Founder's Statement
It has been more than twenty years since we listened to a speaker at a “Face to Face with Greatness” event. The epiphanies we experienced that day sunk deep into our souls. As the speaker shared stories of the founding fathers of America, our passion and patriotism were set on fire. The books he later suggested, including A Thomas Jefferson Education and The 5,000 Year Leap, revealed to us that the history of freedom has been largely lost to our current educational system—and the rising generation.
The desire for our own “Thomas Jefferson Education” that sparked in us that day grew into years of reading, thinking, public service, and acting. As we studied and served, we came to realize that this education was meant for everyone. Adams said, “Children must be educated in the principles of freedom.” This means all children. We also recognized that in a Democratic Republic such as the United States, all citizens have a part in government, and so, every citizen, college-bound or not, should receive the type of education that will develop greatness in mind and character to become servant leaders of integrity and sound judgment.
We realized the need for a uniquely American form of education patterned after the education that produced the great servant leaders that founded our nation. With this mission in mind, we witnessed the hand of Providence working through us and others in the establishment of John Adams Academy.
This institution is perhaps the most unique charter school in America today, because it promotes American Classical Leadership Education®. This type of education teaches and inspires thinkers, leaders, inventors, citizens, entrepreneurs, and statesmen. It trains individuals “how to think” and teaches them why it is important. Robert Hutchins said classical education is “the education of free men in the knowledge and skills that are needed to remain free.” Because leaders select the goals of a nation and the methods of achieving those goals, the education of tomorrow’s leaders determines the level of freedom, prosperity, and integrity of the next generation.
As founders, leaders, teachers, scholars and families we come together as academic entrepreneurs to restore not only America’s heritage, but a philosophy and system of education that has produced the greatest leaders, statesmen, and thinkers of the past 2000 years. The result of applying these principles in a school setting has been a resounding success. What began as a small yet passionate group of families in 2010 has grown to include thousands of scholars across multiple campuses. But most importantly, this success is measured in terms of a culture of virtue, inspired learning, and servant leaders.
An American Classical Leadership Education® as offered by John Adams Academy is the best prevention and the only hope that a “nation conceived in liberty…shall not perish from the earth.”[1]
Dr. and Mrs. L. Dean Forman
Founders, John Adams Academies
[1] Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address,” November 19, 1863.
