Friends, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful reaction to news that the Chesterton Academy of Bowling Green, a joyfully Catholic classical high school, is coming to our community in August 2026. Our social media launch has been a great success. Content on Facebook alone has generated more than 27,000 views since we premiered our page two weeks ago!

Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share our content with others who may be interested.

What is classical education?

In case you missed it, one of our posts included an essay by a member of our founding team, WKU education professor and St. Joseph parishioner Gary Houchens. In that essay, Gary described the classical education philosophy that will guide the curriculum of our school. Here’s a quote:

Classical education is a language-rich approach to curriculum that emphasizes history, science, art, and great literature as the foundation of learning and expects students to develop a well-trained mind adept at logic and rhetoric and capable of participating in the Great Conversation of ideas that has shaped and driven the development of Western civilization. Above all classical education understands that education should primarily be about the acquisition of virtue, and only secondarily about vocational preparation.

Read Gary’s full essay here, and see a full list of the courses that students will experience at the Chesterton Academy of Bowling Green, attached.

Why Latin?

One of the key features of classical education is the study of Latin. Students at CABG will study at least two years of Latin as a warm up to other languages.

• When students study Latin, they become more effective users of English. About 60% of all English words have direct or indirect origins in Latin. Through Latin study, students build a richer English vocabulary. And when they encounter new words, and especially many of the words used in medicine, law, and science, they will readily recognize and master that specialized language.
• Latin prepares students for studying other languages. Besides English, Latin is also the foundation of many other Western European languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. Latin gets students ready to learn other languages more quickly.
• Latin is the language of the Church. Some of the greatest works of music, art, and liturgy are still in Latin. Studying Latin helps connect students to the riches of the Church’s prayer life. Listen to these students from the Chesterton Academy of Sacramento singing “Salve Regina” at the Walk for Life.

For more, see this article on the reasons why Latin study is so important.

Watch for more information about the Chesterton Academy of Bowling Green, coming soon, and pray for our efforts!