Alumni Spotlight

Meet Abby Layton! Mrs. Layton attended Charter Day School, now Classical Charter Schools of Leland, Kindergarten through 8th Grade. Mrs. Layton is still involved in The Roger Bacon Academy by coaching the students of the RBA Cheerleading Squads. She has been part of all 21 National titles as either an athlete or a coach. Mrs. Layton is currently working on her Master’s in Business Administration.

Learn more about Mrs. Layton here!

And the Winners Are… Handwriting Day Results!

The much anticipated Handwriting Day results are in! We are so proud of all of our students for their hard work and overall exceptional penmanship.  Entries were judged on spacing, size, shape, slant, the use of proper capitalization, and even content. Judges went by each classroom and decided on a winner and the honorable mentions. Then, within a grade level, each class as a whole was assessed based on their overall performance. The classes with excellent handwriting were rewarded with an ice cream party and a door medallion to display! Please take a look at the presentations below of remarkable handwriting from our students!

Handwriting Day Winners: Leland Handwriting Day Winners: Southport Handwriting Day Winners: Whiteville Handwriting Day Winners: Wilmington Handwriting Day Winners: Blended Learners

RBA Archery Returns to the NASP Tournament

The CCS-Leland Archery team competed for the first time in two years this past Saturday. With an almost all rookie-team, they finished with a score of 2911 placing them in 8th. “We have rebounded after COVID to compete with a team of almost exclusively rookie archers and still beat out half the pack. With only six 8th graders aging out, we are already looking forward to climbing our way back to the top of the pack next year.”- Coach LaFave. Great job to Coach LaFave and our athletes for all of the hard work they put into this season!

Pictures Results 

CCS-Leland Projects and Plans!

Since its founding in 1999, Classical Charter Schools of Leland has grown from 53 students to over 900 students. This growth has brought exciting changes throughout the years, and there is much more to come!    Projects completed this past year: -The Elementary school loop road was expanded to accommodate two lanes of traffic to speed up the drop-off and pick-up processes.  -A new EC building was built on the Middle School campus to provide better facilities for the EC department and to give the Middle School more room for pull-out groups in reading and math.  -Drainage was repaired between the football field and the 5th grade. This road will soon be repaved with temporary pavement until construction is complete.    Projects coming soon: -A new Elementary office building with an auditorium (including a gym and a stage!) is in review, soon to be in permitting.  -A new septic system to support both the Elementary and Middle schools is in permitting.  -The parking lot which will have over 280 spots and be used as staging lanes has been cleared and is in use. It is planned to be paved in the Summer of 2022.    Thank you, CCS-Leland parents, for your patience and understanding while the campus undergoes these exciting changes! We have a lot of great things to look forward to! 

History & Growth of CCS-Leland

Question: What does the Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius” mean?

Answer: “Faster, higher, stronger.” This is one of the questions that is part of Classical Charter Schools of America’s Classical History Bowl presented by The Roger Bacon Academy (RBA). History Bowl team members in grades 5-8 are expected to learn up to 400 questions by the end of the year! These questions correspond with RBA’s chronological history curriculum. The following time periods are taught in our classical history program: -3000 B.C.-A.D. 476-Beginning of civilization through the Fall of the Roman Empire, taught in 1^st and 5^th grades. -A.D. 476-1453: The Middle Ages, taught in 2^nd and 6^th grades. -1453-1850: Age of Exploration and the Beginning of the USA, taught in 3^rd and 7^th grades. -1850-Present: The War Between the States through 9/11, taught in 4^th and 8^th grades. During the final History Bowl, students will be awarded medals, and schools will earn a coveted trophy to display for the year at their school. The final History Bowl will be held at CCS-Wilmington on April 29.

History Bowl Scrimmage Photos 

Celebrating the Life, Legacy, and 204th Birthday of a Great American

“Once you learn to read, you are forever free,” wrote Frederick Douglass. This quote encapsulates CCS-America’s philosophy and mission. Born a slave in February 1818, Douglass understood the great importance of education.  It was illegal to teach slaves how to read and write, but the wife of his master taught Douglass how to read the Bible. After he learned, he read anything and everything he could. Douglass was a champion of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements, and a supporter of and expert on the Constitution.  CCS-Wilmington (formerly Douglass Academy) celebrates Douglass’s birthday each year through a variety of activities. Teachers read books about Douglass to students, which emphasizes the value he placed on education. Students end the day by singing happy birthday to Douglass and enjoying cupcakes.  Please click the links below to learn more about Frederick Douglass and the virtue and wisdom his life offers us.

