Continuing Education Catalog

2/18/27-4/18/27; Live sessions on 3/4, 3/18, 4/1, and 4/15 from 3:30-5:30 PM (AZ Time)

Perhaps one of the most important roles a leader assumes is that of an orator. Leaders frequently deliver speeches to a variety of audiences: students, teachers, parents, colleagues, and more. This course aims to develop a leader's oration skills in style, technique, delivery, and composition. Sessions contain important readings, video demonstrations, and assignments designed to grow your abilities and confidence as an orator.

3/22/27 - 4/26/27; Mondays from 4:00-5:45 PM (AZ time)

This course explores several of the most foundational essays in classical education. These include "The Lost Tools of Learning" by Dorothy Sayers, "The Great Conversation" by Robert Maynard Hutchins, "The Abolition of Man" by C.S. Lewis, and "The Idea of a University" by John Henry Newman. These essays are often referred to in contemporary rhetoric about classical education, which makes it especially useful to read the originals.

3/1/27-5/2/27; Live sessions on 3/23, 4/6, 4/20, and 4/27 from 10:00-11:15 AM (AZ time)

Instructional Coaching at Great Hearts aligns well with our academies’ core purpose: "To cultivate the minds and hearts of students through the pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty."

As this course builds upon the ideas from Instructional Coaching Principles and Practices, coaches will deepen and broaden their skills and understanding in how to support teachers. While these teachers aim to cultivate minds and hearts, coaches must be considering how they do the same for the teachers they work with and for themselves. At its core, coaching must strive to promote excellent instruction, and so we dedicate our first module to defining that excellence. While our first coach predominantly focused on the observation-feedback cycle, this course is centered on lesson preparation and assessment. Finally, coaching is an inherently relational endeavor, and we close the course by considering additional lenses and tools that allow us to build and sustain genuine connections with the teachers we support.

3/1/27-4/18/27; Live sessions on 3/31/27 & 4/14/27 from 6:00-7:30 (CST)

This course builds upon the wisdom of the three Delphic maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo: “know thyself,” “nothing in excess,” and “certainty brings ruin.” It combines classical models of leadership with modern management practices. Its anchor, however, remains the medium of tragedy, the realm of truth and self-discovery par excellence. The lyric voice will also feature prominently, as the “star to every wand’ring bark,” as Shakespeare writes in Sonnet 116.

This course encourages self-reflection about such topics as leadership style and bringing the best in those whom one serves. It seeks to reveal the contours of leadership (rather than details) so as to engender an understanding of leadership as an art in the sense of the ancient Greek word techne. It does not focus on operationalizing one’s vision in a school. This course contains synchronous elements and requires a personal mentor.

1/21/27-3/11/27; Thursdays from 6:00-7:30 PM (CST)

"Medieval philosophy" is the philosophy that came out of the Mediterranean world between the end of the western Roman empire and the dawn of the Renaissance. During that time the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions took up Greco-Roman philosophy to articulate and defend their teachings. The result was a unique and rich set of philosophical traditions that shaped the western mind for centuries to come. In this course we will explore some aspects of this story.

September 8, 2026 - April 13, 2026; Enrollment open through April!

C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia are among the most beloved and symbolically rich books in all of children’s literature. Drawing deep upon various aspects of Lewis’ classical education, the books explore betrayal, oppression, sacrifice, honor, and forgiveness, and the character necessary to successfully navigate such dynamics in the world. This course will be attentive to the influences on the series and to its symbolic world, unraveling the layers of its meaning.

N.B., This course is already open, but new students are welcome. Please refer to the schedule below, and note that the text listed should be read prior to the session.

• Session I: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Tuesday, September 15th, 2026
• Session II: Prince Caspian - Tuesday, October 13th, 2026
• Session III: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Tuesday, November 10th, 2026
• Session IV: The Silver Chair - Tuesday, January 12, 2027
• Session V: The Horse and His Boy - Tuesday, February 9, 2027
• Session VI: The Magician’s Nephew - Tuesday, March 23, 2027
• Session VII: The Last Battle - April 13, 2027