Summer Courses
Our summer courses overlap, but the synchronous sessions do not. As such, it is possible to take more than one course at the same time. However, pick and register for the course or courses most relevant to you. Please consult with your headmaster or direct supervisor if you’re unsure about what would best fit your needs.
Leadership for Change: Understanding Change, Managing Transitions – May 27th, 2025 – June 29th, 2025
Intended for any teacher or rising leader, this course seeks to build awareness of the larger context of leading school change and managing transitions. While not exhaustive, it aims to develop an awareness of the process of change and the ways a leader can manage and facilitate change and transitions. This overview includes an introduction to how adults learn and make change and to understanding and managing the progression of transitions, and offers some tools for all leaders to use when implementing or facilitating a change.
Designed by Alison Westerlind of Ascent Consulting Group.
Required text: William Bridges’ and Susan Bridges’ Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change.
Facilitator: Debbie Rickey, Ascent Consulting Group
Live session dates: June 5th, 12th, 18th, and 26th at 9:00 AM (AZ time)
Leadership & Liberal Education – May 28th, 2025 – June 27th, 2025
In this course, we will consider a set of challenges that are unique within – or at least more focal to – a classical or liberal arts educational setting, given the distinct goals of such settings. In doing so, a first step will be to consider the goals of a liberal arts education. In taking this course, it is unlikely that you will emerge having mastered these challenges, as they are challenges that reflect the magnitude of liberal education itself. For instance, a teacher might wish to produce a lifelong learner, might even know what actions are conducive to doing so, and still have a long way to travel before having the capacity of cultivating a lifelong learner. This course aims at identifying the challenges and providing tools toward mastering them. There may follow years of attempting to apply those tools before feeling as though you have arrived at any level of mastery.
This course includes readings, discussion boards, written reflections, live (virtual) Socratic seminars, and the opportunity to compose and deliver a speech. Fully engaging in both the asynchronous assignments and synchronous meetings will acquaint you with the distinctive obstacles faced by leaders in a classical liberal education setting and offer guidance on navigating these challenges.
Required text: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics.
Facilitator: Helen Hayes
Live session dates: June 4th and 18th at 2:00 PM (AZ time)
Building a Strong Faculty Culture – June 1st, 2025, – June 28th, 2025
Building a Strong Faculty Culture uses the classical virtues as a paradigm for developing a healthy faculty. The objective of this course is to develop your understanding of the components of a healthy faculty culture so that you can bring that understanding to bear on the practical, day-to-day decision-making processes of a school teacher.
Required texts: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Josef Pieper’s Leisure: The Basis of Culture, and Daniel Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.
Facilitators: Corinne Jacobson and Jennifer Ramirez
Live session dates: June 13th and 20th at 12:00 PM (AZ time)
Instructional Coaching – June 11th, 2025, – October 8th, 2025
This two-part APEX course is focused on both outlining foundation principles of instructional coaching while also dedicating time to the practical work of conducting the observation and feedback process. During the first 8 weeks, we will ground the learning in several key texts and do a guided practice of the coaching cycle. The texts used in this course are Plutarch’s essay “How to Tell a Flatterer from a Friend,” excerpts from The Art of Coaching, Never Underestimate Your Teachers, The Coaching Habit, and excerpts from Leverage Leadership 2.0. The second part, lasting 8 weeks, will shift gears into a mentorship model, with the facilitators meeting individually with participants to be a thought partner as they do the work of coaching on their campus.
Note about texts: The only required purchases will be Never Underestimate Your Teachers and The Coaching Habit. We will provide the Plutarch essay, as well as the excerpts from The Art of Coaching and Leverage Leadership 2.0 within the course.
Facilitators: Jennifer Ramirez and Mary Chin
Live session dates: Meetings will take place from 10:30-11:45 (AZ time) on June 18th, June 25th, July 9th, July 16th, July 30th, August 6th, and October 1st.
Lives of Leaders: Xenophon – May 26, 2025 – June 30, 2025
In this course, learners will examine Xenophon’s life and work. They will explore several themes related to leadership, including how following well is a prerequisite to leading well, what it takes to become a leader, and how interpersonal relationships evolve in the transition into leadership positions. The course concludes with an opportunity to reflect on what was learned and apply it explicitly to the practicalities of institutional leadership. Additionally, learners will participate in an open forum with Headmaster Poppleton which will allow the opportunity to ask questions about his experience in leadership in light of our study of Xenophon.
Readings include Xenophon’s Anabasis of Cyrus and a selection from Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus as well as Diogenes Laertius’ biographical essay “Life of Xenophon.”
Facilitator: Dr. Michael Ivins
Live session dates: June 2nd, 9th, 18th, 23rd, and 30th (time TBD)
Personal Leadership II – May 19, 2025 – June 22, 2025
Building on Personal Leadership I, Personal Leadership II centers on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, particularly the character of Prospero, to cement your understanding of who a classical leader is and what his or her work means in the context of education. The readings and assignments promote a sustained intellectual engagement with Shakespeare’s vision, as well as self-reflection on your strengths and areas of growth.
Each module takes you through parts of the play, supplemented by readings that enhance the play’s meaning. Moreover, you will be asked to read and write on various lyric voices that complement Shakespeare’s insights.
Course Prerequisite: Personal Leadership I.
Required text: Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Download a free copy here.
Facilitator: Dr. Amber Dyer
Live session dates: June 3rd and 17th from 1:00-2:30 (AZ time)
Academy for Classical Teachers – June/July 2025
The Academy for Classical Teachers (ACT) provides online enrichment for classical teachers who seek to teach in their classrooms according to the principles of a traditional Liberal Arts Education. ACT is a collaborative initiative of Great Hearts Academies and our partner institutions in both higher education and classical K-12. This year’s courses are designed to help teachers dive deeply into content, with an eye toward both theory and practice. Faculty are drawn from our friends in higher education, expert teachers, and scholars who have chosen to teach within the public K-12 arena because of the unique opportunities it affords.