Williamson County parents are gaining a new option for providing their children with a high quality, affordable private school education.
Thales Academy, a non-profit that operates a network of K-12 independent schools based in North Carolina, is expanding to bring to Franklin its first Tennessee campus, the school said in a statement released on Thursday.
The campus will open in July, initially offering grades K-3 for the 2020-2021 school year, with more grades to come in future years.
“We look forward to offering our Thales Academy model of the highest quality education at the most affordable tuition price to Nashville area families,” said Bob Luddy, founder of Thales Academy. “We are excited for the opportunity to grow and serve students outside of North Carolina as we expand to Tennessee this summer.”
A parent interest meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at The Gate Community Church, 3835 Carothers Parkway, Franklin. The church will serve as the academy’s temporary campus, but the two organizations are not affiliated.
Parents can sign up to attend this free informational meeting here.
Luddy and two campus administrators will present information about Thales Academy and will be available to answer questions. Children are welcome to attend. For more information and to register, visit their website here.
Thales Academy operates eight campuses in the Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina areas, instructing over 3,000 students, and continues to add campuses as demand for its school model grows. Student formation is designed to develop the entire person, which is achieved through a research-based teaching method, best-in-class instructors and a culture that embodies traditional values, according to the academy’s statement.
Hallmarks of Thales Academy include: rigorous, college-prep academics that emphasize learning to mastery; character formation; real world skills development; personalized attention and affordable tuition with no extra fees or fundraising. Tuition is $6,000 per year, with payment plans, discounts, and scholarships available. Thales Academy does not accept vouchers.
Thales Academy was established in 2007 in a temporary facility in the back of Luddy’s corporate office, according to the academy’s website. Luddy, our founder, is also president and founder of CaptiveAire Systems, a leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Bob Luddy” by Thales Academy. Background Photo “Thales Academy” by Zachpw. CC BY-SA 3.0.
[…] the first segment, Bradley who is the administrator of the new Thales Academy of Franklin, Tennessee, highlighted the school’s history, advantages of the academy’s direct instruction […]
This is GREAT news!
This will be a defining moment. President Trump has placed a stake in the ground, supporting school choice. Governor Lee has placed (or at leased tried) to place a stake in the ground supporting school choice, with his ESA initiative.
We’re going to get to see how many in the State legislature support limited government and free market economics. If they try to water down or repeal our ESA bill, we’ll get to see it!
Oh and expect to see the behind the scene leftists and establishment-RINOs, trying to get the teacher all up in arms, like they did last year. The strange thing is, teachers have the most secure positions in the whole scheme. As long as there are kids to teach, there will be a need for teachers!
It’s the highly or over paid “bureaucrats” and “administrators” that will be working (a strange concept) their behinds off, trying to nip this kind of free market thinking from taking hold. And all the while, our kids get stunted by a poor education. Very sad! Imagine how much money teachers could make, IF, you got rid of all the layers of micro-management!
Thales will not take the ESA vouchers. They will keep their independence and not be tied to Uncle Sugar’s strings that WILL come with the vouchers.
From the Thales website:
“Independence – Free of influence from government & special interest groups, allowing for the best possible outcomes.”
“The accreditation process does not align with Thales Academy’s mission and would prevent Thales from maintaining our standard of the highest quality education. Too often, accreditation burdens staff and teachers with bureaucratic requirements, forces harmful changes to core policies and curricula, and does not correlate positively with student performance (this is evidenced by low graduation rates in accredited schools).”
“Recent events concerning Wake County Public Schools show that accreditation companies can go beyond their primary purpose of evaluation and attempt to change major policies and curricula, which is completely counter to Thales Academy’s insistence on independence.”
This independence they enjoy from Uncle Sugar’s federally-forced Common Core curricula, mandatory online testing via Pearson, all that pigeon-holing of kids based on their color, household income, and dead-weight accreditation agencies could also be enjoyed by the local public schools. All they have to do is say NO to Uncle Sugar’s money. Then they would have true state/local control of education again.
This is a wonderful alternative to public school. Parents of school-aged students should look into Thales. I am certain they will find a superior alternative which enriches their children like no other.