Our journey didn’t begin with a theory; it began with a heartbreak. Our founder discovered her 6th-grade grandson—along with many of his peers—was reading at only a kindergarten level. This wasn’t just a “learning gap”; it was a systemic failure. Despite the legal promise of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), the very system designed to lift children up was leaving them behind.
She sought help, cooperation and transparency, but instead encountered administrative pushback and bureaucratic walls. As the days turned into months, the burden fell entirely on the family. They faced mounting out-of-pocket expenses for legal fees, advocacy assistance, and private tutoring—all to secure the basic education the state was already supposed to provide. They realized then that the “process” was broken, and that “cooperation” was often a one-way street.
Exhausted by the lack of accountability, the financial burden, and the emotional toll, she reached a breaking point. She stopped asking for a seat at a table that wasn’t serving our children and decided to build a new one. She realized that if families wanted an education rooted in high standards, foundational literacy, and moral character, we had to create it ourselves.
After sharing her story, she discovered she wasn’t alone; many friends and neighbors had been navigating the same systemic failures for years. Inspired by a friend already pioneering a charter school in a neighboring Maryland county, she decided to forge a similar path. Supported by the growing enthusiasm of local families and friends, that shared frustration was transformed into a mission, and the vision for Cecil Classical Charter School was born.
A newly elected Board of Directors chose the classical model for the charter school because it refuses to settle. We believe that every child—regardless of their starting point—deserves to be taught with the proven, time-tested methods that prioritize deep literacy, critical thinking, and the pursuit of virtue. We founded Cecil Classical Charter School to ensure that no other family has to fight a battle just to see their child learn to read. Here, a “Free and Appropriate Public Education” isn’t just a legal acronym; it is our sacred mission.
At Cecil Classical Charter School, we don’t guess; we teach. We have built our curriculum around the Orton-Gillingham and Science of Reading approach—a highly structured, multisensory method that breaks the code of the English language for every student, especially those with dyslexia or learning gaps. By combining this scientific rigor with the wisdom of a Classical Education, we ensure our scholars don’t just learn to decode words—they learn to love the Great Books and the pursuit of Truth.
As a Board, we believe that a child’s education is a sacred trust between the school and the family. Unlike the closed doors and “pushback” our founder once faced, Cecil Classical Charter School operates with an open-door policy. We don’t just allow parental involvement, we invite it. Parents are always welcome to volunteer in their child’s classroom, whether to assist a small reading group or simply to observe the high-quality instruction taking place.
You will never have to wonder how your child is performing. We maintain routine communication through weekly updates, parent-teacher conferences, and direct access to our faculty. We provide the data and the dialogue you need to stay informed, ensuring that the “wait-to-fail” era is replaced with proactive partnership.
We recognize that parents are their child’s first and most influential teachers. To support this, we don’t just teach your child the Science of Reading and Orton-Gillingham—we teach you how to reinforce it at home. We provide resources and training so parents can work with their children at home to enforce phonics and literacy skills using the same Orton-Gillingham principles we use in the classroom.
By aligning the home and the school, we create a unified front that ensures no child—and no family—is ever left behind to struggle alone again.