Thales College to Welcome Inaugural Class of Undergraduates This Fall at North Carolina Campus

There’s a new private college in town – one with affordable tuition, accelerated degrees, and classical liberal arts and career-ready majors – and it will be welcoming its inaugural undergraduate students this fall at its new Wake Forest, North Carolina campus.

Thales College, founded by Bob Luddy, who also created the network of affordable private K-12 schools known as Thales Academy, said in an announcement the college’s students “will enjoy personalized mentorship and teaching from top-notch faculty, and they will benefit from our new campus home in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with Raleigh’s vast opportunities and amenities at their fingertips.”

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Thales Academy Opens First Rural County School in Pittsboro, North Carolina

Thales Academy opened the doors of its brand new building in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Monday, as about 100 students from the academy’s Cary campus moved to the new facility in rural Chatham County.

“Chatham is the first time that Thales has been in a rural county,” Bob Luddy, the founder and chairman of Thales Academy, told The Star News Network. “So, my thought was having a facility of that quality in a rural county that’s a private initiative is going to change the way people think about K-12 education.”

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Biden Education Department ‘Declares War’ on Charter Schools as School Choice Becomes Overwhelmingly Popular in America

As more families and teachers flee government schools, the Biden administration – bound to the teachers unions – has now “declared war” on charter schools, as Robert Maranto, editor of the Journal of School Choice, wrote at National Review Monday.

The Biden education department is now on a path to sabotage the federal grant program that funds charter schools, public schools that are privately managed, with its proposal of new rules that appear to actually deter applicants from seeking grants.

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Thales Academy Moves to Expand to Middle and High School Levels in Franklin, Tennessee

aerial view of Thales Academy

Thales Academy, offering schools with a high quality private education at affordable rates, is planning to expand from its elementary school in Franklin, Tennessee, to two new buildings for the middle and high school levels.

Robert Luddy, the founder and chairman of Thales Academy, told The Star News Network the expansion in Franklin is “off to a really good start because we have one campus open.”

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Thales Academy to Host Open House in Franklin Next Week

Officials at the Thales Academy in Franklin have scheduled an open house next week to allow prospective parents to tour the campus, visit classrooms, meet teachers, acquaint themselves with the school’s curriculum, or to ask questions. Franklin Academy officials have scheduled the open house for 6 p.m. Thursday, August 5 at their campus, located at 3835 Carothers Parkway in Franklin. Franklin Academy is an independent and private school.

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Thales Academy Franklin Adds Fourth and Fifth Grade After Huge Success of K-3 Programs That Opened in August

Thales Academy Franklin will add grades fourth and fifth to their programs for the 2021-2022 school year, due to a successful first quarter. Applications are now open and will be selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Thales Academy Franklin is one in a college preparatory network of Pre-K-12 independent schools founded in North Carolina. The Pre-K-5 programs use a Direct Instruction (DI) educational model. DI groups and paces children based on their skill levels rather than age.

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VP Mike Pence and Secretary of Education Visit Thales Academy to Highlight an Example of How Schools Can Open During COVID Times

  Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visited Thales Academy on Wednesday in Apex, North Carolina. This visit by the members of the Trump administration comes as most school districts across the country are announcing schools with limit attendance to virtual and online classes to start the upcoming school year. Thales Academy, as a school, has bucked the virtual class trend and decided that its students will be attending in-person classes this upcoming school year. “We’ve got to get our kids back to school. We’ve got to get them back this fall,” Pence said at Thales Academy, according to WRAL. “It’s best for our kids. It’s best for working families. It’s best for North Carolina and best for all of America.” While Pence was at the Thales Academy, he chatted with fourth-grade students. Fourth-grade teacher Allison Combs, the teacher of the class Pence visited, said that she is happy to be in class teaching again even with additional health measurements, according to WRAL. “Virtual learning was challenging. We made it work because that’s what we had to do,” Combs said. “But losing that interaction with students made the work even harder. … Just having those interactions…

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Thales Academy to Host Parent Interest Meeting Tuesday Night

Thales Academy, a college preparatory network of independent Pre-K-12 schools, will be hosting a parent interest meeting Tuesday night regarding its new campus in Franklin, Tennessee.

