Frequently Asked Questions

Hillsdale College is a teaching institution. Its primary work is the teaching of college students in the liberal arts and sciences. The college’s mission states that it will “furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color or sex, a literary and scientific education.” 

Hillsdale was the first American college to prohibit in its charter any discrimination based on race, religion, or sex, and became an early force for the abolition of slavery. It was also the second college in the nation to grant four-year liberal arts degrees to women.

Its work in K-12 education arises out of this desire to help “all who wish” to learn. This includes children in K-12 schools and those who are responsible for providing for their educations—first parents, then statesmen and teachers.

With the exception of Hillsdale Academy—founded on its campus in 1991—Hillsdale College does not own, manage, or profit from any of its affiliate schools.

Hillsdale College serves members of the public—including schools, teachers, and citizens interested in K-12 education—in the following ways.

Hillsdale Classical Schools are schools affiliated with Hillsdale College that offer an American classical education. These schools fall into two categories of affiliation with Hillsdale:

Curriculum Schools receive a license to use Hillsdale’s K-12 curricular scope and sequence (a list of the things to be taught, and the order in which to teach them) and a list of recommended resources (books, textbooks, maps, art supplies, science lab supplies, and more) for every grade level and subject.

Member Schools receive the same curricular recommendations as Curriculum Schools, but they also receive from Hillsdale ongoing advice and professional development for their governing boards, administration, and teachers. This advice comes from onsite trainings and classroom observations, conferences on Hillsdale’s campus, focus groups, and remote training opportunities.

The Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence provides professional development to public, private, and charter school teachers across the country through a series of free seminars focused on the content of an excellent K-12 education and practices for effective classroom instruction.

The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum is the publicly available, free, and transparent collection of lesson plans, assessments, and primary sources for teaching American history and civics to K-12 students, based on instruction in Hillsdale affiliate schools.

No. Curricular recommendations and teaching advice are 100% free for schools, teachers, and taxpayers. Hillsdale College does not take one penny from federal, state, or local governments, either directly or indirectly. The Literacy Essentials literacy curriculum, produced by Hillsdale, is available for a price that simply covers the cost of production.

Our work is made possible by gifts to Hillsdale College from generous friends united by a common purpose.

Hillsdale College currently only has contracts for free licensed use of its K-12 curriculum and for the free advice and professional development it provides to Hillsdale College Member Schools. No contracts exist with any government, state or local. Hillsdale College does not accept any taxpayer or government funds, either directly or indirectly.

No. In accordance with its tax status, Hillsdale College does not lobby policymakers.

The staff of the Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office consists primarily of former teachers and school principals who work with college professors and teachers at Hillsdale classical schools to hone the curriculum and the instructional advice Hillsdale provides. Our team, professors, and teachers are devoted to bringing an excellent education in the liberal arts and sciences to every American child.

Hillsdale College’s K-12 Education Office does not endorse the Common Core State Standards. Additionally, Common Core and Core Knowledge are very different things.

In the early days of the Barney Charter School Initiative, Hillsdale College looked to Core Knowledge’s scope and sequence as a springboard for developing its curriculum and academic program. Some of Core Knowledge’s resources are still included in the K-12 Program Guide, as are many other resources.

Though Core Knowledge and Common Core have similar names, they are very different programs. 

The Core Knowledge Foundation was founded in 1986 by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., the author of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and many other books on education. The Core Knowledge Foundation offers curricular advice and materials to K-8 schools based on the teachings of Hirsch.  The Core Knowledge Sequence is a scope and sequence for grades Kindergarten to 8^th grade covering English language arts, world history and geography, American history and geography, visual arts, music, mathematics, and science. Hillsdale College’s K-12 Education Office has used parts of the Core Knowledge Sequence and some of Core Knowledge’s publications in its curriculum work.  

The Common Core Standards Initiative is an educational initiative from 2010 that aims to establish national educational standards for mathematics and language arts across the United States. Today the Common Core Standards have been adopted by 41 states. 

Common Core has been widely criticized for being mediocre, costly, and ineffective. In “Common Core Common Sense: Why It's Illiberal and Unconstitutional,” a 2013 address, Dr. Daniel Coupland, Dean of Hillsdale College’s Graduate School in Classical Education and Professor of Education, writes that the standards are based on a utilitarian understanding of education: 

Education should be about the highest things. We should study these things—stars, plant cells, square roots, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Mozart’s Requiem, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address—not simply because they will get us into the right college or a particular line of work; rather, we study these noble things because they can tell us who we are, why we are here, and what our relationship is to each other as human beings and to the physical world that surrounds us. 

