Sager Classical Academy sourced recently retired Police Chief Jim Wilmeth to lead the private school.
Wilmeth, who has a background in education as well as law enforcement, started at the classical Christian school on Nov. 1. The school serves children in kindergarten through sixth grade and opened in August. It is leasing space from First Baptist Church but is not affiliated with any particular denomination.
"From the outset the board has hoped to hire a head of school when we thought the time was right," said board member Ansley Raith. "That time came sooner than we anticipated, which means our launch year has been more successful than we dared hope."
School board members hoped to open with 20 students but had so many applications they had to set a cap at 49, board chair Jessica Hooten Wilson said in August.
As head of school, Wilmeth is the primary administrator and is responsible for the operation of the academy, according to Raith. Since the school is still small, the role is similar to superintendent, principal and chief executive officer all rolled into one, Wilmeth said.
Wilmeth was one of several qualified candidates from across the county that were interviewed for the position, Raith said.
"The board is so pleased to welcome Jim into this role," Raith said. "He has a love for teaching and a real desire to watch people grow in their role, whether it be as a teacher, a student or as parents supporting their children. He has extensive administrative experience, and an obvious heart for the Lord and his work. We observed his ability to ask the right questions and knew he would be a strong leader to carry the vision of the school forward. What a bonus Jim is already so invested in our community."
Wilmeth came to the Siloam Springs Police Department from New Mexico in 2014 and announced his plans to retire in July. When Wilmeth came to the Siloam Springs Police Department, he had a very specific set of goals, he said. He realized that he had met all his goals and after praying with his wife, decided it was time to move on, he said.
Overall, he has 36 years of experience in law enforcement as well as a solid background in education. He has a bachelor's degree in history and education from the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, N.M., and a master's degree in curriculum instruction and administration from the same private Christian university.
A lot of Wilmeth's work in law enforcement was education based as he wrote training manuals and developed training systems, he said. He also worked as a tutor, coach and adjunct professor.
"It's obvious looking back on 36 years, the whole time in my former profession was to prepare me for what I'm doing right now, because I've always loved education," Wilmeth said. "Education has always been a huge part of my leadership model, it's always been a part of the way I've interacted with the world, through a lens of education, it's just been through a practical application instead of a school environment."
Wilmeth first learned about Sager Classical Academy when the school asked him to do a safety walk through for the police department. He had already decided to retire and walked away from the safety inspection impressed with the school's model of education. Wilmeth said his wife visited the school's website and noticed it was accepting applications for head of school, so he applied.
Wilmeth said he has always been drawn to classical education.
Classical Christian education is focused on getting back to the basics of how students were taught during Greek and Roman times and finding the most fruitful ways of educating students from the beginning that may have been diluted or lost over time, Wilson said in August.
Students begin learning in the grammar stage, in kindergarten through grade six, where they memorize facts and gain knowledge, Wilson said. Then in their middle school years, students move into the logic stage where they start asking questions and synthesizing what they have learned. Finally, they move into the rhetoric stage where they learn to express themselves, learn independently and showcase what they have learned, she said.
Classical education is a wonderful way bring a child to be a lifelong learner who sees the beauty and virtue of truth, Wilmeth said. The stages of grammar, logic and rhetoric work with natural human development, he said.
"Classical education is a practical and realistic, holistic approach to education that utilizes natural human development and challenges the learner to grow within all of their domains to the point where you recognize the beauty and the virtue of life and of the world," Wilmeth said. "In our model, it brings you along and helps you to understand how important Christ is to our existence and how central we are to serving his purpose."
In the future, Wilmeth expects to see the school grow as students move up the grade levels. With the level of interest the school is receiving, enrollment numbers are expected to grow to between 70 and 80 next year, he said.
"This is a grand adventure we are all on together and I fully expect in the first several years we will go through some changes as we find what works best for our parents, for our students and for us," he said, "because what it comes down to is providing the best Christ centered education model that we can develop that requires us to all become lifelong learners."
Wilmeth said he has a strong faith in God and as a law enforcement officer, he saw many everyday miracles. Now he is looking forward to seeing miracles of a different kind.
"Now I get to be involved in what is arguably the greatest miracle that we as humans get to be involved in and that is the miracle of being able to raise up a child in the manner in which we want them to live," he said. "What is a greater miracle than that? I can't tell you."
General News on 11/27/2019