The main phone number is 210-510-2618, and they have a contact form on their website. 

On the school’s most recent report card, they earned a C rating. As a district, ResponsiveEd earned a grade of B, as you can see on the district report card.

Download the free San Antonio Charter Schools app for an interactive map that includes the Founders Classical Academy of Schertz campus and many more. You can also find campus information about Founders Schertz (and many other schools of choice) in our Guide to Charter Schools in San Antonio.

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz front entrance

Enroll at Founders Schertz

Families can apply online to enroll their children at Founders Classical Academy of Schertz.  Open enrollment for the 2024–25 school year began on November 1, 2023, and continues through February 1, 2024. 

Prospective families can sign up for a campus tour. This video offers a brief look into the lives of Founders Schertz students:

We also recommend that you follow these social media accounts:

In addition, please join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook to post questions and search previous discussions about Founders Classical Academy of Schertz and the benefits of the classical education approach.

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz high school history class

Facts about Founders Classical Academy of Schertz

The students move quietly through the hallways, walking in line. In class, the elementary students sit in rows and focus on the teacher’s instruction. On a school tour in 2019, we observed a third grade math lesson, based on Dimensions Math, a version of Singapore Math adapted for the United States. Students worked on word problems about grouping, moving from concrete pictures to more abstract notation. The teacher used a document camera to display her work.

English language arts lessons include a heavy dose of phonics. Students learn cursive handwriting in second grade. For one teacher to manage a class of that size requires skillful classroom management, but the educators we saw were able to hold the students’ attention through energetic presentations and no wasted time.

On our tour, we also visited a sciences curriculum lesson. Students were being asked to classify animals based on their characteristics. The lesson made students stretch their minds by suggesting features like scales, feathers, etc. The teacher waited until the students provided the answers—not stepping in to rescue them, but showing respect for their abilities by letting them be the heroes and meet the challenge. 

science lab at Founders Classical Academy of Schertz

In every classroom, a set of nine frames displays images representing the virtues that are woven into the curriculum. The graphics might come from classic storybooks, portraits of historical figures, or great works of art, depending on the teacher’s discretion. Each section has a lead teacher and each grade level has an aide who assists the lead teachers.

Students in grades K–2 have recess three times a day, and students in grades 3-5 have recess twice a day. Older students still have one recess period daily. In many grades, the students have PE every day.

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz offers a variety of extracurricular activities, including athletics and clubs. In sports, the flag football, girls volleyball, softball, and girls basketball teams have been especially successful. The mascot is the Hoplite, a citizen-soldier of Ancient Greek city-states, armed with spear and shield—the hoplon. To express school spirit, students will chant “shields up,” representing soldiers standing together in a phalanx. The school colors are navy blue and yellow. The very active parent organization is known as the Hoplite Council.

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz house flags Socrates, Leonidas, Pericles, Themistocles

Upper School students are organized in a house system based on Ancient Greek city states. Younger siblings know that they will be assigned to the same house, which keeps current families together. They also participate in student government, using it as an opportunity to apply what they have learned about American government and federalism in becoming virtuous citizens.

Founders Classical Academy of Schertz offers students a free public education in the classical, traditional liberal arts. We hope this guide helps families determine whether Founders Schertz, with its focus on teaching U.S. History and offering a wide range of sports and activities, would be a good fit for their children. 

Charter Moms Chats

Watch Kelly Hunt, Headmaster at Founders Classical Academy of Schertz, and Dawn Willitt, Assistant Headmaster at Founders Classical Academy of Schertz, speak with Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats on November 28, 2023 at 4:00 PM Central live on Facebook and YouTube.

Kelly Hunt is the Headmaster of Founders Classical Academy of Schertz. Mrs. Hunt began her career as an ocean engineer, ultimately leaving the industry to pursue her passion for education. She spent four years teaching a broad range of middle and high school mathematics and science courses at private Christian schools before joining Founders in 2016 as a secondary school teacher. Four years later, Mrs. Hunt assumed the role of Dean of Students and then Assistant Headmaster. In the spring of 2022, Mrs. Hunt stepped into her current position as Headmaster. During the course of her tenure at Founders, she earned her Masters degree in Mathematics. Mrs. Hunt has combined her passion for academics and athletics by mentoring students as a soccer coach, teaching dual credit courses, and working to promote a healthy student culture through enriching events and activities centered around the virtues promoted by the mission of Founders.  Kelly is the proud wife of Andrew and the mother of three children, including two Founders students (currently in 7th and 11th grades) and an alumnus. 

Dawn Willitt is the Assistant Headmaster of Founders Classical Academy of Schertz, whose current portfolio includes curriculum and discipline oversight of grades K–12. Beginning with reading intervention for elementary students over 16 years ago, Mrs. Willitt has dedicated her professional and personal volunteer life to the development of children with a particular focus on elementary education. After an important, intervening professional pause for motherhood, Mrs. Willitt resumed her passion for education at Founders in 2017, where she first served in the office before earning a coveted position as a full-time educator, and eventually became an Assistant Headmaster. Today she works alongside 46 classroom educators to instill the virtues that our Founding Fathers held dear. Dawn is the proud wife of Wesley and mother of three boys who are Founders students in grades 3, 6, and 7. 

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