Fredrick Douglass – National Historic Site Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave. Written by Himself

Staff Spotlight

This week’s Staff Spotlight is CCS-Leland 7th grade Science Teacher, Mr. David Johnson! Mr. Johnson has taught in the Classical Charter Schools of America network for 11 years. He leads the Science Olympiad team, and last year they placed fourth out of 44 teams. He was Teacher of the Year for the 2015-2016 school year, and in 2016 he was also awarded the Anne Watkins Middle School Distinguished Service Award by the North Carolina Science Teacher’s Association. Learn more about Mr. Johnson in the video below!

Alumni Spotlight

Meet Kaitlyn Emmer, a 2012 Charter Day School, now Classical Charter Schools of Leland, Graduate! Ms. Emmer runs her own mobile pet grooming company, Stinky Paws. Read how her CCS-America education and experience impacted her personally and professionally here!

MythBusters: Charter School Edition! Myth: Charter schools select their students.  Fact:

A charter school is a tuition-free school that must accept all applicants but operates without some of the constraints of traditional public schools, such as the increasingly politicized curriculum district schools use. In contrast, charter schools enable parents to choose the type of education and school they believe is best for their child.  Myth: Charter schools are not held accountable.  Fact: Charter schools must meet the same academic testing requirements and must abide by the same regulations governing exceptional children as traditional public schools. In fact, if a charter school doesn’t perform academically, it can be closed down. This is not the case for district-run public schools, where failing schools typically undergo improvement measures for years while countless students receive subpar educations.   Myth: Charter schools perform lower academically than district schools.  Fact: According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, “NC public schools have an average academic proficiency score of 56.1% while NC charter schools have a proficiency score of 66.7%.”  Myth: Charter schools take money away from district schools and cost taxpayers more money.  Fact: The North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools states that for every dollar taxpayers spend per district-school student they spend just 73 cents per charter school student. So, charter schools save taxpayers by operating on less funding while delivering better results than district schools. 

Charter School FAQs 

Your Booster Clubs at Work

Our Booster Clubs work hard to continuously improve our schools. Parents and teachers working together allows for the additional support our students, staff, and campuses need. CCS-Southport and CCS-Leland hosted a Fun Run and Color Run in January. Both schools surpassed their goals! The money raised at CCS-Southport will go towards new carpool sidewalk covers. At CCS-Leland, the money will go towards an LED Marquee to display updates and information each day. Thank you, CCS-America families, community sponsors, and friends for your generous support of our schools! 

CCS-Southport CCS-Leland 

Who is Roger Bacon?

For years, educational institutions have been named for prominent people. George Washington University, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and The Roger Bacon Academy (RBA). But, who wasRoger Bacon? Roger Bacon was a medieval English philosopher and professor who lived from 1220 to 1292. A graduate of Oxford University and one of the great scholars and teachers of his time, Bacon was well versed in mathematics, optics, alchemy, astronomy, linguistics, philosophy, and Latin. He was greatly influenced by the Greek philosopher Socrates, who taught by directly questioning his students, establishing what one of his students, Plato, described as the teacher-student dialogue. Classical Charter Schools of America, managed by RBA, uses similar methods. “Education has roots that are bitter, yet yield the sweetest fruit,” Aristotle, a student of Plato, is reported to have once proclaimed. It was this type of testament to education, that inspired RBA founder and CEO Baker Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell also was inspired by the teaching of a Texas educator named Thaddeus Lott, whose Direct Instruction methods are a modern version of Socrates’s dialogues. It’s no coincidence that The Roger Bacon Academy’s offices are located on Thaddeus Lott Lane.

Learn more about Roger Bacon

How to Make Better Readers

The word “cursive” comes from a Latin word meaning “to run” and is the form of writing that quickly connects separate letters together to form a smooth, flowing writing motion. Many historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, are written cursively so studying them requires that we be skilled in cursive. Most importantly, continuously blending letter shapes together as we write a word is like blending letter sounds together as we speak a word. Many studies have shown that pairing cursive writing with reading aloud increases the performance of both skills and that they should progress hand-in-hand throughout a curriculum. Both block printing and keyboard typing disconnect letters from one another and cannot promote the sequential relationships established by the blending that occurs in cursive writing with oral reading as taught in all Classical Charter Schools of America.

Latest Research on Cursive Handwriting

Just Write!

National Handwriting Day was founded 45 years ago by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) to keep the enthusiasm of handwriting and handwritten materials alive. It is celebrated each year on January 23, John Hancock’s birthday. He is best known for having the first and most prominent signature on the Declaration of Independence, and as a result, a person’s signature is sometimes referred to as a “John Hancock.” After teaching cursive for many years, CCS-America began hosting a Handwriting Competition in 2019. Students in all grades are given a phrase to copy and a prompt to answer in their neatest handwriting with a cursive requirement in grades 4-8. First-place winners and honorable mentions will receive a cash prize! Additionally, classrooms that display overall handwriting excellence receive a door medallion. Our judges this year are Stephanie Fisher (K-3 Dean), Jessica Lopez (Dean of Classical Humanities), and Baker Mitchell (Founder and CEO). According to WIMA, “The benefits from handwriting are numerous, ranging from information retention and creativity to socialization and intelligence.” Read more about how handwriting helps memory and cognitive development here.

