Welcome from the founders of Nova Classical Academy!

As you explore and become familiar with our school - online and in person - we hope that you will be able to see and feel our founding vision being realized in the classrooms, the hallways, and the people of Nova. We are a community of learners who share a unity of purpose around the mission of engaging all of our students in a rigorous classical education. Our goal is to prepare these young people for a lifetime of continued learning, personal fulfillment, professional achievement, and thoughtful and productive citizenship.

Nova Classical Academy was founded by and for parents. As ordinary parents who were actively involved in our children's education, we three founders united to create a school in which parents are expected to be leaders and decision-makers. We knew it was the only way that we, and many other parents like us, would be able to provide the academic depth we wanted for our children.

Nova Classical Academy is a public school and was the first Minnesota charter school to focus on the classical model of education. This is a model that systematically lays a foundation of skills, and then uses those skills to shape knowledge out of masses of information. It demands that reason and logic be applied to knowledge to understand relationships between disciplines. It expects intellectual and artistic creativity in all disciplines to flow from a mind that has been trained by these foundational principles. Very importantly, classical education understands that preparation for the future can only be successful if the lessons of the past have been learned. Our steadfast focus on this model has allowed Nova's students to excel.

We are proud of the way in which Nova has grown and blossomed since opening in 2003. The success of our students is the result of the strength and commitment of parents as leaders in governing Nova, as volunteers in all facets of school life, and as supporters of the school's curriculum at home; the knowledge and skills of our faculty and staff as they transform vision and policy into daily lessons and tangible results; and the enthusiasm and eagerness to learn of the students themselves. This partnership among the members of our community is the defining element of Nova's success.

If your family's educational goals resonate with ours, we strongly encourage you to find out more about Nova Classical Academy and the lifelong benefits of a classical education.

Valete!

Elisa Pacini Knudson
Teresa M. Schulte
Simon S. Fung