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Atlas School

Josh Clark asked, "What is Atlas School?" Atlas is a small liberal arts school for boys, where we use terms such as "poetic knowledge" and "worship-centered" to describe our educational philosophy. We start each day with a lively liturgical prayer service, and we conclude our school week with a festive meal together.

Most of our students have come from homeschooling families that simply wanted more structure, more accountability from male tutors, and more instruction in the context of worship. At present, everyone involved in Atlas is part of Christ Church, Moscow.

We are now just in our second year. We currently have a half-day format, under twenty students (ages 8-14), two main teachers (Toby Sumpter and me), two part-time teachers (Peter Leithart for Hebrew and Wes Callihan for Great Books), and a parent-couple who oversee administrative matters (my folks). We meet in an old movie theater in downtown Moscow, which we sublet from Community Christian Ministries (directed by Doug Wilson's father, Jim Wilson). We are in a season of small beginnings; we are a work-in-progress with a long way to go. But God has been very kind to us.

Our school name tries to hint variously at maps and at travel; at Greek mythology's globe-bearing god; and at the Christian church's international character, as well as her geographically-distributed local churches. If you're interested in reading some of our "big picture" influences, see for starters, Alexander Schmemann's For the Life of the World, James S Taylor's Poetic Knowledge, and James B Jordan's Open Book, No. 41 & 42. Also of interest is Rod Kirby's dissertation [PDF], Homo Adorans: Man as a Worshipping Creature, and Its Implications for a Christian Philosophy of Education.