During her commute to work, Wilson Hill co-founder and former teacher Dr. Marie Owens noticed many children loitering outside during school hours. Perplexed and concerned that so many children regularly skipped classes, she started researching her city’s public schools. 

She was shocked at the statistics she found. Her local school system was failing students, and Black students were disproportionately impacted. In 2017, 80% of Black public school students in her city tested lower than their grade level in math; 66% tested lower than their grade level in English.

She couldn’t ignore these statistics. As the co-founder of a classical Christian school and a homeschool parent, she knew the rich benefits and blessings that can come from this educational model. 

“I used a classical model homeschooling my children,” Marie said. “It cultivated a sense of wonder in learning, and I thought this could be a key to bringing new educational hope to my community. Every child deserves the opportunity to flourish.”

In 2021, Marie and her husband officially opened Charleston Classical School to provide a high-quality classical Christian education to students of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. 

The generational impact of a classical Christian education 

Though our settings differ—CCS is a brick-and-mortar school while Wilson Hill Academy serves families through online learning—we share a common goal and educational philosophy. The classical Christian model points students to the unchanging truths of Scripture. Students are trained to love what is beautiful, good and true—absolutes rooted in the triune God. 

We want our students to succeed academically, but, more fundamentally, we want to consider who they are becoming and how their education is molding them. The end goal of this model of education isn’t perfect test scores or rote memorization; instead, students are prepared to live fruitful lives in the service of the Kingdom of Christ. 

This is the double blessing of a classical Christian education: its present and future generational impact. For students at CCS, this is especially significant. 

Since its creation, CCS has operated on a sliding-scale tuition basis, allowing families to give their children a high-quality, Christ-centered education who otherwise might not be able to afford the cost of a private Christian school. By making a private education financially accessible to students from varying socioeconomic backgrounds, Marie is hopeful not only about enhancing the lives of families now but also sparking community-wide transformation. 

“The parents of our first students have expressed their gratitude, astonishment and relief to see their children progressing so well,” she said. “Moms who have older kids in government schools are particularly excited to see their young children learning so quickly. Despite several ESL (English as a second language) challenges, our students have flourished. You know something is going well when children are sad on the last day of school and ask all summer, ‘When can I go back to school?’”

If not for CCS, many of these students would not receive the individualized attention they need to thrive at school, which would set them up for a future of limited options. Now, with the support of gifted, compassionate teachers in a nurturing, Christ-centered environment, the trajectory of their future changes—which also changes how they will lead, serve and parent. In turn, the entire community experiences the benefits of Kingdom-minded leadership. 

Join us in making a classical Christian education accessible to more students.

Wilson Hill has joyfully supported CCS since its creation, and we look forward to continuing our partnership. We firmly believe in its mission and in modeling to our students what it means to be a good neighbor—whether that neighbor lives next door to us or across the country. 

Without state funding, CCS relies almost entirely on private donations and grants to make this education affordable for all families. Many Wilson Hill families were among the first to pledge support and help CCS reach its initial goal of $400,000 to open its doors in 2021. 

In the three years since, CCS has continued to grow and earn community recognition. This year, the school was a finalist for the Yass Prize, which recognizes achievements in “sustainable, transformational, outstanding and permissionless education.” 

But CCS still needs our support to continue pursuing its mission, and we’d like to invite you to join us. You can support them by making a direct contribution or by asking your employer about matching donations.

We’re encouraged by Marie’s faithful submission to God’s call on her life and excited to continue watching the inspiring story of CCS. Thank you for joining us in making high-quality, Christ-centered education more accessible! 

Are you interested in giving your own children an education that prepares them for college and beyond? Registration is open! Enroll your children in one class or a full course load today to give them a rich, biblically grounded education.