In “A Rebirth of Liberty and Learning,” Dr. Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, wrote that Common Core “treats students chiefly as factors of production” and that it lacks the unifying principle that a true core curriculum should have. 

While the founder of Core Knowledge, E.D. Hirsch, was initially excited by the prospect of Common Core because of its seeming compatibility with a knowledge-rich curriculum, he was very critical of Common Core in Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children From Failed Educational Theories (2016). 

While Common Core is a set of standards, Core Knowledge is a curriculum. Standards are broad learning goals for an academic year, while curriculum is an organized plan of instruction that helps students meet the standards. Standards provide the ends, while the curriculum, which includes lesson plans, tests and quizzes, textbooks, primary source documents, classroom discussion, and much more, provide the means. Standards answer the question “What?” and the curriculum explains “How.” 

In the United States, curriculum standards are determined at the state level, and public schools, including public charter schools, are required to meet the state standards. Many states have adopted the Common Core standards, which means that some public charter schools are required to meet the Common Core standards. Because they apply to all publicly educated students in a state, the standards provide a minimum standard for education students. The state tests that are administered in the spring of each academic year and the school grades that follow from those tests are a measure of students’ performance on those minimum standards. 

Hillsdale College’s member schools meet these minimum standards, and exceed them. Because state standards typically do not include Latin, sentence diagramming, the Great Books, advanced mathematics, or many of the other wonderful things that make up a classical curriculum, Hillsdale’s scope and sequence allows schools to meet the minimum requirements set forth by the standards and exceed those standards by providing a much richer curriculum. This is possible because of the efficiency of teachers (teaching bell-to-bell, prioritizing high-quality instruction), and the effectiveness of the schools’ programs for literacy, mathematics, writing, and other academic skills. 

Hillsdale’s affiliated schools perform very well on the state tests, even though teachers work with a rich classical curriculum rather than “teaching to the tests.” In grades 3-10, school performance is evaluated by looking at proficiency on state reading and math tests. For the 2021-2022 school year, Member Schools on average scored more than 15% higher than their comparable state averages across both reading and math. 

Charter schools are public schools, but they differ from conventional public schools.

A conventional public school is governed by an elected school board and receives taxpayer money according to the number of students enrolled. Students are enrolled based on their zip code, rather than parent choice. In places that do not have charter laws or vouchers, conventional public schools are the only option available if parents cannot afford to pay private school tuition or homeschool their children.

A public charter school allows parents to use state funds from their paid taxes to enroll their child in a school governed by a board of concerned citizens. This school board oftentimes offers the choice of a different kind of education or school environment than the conventional public school system. If parents are unsatisfied with the school, they have the freedom to withdraw their children and seek another option. 

A private school is governed by private citizens, but parents must pay tuition in addition to their taxes to enroll their children.

No. Public charter schools must accept all students, no matter their backgrounds, special education needs, etc. In most cases, the only reason a student would be denied admission to a charter school is lack of space, and many public charter schools have long waiting lists. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of spots available,  students are chosen by random lottery for a seat in the school.

Hillsdale College affiliates with private schools as both Hillsdale College Curriculum Schools and Hillsdale College Member Schools.

Presently, only two private schools are categorized as Hillsdale Member Schools: Hillsdale Academy in Hillsdale, Michigan; and Capstone Classical Academy in Fargo, North Dakota. Both schools also have a Christian identity, but religious identity is not a requirement for private schools that affiliate with Hillsdale.

Students in Hillsdale’s member schools receive a thorough and well-rounded American classical education in the liberal arts and sciences that reflects Hillsdale College’s course of study for undergraduates. A more detailed overview of Hillsdale College’s recommended K-12 curriculum is available here.

Hillsdale encourages schools to seek out, reward, and retain the very best teachers. These teachers come from a variety of backgrounds, including graduates from renowned schools of higher learning, current public and private school teachers who are seeking a more robust and rewarding teaching experience, and adult professionals making a mid-life career change to the classroom. What they all have in common is a zeal for learning, a love of their subject matter, a sense of wonder, and the ability to share that wonder and knowledge with students.

In an excellent classical school, teachers are open partners to parents, and they are worthy of parents’ trust. A list of teaching opportunities in Hillsdale Classical Schools is available here.

