This story also appeared in the Star Local Media and the Dallas Morning News.
When parent Kelly Belcher enrolled her son, Jack, at Vista of Hickory Creek in 2009, she had no idea how long he would be able to remain at the school. At the time, the school only offered kindergarten through fifth grade. This year the fear is gone as Vista of Hickory Creek will move into its new campus on I-35 and change its name to Corinth Classical Academy. The new building gives the school space to add sixth and seventh grade and continues to expand in response to the needs of the community.
Ms. Belcher, a local teacher, is happy that she can continue to send her two children to a public school that has a private school feel, where Jack will be in seventh grade in the fall. “It had the values and integrity as well as the education we needed,” she said.
The new Corinth Classical campus will allow Responsive Education Solutions (ResponsiveEd®) to expand and meet the growing demands of parents in Denton County. iSchool High, formerly located in Flower Mound, moved into the vacated Hickory Creek campus this summer. Based on waitlist demand at Founders Classical Academy in Lewisville, ResponsiveEd is opening a new Founders Classical Academy campus in Flower Mound in its Parker Square facility.
Amie Giacumakis, director of Corinth Classical Academy, is eager to take advantage of the new space.
“We are excited to grow to meet the needs of our families by adding a seventh grade, an orchestra class, and four new sports programs,” said Ms. Giacumakis. Corinth Classical Academy will now offer soccer, baseball, flag football, cheerleading, cross-country, volleyball, softball, and basketball.
The school is getting a new building and a new name, but the faculty will remain the same. The teaching staff is returning and adding several new teachers to accommodate the growing school community.
Ms. Giacumakis also said the unique character of the school will not change.
“What makes us different is that we are focusing on the minds and souls of our students, not just standardized tests because there is nothing standard about our children,” she said.
The new campus is located at 3600 Meadowview Dr., Corinth, Texas 75227. For more information, call 940-497-0148 or visit their website.
iSchool High School of Hickory Creek
As Corinth Classical Academy moves from its current location in Hickory Creek, ResponsiveEd’s iSchool High in Flower Mound will move into the facility on Point Vista Road, giving the charter operator a high school option north of Lake Lewisville. A new director, Shaina Tackett, will lead the school. She has worked for ResponsiveEd for several years, opening two high schools.
Ms. Tackett said the new location will allow ResponsiveEd to meet a long-time need in the Denton area. “With the Denton area growing so fast, there haven’t been many high school choices for parents. We are happy to meet that demand with a very different kind of school,” she said.
iSchool of Hickory Creek will offer students digital arts and college classes. “We will have a new sound room and mixing studio for audio video productions and an Apple Mac computer lab,” she said.
In addition to encouraging students to sign up for the media arts classes that iSchool High specializes in, Ms. Tackett said the college classes available through North Central Texas College can help students save money and better prepare for college.
“Our dual credit option helps to make college more affordable and it helps students get a head-start. By giving them the college experience in high school, it helps students transition smoothly into college,” she said.
The new campus is located at 800 Point Vista Rd., Ste. 518, Hickory Creek, Texas 75065. For more information, call 940-321-1144 or visit their website.
Founders Classical Academy of Flower Mound
Using the building vacated by iSchool of Flower Mound in Parker Square, ResponsiveEd will be able to meet the high demand and long wait list at Founders Classical Academy of Lewisville by opening a completely new school, Founders Classical Academy of Flower Mound.
Sam Vanderplas, the new headmaster and former teacher at Founders Classical Academy in Lewisville, said demand is high already. Filled to capacity, the school already has a waitlist of 164 students. Mr. Vanderplas hopes to expand the new K-5 school by a grade every year.
“We are grateful for all the parents who are enthusiastic about the new school, and happy to be able to provide an option to many parents who had applied three years in a row to attend Founders in Lewisville,” he said.
The faculty at the school will be a mix of seasoned teachers from both public school and classical education backgrounds as well as newer teachers excited to foster a love of learning.
According to Mr. Vanderplas, the aim of Founders is to work with parents to raise children who are good people and good citizens with a well-rounded knowledge base.
“It also means we try to train them in habits of virtue. We speak with them about what it means to be a good person. Classical literature is great because it speaks to us about what it means to be a good person. We aren’t doing anything new, it is something tried and tested over many years,” he said.
The new campus is located at 500 Parker Square, Flower Mound, Texas 75028. For more information, call 972-899-2521 or visit their website.
