CASF is based on the Chesterton Schools Network that began in 2007 in Minneapolis. The network promises a “classical curriculum that combines a broad liberal arts education with a strong emphasis on the cultivation of Christian virtues and an appreciation of beauty,” the national website states. This fall, there will be nearly 70 schools operating in the network worldwide, with a further 15 set to open in 2025, including the South Carolina branch.

Classical education is a traditional approach to learning that emphasizes the humanities, liberal arts and ancient history. It aims to teach students how to think, learn for themselves and promote inquiry. 

McCoy said CASF will offer a “thoroughly classical and joyfully Catholic” education.

“Given the rigor and depth of a classical education, wherein students seek the good, the true and the beautiful through the best that the western canon has to offer,” she said, “we believe that Charleston’s children and the community can benefit from such an education model. CASF is not reinventing the academic wheel here; rather, it is employing a tried and true approach to education that has been a part of western academics for over two millennia.”

She noted that her educational background is in classical studies, and she taught graduate and undergraduate levels in the classical method for almost 30 years.

“In the last 12 to 15 years, I have noticed a marked and continuing decline in many of the skills necessary to succeed in university and in life: critical thinking, solid writing, the ability to articulate a position and argue or defend it,” she explained. “Regardless of what specialty a child may pursue later in life … that student needs to learn, develop and engage in critical thinking.”

McCoy added that this educational model seeks to train students intellectually, morally and spiritually, and that it works as a complement to available Catholic schools.

“I look at the Chesterton Academy of St. Finbar as being one option among the several offered here in the Lowcountry, a model of academics that may appeal to some parents in their children’s secondary education studies … Chesterton works to build community, both within the school and without, and to teach its students to become holy and joyful leaders, now and in the future,” she said. 

For MacKinnon, who began the project locally, it was a personal decision.

“As our daughter was approaching seventh grade and participating in a blended program [two days a week in a classroom and three days homeschooled], my wife, Laurel, and I began in earnest to investigate high school options for her here in Charleston,” he explained.

He said their Catholic faith was paramount to the educational experience they wanted for their child and did not want her to spend most of her high school days at a computer screen. They connected with several like-minded families to investigate what it would take to start a Catholic high school.

“Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, we were drawn to the Chesterton School Network … and quickly realized that this was the exact model we were wanting to have our children attend,” MacKinnon said. “Through information sessions, prayer, a lot of time and energy and a bit of soul searching, we joined the Chesterton School Network and began our journey to opening CASF. 

“So in many ways this is a selfish endeavor, wanting our daughter and eventually our 8-year-old son to have the absolute best education possible, one that is rooted in time honored learning traditions while remaining faithful to the Catholic Magisterium and one that will develop their whole person ... CASF is that school,” he said.

The Chesterton Academy of St. Finbar will open initially with grades 9-10 in the fall of 2025. Classes will be held at the Cathedral Parish Hall in downtown Charleston.