See Previous Competition Winners

1992: Parents Revolt

As we approach School Choice Week, let’s reflect on the history of the charter school movement. In 1992, parents revolted against the failing Minnesota state-run schools and the first charter school was established in St. Paul. The legislature allowed privately operated groups to establish schools under a contract or “charter” with the state. In 1996, North Carolina approved its own charter school law. What started as a small, local citizens’ revolt has blossomed into a national movement. Presently, 45 states and the District of Columbia permit charter schools, which provide education to approximately 3.3 million students. COVID-19 and opposition to Critical Race Theory have accelerated the charter school movement. Charter schools offer parents a voice in what type of education their child receives. At state-run schools, parents often have no choice in what or how their students learn. For 20 years parents have been choosing our schools. Thank you; and we appreciate YOUR CHOICE. 

Charter Schools Data

CCS-Wilmington Participates in the MLK Parade

Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington, formally Douglass Academy, strives to make a positive impact in our community. Our founder, Baker Mitchell, wanted to open a school that would provide an exemplary education to every child regardless of their socioeconomic status. Since our doors opened in 2013 it has been our privilege to serve our community.  One way our school gives back is to participate in celebrating the birthday of a true American hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s contributions have positively shaped our country. In homage to his life, for the past 9 years we have been honored to walk in the MLK Jr. Day parade and teach our children about the positive impact he has had on our lives.

Parade Photos

Students of the Month

Character education is an important part of the CCS-America curriculum. Each month, students are recognized for displaying a specific character trait that they are not only learning and practicing, but also recite daily in our Pledge. December’s character trait was Generosity. Students who shows generosity are careful with what they have so they can share with others. Generosity is seen in the School Pledge as “I pledge to be virtuous in all my deeds”. These students apply these words to their everyday lives and do good for others without seeking anything in return. Congratulations to all of these students who demonstrated exemplary generosity. Check them out on the links below!

CCS-Leland

CCS-Southport

CCS-Whiteville

CCS-Wilmington

Advantages of a CCS-A Education

Check out parent perspectives on what CCS-A schools accomplish for their children.

Guest Perspective: Kelly Mann, Locke Foundation Exodus from Traditional Public Schools Likely Will Continue Unless They Refocus on Truly Educating our Children

For years, traditional public schools have been on a path less focused on educating successful learners than on a path more focused on odd, agenda-driven curricula. Parents have never been more aware of the failures and misdirection of traditional public schools, and they are demanding choice. Parents feel duped, and rightfully so. This is most evident at district school board meetings where parents are learning that their voices don’t matter.  Parents want options with funding that follows their students and not the institution, and the legislature has responded with charter schools and Opportunity Scholarships. Because of this development – along with home-schools and private schools – enrollment numbers in two of North Carolina’s largest districts are down. According to a recent poll of 500 likely voters by Parents for Educational Freedom in NC, only 38% of respondents would choose a traditional public school for their child if money and distance weren’t factors, while 52% would choose a charter school or other option. Pre-pandemic, I was a public-school lifer. Today, two of my three girls are in non-district schools that better serve their educational needs.  I recently toured Classical Charter Schools of Leland and was impressed by the approach and academic success. All students and families deserve a K-12 education that meets their needs.

Guest Bio Read More 

King: A Classical Inspiration

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was classically educated. He understood that for people truly to be free, they need to be able to think for themselves. King thoroughly studied the teachings of India’s celebrated civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which ignited the Civil Rights Movement. Studying others’ works and being an avid reader are two cornerstones of a classical education which Dr. King embodied. He was also a master of classical rhetoric seen in his speeches and writings. Each day we can honor the memory and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by seeking knowledge and being virtuous, “the goal of a true education!” Letters from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. MLK Jr. Keep Moving, Dr. MLK Jr. 

New Year, Same Pledge

For many, the start of a new calendar year is a time for reflection and new beginnings. It encourages us to re-evaluate how we make choices and spend our time, and helps us prioritize what matters most to us. At CCS-A, we know New Year’s resolutions can be challenging to maintain. Therefore, to avoid temporary nature, we say our School Pledge every day. Our Pledge focuses on health, truth, and virtue, so it’s easy to connect your resolutions to our Pledge! If one of your resolutions this year is to become “physically fit,” provide “charity towards my neighbor,”, or even to exemplify “prudence in new undertakings,” our School Pledge can be a daily reminder of your goals. No matter what you decide, we encourage you to discuss the tenets of the Pledge with your student and how both of you can apply it to your goals for this year!

Link to School Pledge