Hillsdale Member Schools must comply with all laws, which include laws governing certification. Since teacher certification regulations vary state-by-state, many teachers are certified and many are not, all in accordance with state law.

The Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office is focused on education, not politics. Teachers in Hillsdale-affiliated schools are strongly encouraged not to spend time in the classroom commenting on current affairs. Curricular materials likewise aim to provide a fair, balanced, and honest account in every discipline, including history and civics. 

Some of the private schools Hillsdale College affiliates with are Christian. None of the charter schools Hillsdale affiliates with are Christian or religious in any way, per state and federal law. None of the resources or consultation offered to these charter schools by Hillsdale's K-12 Education Office are Christian.

Hillsdale Member Schools that are charter schools do not teach religion or theology, nor do they offer school-sanctioned religious practices or traditions. In history class, for example, students may learn about the ideas that shaped historical actions, including religious ideas. But instruction in religion is for the sake of cultural literacy, not to promote one religion over another or to promote religious belief in general.

The curriculum recommendations offered by Hillsdale College, as cataloged in the Hillsdale College K-12 Program Guide, do not provide specific recommendations around religious instruction. In the context of a public charter school, religion and theology are never taught as separate courses, and any content mentioning religion is taught for the sake of cultural literacy in the context of literature, history, or a related field.

Private schools using the Hillsdale College K-12 Program Guide are able to supplement with coursework consistent with their own faith convictions and tradition.

No. The curriculum is well-rounded and thorough. While Hillsdale College is known for its scholarship on American history, literature, and government, and while American history and civics have been sorely neglected in conventional education, Hillsdale Member Schools aim to teach every subject in the best way and to standards far higher than what is expected of students in most schools. A complete overview of all subjects and their roles in the curriculum of Hillsdale Member Schools is available here.

Hillsdale uses the following principle to determine what students should learn in history and civics: What ideas, words, and deeds have most significantly formed the world into which students were born? Studying the answers to this question provides students with the fullest understanding of the world in which they will live. Of course, this question is not easy to answer. But it does mean that Hillsdale Member Schools do not decide what to teach about history based on a political ideology, America’s successes, America’s faults, or the skin color of historical figures or students.

Hillsdale’s K-12 recommendations reflect an honest commitment to the truth. Rather than predetermining what we hope to find—and cherry-picking, obscuring, or even fabricating “facts” to fit preconceived notions—these curricula begin with searching for what happened and the contemporaneously stated reasons for why it happened.

The Hillsdale curricular recommendations respect the inherent dignity of both the student and historical figures. They do not whitewash or rewrite. The curriculum also does not ignore “warts,” if those “warts”—as with America’s noblest moments—are significant enough to fit the time restraints of K-12 schooling. It does not claim to be immune to conversation or disagreement, or to be “the last word.” But it does argue that this content is true and that it is what American students should learn first.

Hillsdale College hopes that students in its affiliated schools will graduate with a reflective and mature perspective on America, one which appreciates our unprecedented founding, a product of reflection and choice, and measures the health of our republic in light of the standards set forth in our founding documents.

Hillsdale Member Schools believe parents should have control over how their children learn about sex and gender. Teachers do not talk with children in kindergarten through third grade about sex, sexuality, or gender. In the remaining grades, teachers instruct about human biology as it relates to reproduction within science class. Schools must also follow the relevant state laws regulating these discussions.

Curriculum Schools receive a license to use Hillsdale's curricular scope and sequence and a list of recommended resources for every grade level and subject. Curriculum Schools do not receive training from Hillsdale, and Hillsdale is not involved in consulting with Curriculum Schools in any board, operations, or personnel matters. 

Member Schools receive the same curricular recommendations as Curriculum Schools, but they also receive from Hillsdale ongoing advice and professional development for their governing boards, administration, and teachers. This advice comes from onsite trainings and classroom observations, conferences on Hillsdale's campus, focus groups, and remote training opportunities. 

Through the K-12 Education Office, Hillsdale College extends its teaching role to the boards, leaders, and teachers of select classical schools. Hillsdale does not own, govern, or manage any K-12 schools except for Hillsdale Academy. 

Hillsdale College does not “plant” any schools. Every school founding effort begins at the local level with parents and grandparents, current or former teachers, and interested citizens. Once a “founding group” has been established, it applies to Hillsdale College to receive its free curricula, advice, and professional development as a Candidate Member School during its founding, and continuing into its existence as a Member School. Applications from founding groups are evaluated for fidelity to the mission, makeup of the founding group, and the local conditions.

