National Symposium Provides Tracks for Classical Education Leaders

The leadership track at the 2026 Great Hearts National Symposium for Classical Education is designed to empower educational leaders with practical strategies and insights to excel in their role as school leaders. Sessions will explore Great Hearts APEX courses, effective change management, leading with influence, and translating vision into operational excellence. Sessions will be led by various experts both from within and outside of Great Hearts.

In a recent article found on The 74, Why Education Leaders Should Train Like Olympic Athletes, Julia Rafal-Baer and Lara Dallman-Weiss noted, “Society asks superintendents and system leaders to perform at an elite level when it comes to inspiring, deciding, communicating and advancing progress for students and schools. But those expectations are shouldered without the recovery cycles or coaching structures that make consistent performance possible. Enduring as a leader is not a question of talent. It’s a question of training and sustaining infrastructure.” They explain how leadership development needs structure, coaching, and intentional design, which is exactly what the Symposium Leadership track promises this year.

Among these leadership workshops is one that will help classical school leaders explain classical education to parents and the wider community, an area many leaders find challenging. Communicating what sets classical education apart in a clear and accessible way, without relying on specialized vernacular unfamiliar to non-educators, can prove to be difficult.

“The classical school movement has seen extraordinary growth and interest,” according to leadership workshop presenter, Eric Cook, but “the current milieu is almost entirely tilted against classical ideals and the classical model.” In his workshop, Leading Classical Schools in an Unclassical World, Cook will address the challenges confronting the classical school leaders. Cook explains that the vast majority of American parents have hardly heard of classical education, or may even have misconceptions about it. It is among these barriers and in this context that our school leaders must serve and shepherd their school communities.

How can leaders articulate a clear, compelling vision for classical education? How can they embody the ideals and values of the tradition in ways that meet parents where they are? How can heads of school develop a vision for partnership that helps parents embrace the True, Good, and Beautiful things that the classical model provides? This session will explore these questions and equip leaders with the language, tools, and courage to lead their classical schools in an unclassical world.

Cook is the President and CEO of the Society for Classical Learning (SCL), an organization dedicated to fostering human flourishing through the advancement of classical Christian education. He provides executive leadership for SCL, overseeing the organization’s vision, strategy, thought leadership, and fundraising efforts. As President and CEO, Eric plays a pivotal role in the classical Christian school movement, seeking to revive timeless principles toreform education, renew culture, and promote human flourishing.

This important workshop, along with many others, will be presented at the Great Hearts National Symposium for Classical Education, held February 25–27, 2026, in Tempe, Arizona. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with fellow educators, renew your sense of purpose, and explore how classical education continues to shape the American experiment. Learn more and register for the pre-conference event and the Symposium athttps://classicaleducationsymposium.org/

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