2017.repairingtheruins.orgRepairing the Ruins Conference 2017 – The nation’s largest community of classical Christian educator

The nation’s largest community of classical Christian educators, sponsored by the ACCS. The nation’s largest community of classical Christian educators, sponsored by the ACCS. Excellence Teacher Training The Three Practicums Leader’s Day Speakers and Topics Gatherings Pittsburgh! Registration ‹ › Dr. Robert P. George Called The Conservative-Christian Big Thinker” by the "New York Times," we have asked Dr. George to talk about the importance of cultivated loves and virtue in culture. Read more » 25th Anniversary with The Gray Havens Experience the Gray Havens at the ACCS 25th Anniversary party. Celebrate with a thousand of your friends, enjoying an evening of special entertainment and memories. Read more » New Foundations Course A full training series designed to help put your entire staff on the same page, and bring a new level of excellence to your school. Read more » Conference at a glance Classical educators convene together at Repairing the Ruins for purposes beyond talks ( view complete list here ). Here are a few examples of more we have in store this year. Meetings and Events Membership Meeting On Friday at lunch, the ACCS holds its annual membership meeting to provide insight into the organization’s activities and to take input from members. Accredited Schools Meeting On Thursday at lunch, accredited schools gather to cover an agenda specifically targeted for ACCS accredited schools. Accreditation Informational Meeting Do you have questions about becoming accredited through the ACCS? Come with your questions. Time to be announced. New School Gathering Friday after the last workshop, members who have joined the ACCS within the past year receive an invitation to this meeting with the President of the ACCS. Newer, smaller schools are encouraged and we hope to answer specific questions. Fellowship & Networking Events This year, we’re hosting a 25th anniversary party. We have live music by the Grayhavens and we are planning other activities to make it an evening to remember. Training Leaders Day Specific talks and panels on leadership at classical Christian schools. Practicums These are activity-based in-depth training for teachers. They occur on the Wednesday just prior to the main conference. Foundational CCE Training A multi-part structured track for new and developing teachers. This is a 6 part track during the main conference that is useful for teacher certification. Conference Plenary talks These ‘keynote’ type talks encourage and challenge all of us. Speakers from outside our movement help us see new perspectives. Leaders inside the movement challenge us with new ideas, born in the classical Christian model. Workshops This year, we have more talks than we ever have. Through surveys, we work hard to find relevant, actionable 50 minute talks of particular interest to teachers, administrators, and staff at classical Christian schools. We also have some talks that are just intended to play with ideas. Vendor Presentations New this year, we have a limited number of speaking opportunities for vendors on Saturday morning. These presentations will help schools better understand some of the products and services offered by our vendors in a setting that allows for in-depth learning. Other Activities Vendors We have around 80 vendor booths with products and services valued by classical Christian educators. Private Meetings Repairing the Ruins is the time to meet with groups interested in classical Christian education. For example, we use this opportunity to bring key national Christian leaders together for dinner, by invitation, to broaden the reach of classical Christian education. What meeting can you sponsor? What dinner can you arrange? You can post meeting times on the communication board at the event. Coming soon — Visit our RTR website, under networking, to post opportunities or make arrangements for meetings during the conference. Networking We have set aside some beautiful space overlooking the river for attendees to sit, enjoy coffee, and talk about whatever. These opportunities are the highlight of the conference for many. After hours, there are many great opportunities in the area. Speakers Once again, we’ve assembled a group of speakers who will challenge and engage your teachers, staff, and board. We’re finalizing our plenary and full-speaker list, so check back often. Conference Schedule (PDF) 2017 Workshop Synopses (PDF) Dr. Robert P. George We’re honored to have Dr. Robert George join us this year. Called The Conservative-Christian Big Thinker” by the New York Times , he is senior fellow of the Witherspoon Institute, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by George W. Bush, McCormick Professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, and author of more than 15 books. Dr. George also drafted the Manhattan Declaration on the right to live out our faith. Read more… Thank you to our sponsors! Submit your sponsorship for 2017. Dr. Greg Thornbury President of The Kings College, son of a Baptist minister, and educated under the supervision of Al Mohler, Dr. Thornbury is an author and contributor to publications including First Things, World Magazine, and the Washington Post. He occasionally guest-hosts the Eric Metaxas show. Dr. John Mark Reynolds Founder of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University and St. Constantine’s School in Houston, TX, Reynolds is currently at Houston Baptist University as the Chief Academic Officer. His books include Three Views on the Creation and Evolution Debate with J.P. Moreland, Against All Gods: What’s Right and Wrong about the New Atheism with Phillip E. Johnson, and most recently, When Athens Met Jerusalem: An Introduction to Classical and Christian Thought . Dr. Louis Markos While you could buy Dr. Markos’ DVDs from The Teaching Company, you wouldn’t hear these lectures. Enjoy his scholarship and humor live this year at the ACCS conference. Markos is the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities and Professor of English at Houston Baptist University. Explore modernism and postmodernism and learn how the church can respond to them. Together we can reverse a mindset that is not only detrimental to the arts but that threatens the central mystery of the Gospels: the Incarnation. Dr. Christopher Perrin Dr. Christopher Perrin is an author, consultant, and speaker who specializes in classical education. He is committed to the national renewal of the liberal arts tradition. He co-founded and serves full time as the CEO/publisher at Classical Academic Press, a classical education curriculum, media, and consulting company. He has published numerous articles and lectures that are widely used throughout the United States and the English-speaking world. Andrew Kern Andrew Kern is founder and president of the CiRCE Institute, and co-author of The Lost Tools of Writing and Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America with Dr. Gene Edward Veith. Since establishing CiRCE in 1996 to serve classical educators through research and consulting, Andrew has trained and apprenticed innumerable home and school teachers, heads of school, and school boards. Andrew helped start Providence Academy in Green Bay, WI in 1993, Foundations Academy (now The Ambrose School) in Boise, ID in 1996, The Great Ideas Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2001, and Regents School of the Carolinas in 2006. Douglas Wilson As a founder of the movement, Douglas Wilson continues to offer fresh insight and provokes us to go further up and further into classical, Christian education. Mr. Wilson is the pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. He is a founding board member of both Logos School and New Saint Andrews College. He will encourage school leaders with a plenary talk on Leadership and Mimetic Desire” as well as all Repairing the Ruins attendees when he discusses The Poetic Turn.” George Grant George Grant served as an assistant to D. James Kennedy at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church...