New APEX Spring Course Honors MLK’s Legacy of Leadership

The APEX Program for School Leadership, designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders in classical education, has announced its Spring 2025 course lineup. One of the highlights of the offerings is the course “Lives of Leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

The program is a series of short courses designed for developing leaders of classical education and provides targeted, continuing education pertaining to school culture, instructional and operational excellence, and a classical philosophy of leadership. Rooted in centuries of classical wisdom and decades of practical experience, APEX is a program designed to cultivate the prudence you need to lead a virtue-centered learning community.

According to Erin Diaz, the Instructional Designer for the National Professional Development Team at Great Hearts, the “Lives of Leaders” series aims to examine the lives of key influential leaders from the past. “The goal is to not only deepen our understanding of their impact, but also to glean wisdom from their words, behaviors, and actions so that it can be applied to the work of school leadership today,” explained Diaz.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a pivotal leader in history, still inspires millions with his vision of justice, equality, and community. Offering a course on such a transformative leader is a profound opportunity to celebrate his many accomplishments. “His emphasis on the impact of a good education, his powerful oratory skills to rally others, and his dedication to standing up for what is right and just were key components of his virtuous pursuit of equality for all,” added Diaz.

Facilitated by Cindy Audelo, Headmaster at Great Hearts Live Oak Upper School, this course rises to the challenge of honoring Dr. King’s legacy by focusing on his inspiring writings and critical moments in his life. Participants will explore key texts, such as his famous “I Have a Dream…” speech he gave on August 28, 1963, in front of the Lincoln Memorial looking out over thousands who had gathered in the name of civil rights. Other works explored will be the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the essay “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence,” and his last sermon, “I See the Promised Land,” preached the day before he was assassinated. Through this engagement, attendees will gain historical insights and reflect on how Dr. King’s virtues of nonviolence, courage, and community-building can inspire leadership in classical education today.

This course also encourages participants to supplement their learning with independent research, creating a deeper appreciation of Dr. King’s profound impact. We are not quite done capturing his magnificence, and continued reflection—from poets, historians, philosophers, teachers, and the public at large—can only produce a better understanding of the man. The hope is that this course will inspire you to live up to the kind of community that Dr. King was trying to shape.

Synchronous meetings for Lives of Leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. last 90 minutes and will be held on March 29th and April 12th, from 10:30-12:00 (CST).

The APEX Program’s Spring 2025 courses will also include:

• Instructional Coaching Principles & Practices: This two-part 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.
• Personal Leadership I (January 26, 2025 – March 2, 2025): This course builds upon the wisdom of the three Delphic maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo: “know thyself,” “nothing in excess,” and “certainty brings ruin.” It combines classical models of leadership with modern management practices.

Register for the four-week “Lives of Leaders: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” course at https://catalog.greatheartsamerica.org/product?catalog=APEX-LOLMLK-Spring-25. For more information on the APEX Program for School Leadership and to register for other Spring 2025 courses, visit https://apex.greatheartsamerica.org. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow as a leader while reflecting on the achievements of one of history’s greatest champions of justice.

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/