The informational meeting is scheduled for June 9 at 6:30 p.m. at The Gate Community Church, the address of which is: 3835 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067. Thales Academy is a secular school and is not affiliated with The Gate Church.

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Thales Academy-Franklin’s High Quality Education Using Direct Instruction Methodology Will Hold an Open House on May 12

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcasting live from Music Row on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by all-star panelist and Thales Academy in Franklin’s Principal Rachael Bradley.

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Thales Academy of Franklin Now Offering Substantial Tuition Discounts to Help Families Get Through the Coronavirus Shutdown

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– host Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by new all-star panelist and Thales Academy of Franklin Principal Rachael Bradley.

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Thales Academy-Franklin: Principal Rachael Bradley Joins Leahy to Talk About Affordable Private Education Coming to Tennessee in July 2020

Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– host Leahy was joined by new all-star panelist and Thales Academy of Franklin’s principal Rachael Bradley.

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Thales Academy-Franklin: Principal Rachael Bradley Talks About Direct Instruction and the Next Parent Informational Meeting March 10th

Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcasting live from Music Row on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined on the newsmakers line by all-star panelist and the new Thales Academy in Franklin Principal, Rachel Bradley.

During the second hour, Bradley described the methodology of direct instruction which will be used at the new Thales Academy in Franklin as a teacher-led and carefully scripted environment that prevents misinformation from floating around the classroom. She described the flow of teaching as quick-moving where every minute of the school day is learning.

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Parents Attend Thales Academy-Franklin Informational Meeting, Learn About the School’s High Quality, Affordable Education Option

  FRANKLIN, Tennessee – A crowd of about 50 parents,  grandparents, and Tennessee Star Report All-Star panelists came out to hear first hand the announcement from Thales Academy founder Bob Luddy on Tuesday night that Thales Academy-Franklin will open its doors beginning in July of 2020, and will offer Middle Tennessee parents an affordable and high-quality education option for their children. Luddy broke the news that the campus will be located at the Gate Church on Carothers Parkway, the location of the evening’s meeting. Thales Academy has purchased the building and is beginning renovations to convert the church building to an effective home for its K-3 campus. Thales Academy-Franklin will be the first school in Tennessee added to Thales Academy’s successful roster of eight current campuses in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. Founder Bob Luddy emphasized their methodology of direct instruction (DI) Tuesday night and expressed the passion in their mission of teaching to master and creating connections for their students. When discussing what separates Thales from traditional models of schooling and how parents should see their children’s progress he stated, “You really don’t have to have any test scores or grades. If you can’t tell the difference than we’re…

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Thales Academy’s Rachael Bradley: Direct Instruction Is the Best Way to Teach Kids Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy and in-studio guest State Senator Kerry Roberts were joined by new all-star panelist and Thales Academy administrator Rachael Bradley who is in town to speak to parents tonight at 6:30 p.m. about Thales Academy K-3 coming to Franklin, Tennessee in July.

If you have not signed up yet, you can do so now at www.thalesacademy.org/franklin.

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Star News Education Foundation Executive Director Kent Misegades Explains Thales Academy’s ‘Direct Instruction’ Methodology

Misegades discussed the methodology of direct instruction, what it offered children, and how it motivated him to become part of the Thales Academy mission. At the top of the second segment, he described the history and the growth of Thales Academy from 2007 and why parents should consider enrolling their children.

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Thales Academy-Franklin Administrator Rachael Bradley to Speak on Direct Instruction with Parents Tuesday Night at Gate Community Church

Live from Nashville, Tennessee Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.– Leahy was joined on the line by all-star panelist and Thales Academy administrator Rachel Bradley.

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Moderator of the Nashville Mayoral Debate Asks the Wrong Question About How to Improve Public Schools

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy talked about the recent mayoral debate in Nashville and how moderator Rhori Johnson asked a completely irrelevant question to both candidates who responded with non-answers and dodged the real issues facing public education in Davidson County schools.