Anyone interested in starting a charter school should begin by learning about state and local laws, and how these bear on the possibility of starting a school. They should then find neighbors of shared purpose to determine community interests and form a founding group. More information about founding a school with curriculum, advice, and professional development from Hillsdale College may be found here.

Hillsdale College Member Schools welcome visitors for tours and observations of classroom instruction. All visits are arranged directly with the schools. School locations may be found here. 

If you would like a glimpse into a Hillsdale classical school without having to travel, please take a look at the video below.

Inquiries regarding free licensed use of the K-12 curriculum may be addressed to [email protected]. The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum for teaching American history and civics is available for free public download here.

Hillsdale College does not yet have an online K-12 program or a program for homeschooling families. 

Resources for parents to support their children’s education from home are available here. 

 Many of the curricula provided by Hillsdale College will be helpful for parents exploring homeschooling. The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum (American history and civics) and Literacy Essentials (reading for Kindergarten-3^rd grade) may be adapted for homeschool use, and Hillsdale College’s Online Courses are excellent resources for adults and mature high school students.

No formal connection exists between the former president’s 1776 Commission or “The 1776 Report” and The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum. The foundation of The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum predates the 1776 Commission by decades and represents a culmination of years of forming and honing curricula at Hillsdale College and its affiliated K-12 schools. The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum is mainly the product of this work and the insights of actual teachers in Hillsdale Member Schools.

In addition to having its foundations predate “The 1619 Project” by nearly thirty years, The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum is an academic and instructional work and is not an “answer” to the New York Times Magazine journalism project except by accident. Including the year “1776” in its title is in reference to the year in which America declared its independence from Great Britain and which, until just a few years ago, was used without controversy, as when historian David McCullough titled one of his most famous books simply, 1776.

The curriculum is available for free public download, and we encourage readers to see for themselves and to draw their own conclusions.

The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum treats each American founder as he was: a mixture of good and bad presumptions and actions, as all people are, and whose ideas and actions were extraordinarily consequential for the future of the world. 

One cannot understand American history without grappling with the topic of slavery. The curriculum advises teachers to discuss the following with students: 

“Many northern Founders and even some slaveholding Founders recognized the hypocrisy of claiming the principle of equality in spite of the continuing institution of slavery. Nevertheless, some southern Founders did not believe this phrase to be true for slaves and therefore did not believe it was hypocritical”;

“Slavery and the subsequent inequality and violations of the rights of the descendants of slaves, as well as of women and certain immigrants, are glaring ways in which the country has fallen short of its founding idea”; 

“That slavery was the original contradiction in America, and that slavery is immoral, unjust, dehumanizing, and in violation of the inherent dignity and equal possession of natural rights of each person, as are any ways in which one person or group of people is favored over another due to the color of their skin”; 

“Help students to imagine and understand the dehumanizing and brutal tyranny of slavery…. [T]he sheer fact that some people owned other human beings is and always will be morally reprehensible ”; 

“to imagine the Middle Passage and the barbarities of slavery and the slave trade;”

"how around 350,000 Africans were brought to what would become the United States;" 

"and how the domestic slave trade, the practice of slavery, its perpetuation through the Civil War, and laws upholding slavery all existed in America and carried out by many Americans." 

The curriculum includes eight complete lessons on slavery, a unit exclusively on equality in America, and mentions slavery over 2,000 times between kindergarten and 12th grade.

The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum teaches about racism, but, of course, it does not teach or promote racism. The curriculum covers historical events in which racist ideas were asserted and acted upon by historical figures, but makes clear that racism is decidedly and always wrong and unjust. For instance, the curriculum states that “individuals should be judged based on their specific actions tending toward a certain character instead of their label, group identity, sex, religion, or skin color” and “that all men are created equal in their human dignity and possession of certain natural rights” and should be treated as such.

A nationwide review of civics curricula conducted by the National Association of Scholars called the civics curriculum “the gold standard” for K-12 civics curricula and “...a true and thoughtful introduction to our civic past.”

Teachers who use the curriculum have said that the curriculum “does not sugar-coat slavery” and is “not revisionist history, [but] presents factual information without indoctrinating students.” One teacher who teaches students in a public high school reports that The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum demands “my students’ attention and thinking more than others,” enabling him “to get much more productive classrooms out of my students than usual.”