Upper School

Mission & Core Values

Austin Classical School exists to glorify Jesus Christ by co-laboring with families to cultivate wise, virtuous, and humble students through an excellent classical, Christian education.

We believe apart from God we are incapable of any good work. We esteem the family’s vital role in the academic and spiritual formation of their children. We value excellence and simplicity.  

Our Mission and Core Values govern every facet of the school’s life.  Our aim is twofold: first, to communicate a certain body of knowledge; and second, to cultivate a certain kind of person- the kind of person who joyfully and faithfully lives out his earthly vocation, and ultimately, is at home in God’s Kingdom.

Schedule

Note: For Logic students, approximately 1 hour of homework is assigned on Wednesday evenings. 

Student Life in Upper School

Outside of the classroom, our Upper School students are able to pursue interests in a wide variety of offerings, including athletics, social clubs, as well as our house system. Click over to our Student Life page to find out more!

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School of Logic: 5th – 8th Grades

The School of Logic (5th – 8th grades) takes the foundational knowledge gained in the Grammar stage and expounds on it. Students in this phase are naturally argumentative and are beginning to ask difficult questions about their world.  Analysis and critical reasoning are the chief mental acts of this stage. Developmentally, logic students learn best through debate and discussion.

	Grade 5	Grade 6	Grade 7	Grade 8
History	Ancient History	Medieval History	Modern History	U.S. History Capstone: National History Day Project
Christian Studies			Old Testament Survey	New Testament Survey
English Language &  Literature	Ancient Literature	Medieval Literature	Modern Literature	American Literature
Math	Dimensions Level 5	Math In Focus: Course 1	Math In Focus: Course 2	Pre-Algebra
				Algebra 1
Science	Anatomy & Physiology	Chemistry & Physics	General Science	Physical Science
Latin	Latin A	Latin B	Latin 1A*	Latin 1B*
Fine Arts	Choir	Shakespearean Theater	Art	Art, Theater, or Choir
Additional Electives	Dance & Decorum I	Dance & Decorum II
Athletics	Athletics are offered throughout the year. For more information, please visit our Athletics page.

*If completed at ACS, Latin 1A and Latin 2A combine to count for 1 full credit of Rhetoric Latin.

School of Rhetoric: 9th – 12th Grades

This stage is the culmination of the Trivium. The student of rhetoric takes the foundational knowledge gained in grammar school, the analytical skills of the logic stage and begins producing and defending his/her own ideas. Thesis defense and eloquent written and oral communication are the hallmarks of the rhetoric stage.

	Grade 9	Grade 10	Grade 11	Grade 12
History 3 credits	Ancient History	Medieval & Renaissance History	U.S. History in Global Context	& Hermeneutics
Christian Studies 2 credits	Development of Christian Doctrine & Church History I	Exegesis & Hermeneutics	Applied Exegesis & Church History II	Apologetics & Ethics
English Language &  Literature 4 credits	Ancient Literature	Medieval & Renaissance History	Modern Literature	Senior Thesis
Math 3 credits	Algebra I	Geometry	Algebra II	Pre-Calculus or Discrete Mathematics
	Geometry	Algebra II	Pre-Calculus or Discrete Mathematics	Calculus or Probability & Statistics
Science 3 credits	Biology	Chemistry	Physics I	Physics II
Latin 2 credits	Latin I or Latin II	Latin Honors Sequence or Spanish & Cross-Cultural Ministry Honors Sequence
Classical Leadership 3.5 credits	Intermediate Logic	Classical Rhetoric & Composition	Principles of Leadership	Introduction to Philosophy
Government & Economics 2 credits				Constitutional Government Economics
Fine Arts 1 credit	Studio Art I, Theater I, or Choir	Studio Art II, Theater II, or Choir
Additional Electives 1.5 credits	ACS offers a variety of additional elective courses, such as Personal Finance, Creative Writing, and others. Students may take additional years of Fine Arts courses to fulfill this requirement, or they may elect to complete honors courses.
Athletics 1 credit	Students earn the equivalent of 1 credit by playing a sport or taking other approved physical education courses. Athletics are offered throughout the year. For more information, please visit our Athletics page.