FRANKLIN, Tennessee – Parents from throughout Williamson County who were interested in an alternative school for their children arrived Thursday evening for an open house at Thales Academy.
Thales Academy is an independent and private school.
Thales Academy Administrator Rachael Bradley told The Tennessee Star Thursday that the event was a drop-in open house for the school’s new Pre-K through fifth-grade campus, which opened last July.
“We just started our second school year. Last year we had about 108 students, and this year we have almost 200. We are growing really quickly. This is an opportunity for families to come to our campus,” Bradley said.
“Everything has been renovated from top-to-bottom, so it’s brand new. It’s a beautiful building. A chance to meet all of our teachers. And a chance to look at our curriculum. We know parents are really interested in knowing what their children are being presented with right now. That’s really important. We like to be very transparent.”
Brentwood parent Jon Manley said he likes that Thales Academy focuses on non-debatable topics.
“There is parent transparency,” Manley said. “They show the curriculum to us.”
Franklin residents Butch and Rubelyn Mays, whose grandchildren attend Thales Academy, said students do not have to wear COVID-19 masks – and they attend classes in person.
“Williamson County has always had real good public schools, but I am thinking that they’re slipping a little bit,” Butch Mays said.
“It’s more than just COVID.”
Bradley said last week that Thales Academy accepts students from outside Williamson County and has accepted students from, among other places, Nashville, Spring Hill, Nolensville, Columbia, and Chapel Hill.
Bradley said the school currently offers classes for pre-kindergartners and up to the fifth grade. She said the school will add a sixth grade next year and another higher-grade level each consecutive year.
“We are trying to form well-rounded human beings. We have a strong emphasis on character development. It is a big part of our program. We aren’t just focused on academics. We are focused on character as well and non-cognitive skills, like being able to communicate and collaborate and work as part of a team,” Bradley said last week.
“We want successful citizens. As far as classical goes, we are relying on the great classic works of literature and founding fathers of thought, like Socrates.”
In its second year, Thales Academy currently has 200 students.
Thales Academy is located at 3835 Carothers Parkway in Franklin.
For more information visit www.thalesacademy.org/contact/franklin-campus
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Parents should have the option of private schools with vouchers equaling the taxes they pay for public schools, and the public schools should lose the same amount from their budget.
Parents should have the choice of schools that instruct their children in the manner in which they choose. Not being forced to have their children exposed to forced propaganda, or instruction that goes against their beliefs.
Too many school boards consist of teachers or their kin, this is unacceptable.