America’s Educational Renaissance

Arabella Puckett was in pre-kindergarten when she watched classmates jump off tables and chairs, imitating footage they saw of the burning World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

A second grader in the same district repeatedly attempted to watch porn in school, and pregnant teenage girls asked teachers for rides to the doctor because their parents wouldn’t help them, said Arabella’s father, Justin Puckett.

“That 9/11 footage—it’s not a conversation you should have with a 6-year-old, let alone those things in the other grades,” he told The Epoch Times.

His wife, Jennifer, taught various grades in the same rural Georgia district. Her full-time job was controlling bad behavior, not educating kids, he said.

Five years later, the couple and both of their children are part of a growing family at the nearby Providence School of Tifton, which had just started up when they’d had enough of public schools. Jennifer now teaches there, and Justin is a volunteer board member.

Arabella, 11, and Gideon, 9, are thriving. They love learning Latin and showing off their detailed knowledge of the Bible, ancient Greece, and American history.

They joined one of the fastest-growing segments in American K–12 education. As the 2025–2026 academic year winds down, classical school enrollment exceeds 677,500 across 1,551 schools and is on track to surpass the 1 million student mark within a decade.

Demand to Expand

All told, classical academies, the majority of them Christian evangelical, have increased tenfold in 16 years, from just 150 schools in 2010.

Industry leaders say they’re focused on careful growth to ensure that teacher training programs nationwide keep pace with demand.

“It’s been explosive,” Eric Cook, president of the Society for Classical Learning, told The Epoch Times. “It’s been pretty remarkable to watch.”

His organization accredits schools and provides support services. It recently announced a $60 million fundraising initiative to open more schools.

Private classical Christian academies will benefit from a new federal scholarship tax program authorized by Congress last year. It allows each American taxpayer to receive up to a $1,700 dollar-for-dollar credit for contributing to a private school scholarship-granting organization in his or her state.

Leaders in 30 states so far—most recently, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul—have officially opted into the federal program or announced intentions to do so. It will provide taxpayers with the option to contribute to a specific private school choice option in the state where they live, if their governor signs on to the federal initiative.

The American Federation for Children, a national organization that tracks and advocates for universal school choice, will contribute $10 million to support the federal program.

“The federal tax credit could be very short-lived, or it can be another mechanism to provide more access,” Cook said.

“That’s why the supply issue is so important. Build more incredible schools, and it will be hard to scrape away from families who really value it.”

—Aaron Gifford; Stacy Robinson

BOOKMARKS

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced legislation on Wednesday that will affect how money changes college sports. Read Jackson Richman’s latest to learn more.

Donald Trump said it’s possible that anti-fraud efforts, led by Vice President JD Vance, could save Social Security. “We’re going to make our Social Security so strong, so good, that you’d never seen anything like it,” he said at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Alabama asked the U.S. Supreme Court on May 27 to allow the state to use a congressional map that removed one of two black-majority districts. A district court panel ruled earlier this week that the state must use a 2024 map instead.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has confirmed she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is seeking treatment. Currently, she is “doing well” in her recovery, she said in an interview on CNN.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is calling for closer ties between the United States and the United Kingdom. Take a look at the details by reading Rachel Roberts’ latest article.

—Stacy Robinson