A Classical Education Conference for Hillsdale Member Schools

As educators, it’s important to develop our craft and get involved with a community of others doing the same important work. It can be difficult to find time during the school year to rekindle the love of learning. That is why each summer, the Hillsdale College K-12 Education Office hosts the K-12 Summer Conference for teachers, leaders, and administrative staff from Hillsdale Member Schools. Educators gather on our beautiful Michigan campus for an energizing time of learning with and from each other. 

The conference features topics that are intended to renew in educators the same wonder and love of learning that they encourage in their students in the classroom every day. Whether you are new to teaching at a Hillsdale Member School or an experienced educator, you’ll find new ideas, discover unique solutions to challenges, and foster friendships with a network of peers you can lean on throughout the school year ahead. 

The conference sessions, activities, lodging, and dining are provided at no cost and are exclusive to Hillsdale Member School educators. 

The 2026 Summer Conference will take place on June 14-20.

 

Learn More

 


 

7

Days

300+

Sessions

1,100+

Attendees

 

 

 

The K-12 Summer Conference offers of 300+ sessions across 7 days so that every teacher and administrator can focus on the topics they are interested in. Some sessions from past conferences include:

  • Making Literature Student's Favorite Class
  • Ways to Engage Students in Science Outside the Classroom
  • Pedagogy of Foreign Languages
  • The Revolutions of 1989 and German Unification
  • Kinesiology: Principles of Motor Learning
  • DIY Drypoint Printmaking
  • How to Delegate Effectively
  • Case Studies in School Security
  • How to Build a College Counseling Program from Scratch
  • Introduction to Plate Tectonics
  • Asking Great Questions in Math
  • Effective Literacy Practice
  • Poetry Memorization & Recitation

June 14, 2026 - June 20, 2025

 

Regular Session

  Session 1: Upper School

  Monday, June 15 - Tuesday, June 16

  • Upper School (7-12): subject area teachers; student services teachers; paras, aides, and teachers assistants [of these grade levels]
  • K-12 Art, Music, P.E., Foreign Language, Latin: subject area teachers; student services teachers; paras, aides, and teachers assistants [of these subjects for all grade levels]
  • College counselors
  • Athletic directors

  Back to College Day

   Wednesday, June 17

  • Back to College Day is a dedicated portion of the conference designed for attendees to deepen their content knowledge in specific subject areas. By attending lectures and discussions led by world-class Hillsdale College professors and dialoguing with their peers, attendees should recapture the feeling of working on their undergraduate degree.

  Session 2: Lower School

  Thursday, June 18 - Friday, June 19

  • Members of the leadership team: heads of school, assistant heads, deans, coaches that have a role in observing and providing feedback to teachers and have been deemed members of the leadership team by the head of school
  • Office staff

 

New Hire Track

  Grades K-6

  Monday, June 15 - Friday, June 19

  • New Hire K-6 Teachers

  • Topics covered: American Classical Education,
    The Classical Classroom, Curriculum and Instruction for: Literacy, Grammar, Composition, Math, Science, and History

  Co-curricular

Monday , June 15- Wednesday, June 17

  • New Hire Co-curricular Teachers
  • Topics covered: American Classical Education,
    The Classical Classroom, subject-specific curriculum and instruction, Composition (7-8th)

  Grades 7-12

Monday , June 15- Wednesday, June 17

  • New Hire 7-12 Teachers
  • Topics covered: American Classical Education,
    The Classical Classroom, subject-specific curriculum and instruction, Composition (7-8th)

Featured Speakers

We have teachers, school leaders, K-12 Education Office staff, Hillsdale College professors, and special guests giving presentations at Summer Conference. A complete list of speakers will be available soon!

 

Dr. Justin Jackson

Joshua Gibbs

Dr. Kevin Majeres

Dr. Tom Conner

Dr. Matthew Mehan

Dr. Kathleen O'Toole

Dr. Kelly Franklin

Dr. Dan O'Toole

Dr. Dan Coupland

Dr. Bill McClay

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