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New Private School in Nashville to Stress Critical Thinking and Character Education

  NASHVILLE — A new private school set to open in the Nashville area one year from now will stress, among other things, character education and innovative thinking. That school, Thales Academy, will cost less than other private schools in the Nashville area, said Director of Operations and Academics Timothy Hall. School officials will open at a temporary incubator location in July 2020 in the area, Hall said. About 50 parents came out to hear Hall and other school officials discuss their plans at an information session at Nashville’s West End Community Church Friday. “This is a private school that will cost about $6,000 a year. In the Nashville market other private schools probably cost about $12,000 – $22,000,” Hall told The Tennessee Star. “For the beginning, it’ll be K-5, maybe K-8, depending on the enrollment and how that matches out. If we have the right enrollment then we’ll create a high school and junior high school as well.” School officials are looking concurrently for both an incubator location and a location for the permanent building afterwards, Hall said. According to slides Hall and others showed parents, Thales Academy teaches critical thinking and leadership skills, and it also teaches students…

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The Tennessee Star Report Speaks to Dr. Tim Hall of Thales Academy and Their Approach to an Affordable Classical Education Coming to Nashville in 2020

  On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the Report welcomed Thales Academy’s Dr. Tim Hall to the show to talk about the type of education they offer and how they are bringing it to the Nashville, Tennessee area in 2020. As the segment came to a close, Dr. Hall described the curriculum offered at Thales Academy in more detail, noting that it’s a direct instruction and classical education that has proven to show it’s students testing higher than other students from both the private and public sectors. Leahy: We are joined now by Dr. Tim Hall, the Chief Academic Officer of Thales Academy, a high quality affordable private school. Has eight schools and three thousand students. Been in business in North Carolina for eleven years. And they’re coming to Nashville. Dr. Hall, welcome to the Tennessee Star Report. Hall: Well thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to be here. Leahy: So you’re coming to Nashville and you will be here in Nashville a week from today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for an informational meeting at the West…

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Thales Academy, High Quality and Affordable Private School, Is Coming to Nashville

  Thales Academy, a non-profit company that owns and operates eight private schools in North Carolina, is coming to Nashville. Founder and CEO Bob Luddy, the entrepreneur who also owns CaptiveAire, the nation’s leading provider of commercial kitchen ventilation equipment, and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Tim Hall will be among the Thales Academy team members who will be addressing the public at an informational meeting that will be held in Nashville on Friday, July 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at West End Community Church, located at 235 White Bridge Pike in Nashville. The event is free and open to the public. You can confirm your attendance here. Nashville joins Richmond, Virginia as locations Thales Academy has identified for expansion in the 2020-2021 academic year. In each community, Thales Academy is working with local groups who want to give students and parents in their area the opportunity to be part of a high quality, low cost private education based on traditional Judeo-Christian values. The Thales model emphasizes Direct Instruction rather than Common Core to learn the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic for K-5 students, and a classical curriculum for 6-12 students. Direct Instruction is a teaching method that…

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Successful North Carolina Businessman Pioneers New Way Forward in Education

Bob Luddy had already experienced massive success as a businessman and entrepreneur before launching Thales Academy, one of North Carolina’s most innovative private schools. In 1976, Luddy founded CaptiveAire Systems, now the leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems in the U.S. with annual sales of more than $300 million. Why, after such success, get involved in education? “Primarily because in my life I had a reasonably good education and I realized how much it contributed to my life, and to the American way,” Luddy told Battleground State News in a recent interview. “And also within our family, my parents certainly stressed the importance of education throughout our lifetime. So in making observations after being in business for many years, I felt like too many students are deprived of the opportunity to reach their fruition in life by having a good, sound education.” And that is exactly what Luddy’s Thales Academy (Thales), now in its eleventh year and named for the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, does: educate each student to his maximum potential. Luddy launched Thales in 2007 using a “temporary facility in the back of” his corporate office, the school’s website explains, and had just 30 students. Now,…

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