Old's Cool Academy – Excellence, Discipline, Respect.
Our doors are scheduled to open Summer 2025
INTRODUCTION
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Whenever and wherever you find yourself, it's not easy to find yourself. We like to say our target demographic age is 18-80, whether you're just starting out your journey in life and don't know if college is right for you (or you want to take a gap year), or are an already sick and tired of the 9-5 grind desk jockey, desperate to pivot to something that demands verve and spine.
Or maybe you've already retired and are looking to get your hands dirty again in some meaningful, elbow-grease way, dive deep into philosophical thoughts, or cram your thick skull with some timeless wisdom and verve. College, career, and retirement isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
This demanding but transformative adventure is open to everyone.
Tuition for the twelve-month Old's Cool program is free.
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Eat, sleep, drink, and breathe the classical education is the only way to go, in our opinion, and we have an in-house "dormitory" for our students to live the Old's Cool life.
Room and board will also be offered for free.
COURSE MATERIALS AND UNIFORMS
We will be studying The Western Canon, which includes: The Odyssey, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Antigone by Sophocles, The Prince, Montaigne's Essays, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Frankenstein, The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, West with the Night,The Iliad, Moby Dick, The Gulag Archipelago; and The Road to Serfdom.
Also: a leather-bound notebook; the fantastic Pilot Metropolitan Fountain pen with ink, one pack of Ticonderoga #2 pencils, and an old school eraser and pencil sharpener.
Each student will also receive an Old’s Cool polo, two white oxford-cloth button-downs, an Old’s Cool Academy tie, a black Brooks Brothers blazer ,and khaki pants.
There is no cost for the "Course Materials and Uniforms."
TOOL KIT AND SHOP MATERIALS
Old's Cool Tool Kit includes Old’s Cool coveralls, gloves, safety glasses, ear plugs and tool bag, which the students will make themselves. It'll be filled with numerous essential tools starting with our old's cool pal Tim Leatherman's Sidekick or Wingman.
Shop materials include boat building and car restoration supplies, parts, and paint.
Tool Kit and Shop Materials are also included.
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CURRICULUM
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Our year-long program starts every July 1st and January 1st, with students who have finished the academic program starting their apprenticeships on those same dates.
There are six subjects at the Academy:
English, History, Science, Life 101, Traditional Skills, and Business Basics. There’s also one “Master Class” per week.
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In the six-month academic program there will be a total of 325 class periods. These will be divided as follows:
English – 3 x week = 75 classes.
History, Science, Life 101, and Arts – 2 x week = 50 classes each for a total of 200 classes.
Traditional Skills and Business Basics – 1 x week = 25 classes each for a total of 50 classes.
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Students will read 33 books during the academic year, broken down by subject: English – 14; History – 6; Science –4; Business – 3; Traditional – 2; Apprenticeship – 4.
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The apprenticeship will be 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 26 weeks.
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Please see our "Curriculum" page for more information, or you can download it here.
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A day in the life of an Old's Cool Wiseacre.*
At 7:00 am the American flag is raised every morning to start the day.
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From 8:00 am to 10:45 am there are three morning classes: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd period. First period always starts with the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Every Monday morning from 10:00 am to 10:45 am there is a mandatory school-wide assembly to reflect on the previous week, plan the upcoming one, and make sure we're all ready to give (and take) our best shot, with Tysonian toughness.
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From 11 am to 12:30 pm students plan, prepare, cook, eat and cleanup the midday meal together.
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At 12:45 pm afternoon shop class begins and ends at 3:30. These traditional skills classes can be anything from car restoration to boat building to beekeeping to brewing beer.
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From 4 pm to 5:30 pm is the time for sports and extra-curriculars, where students participate in activities of their own choosing: sailing, skeet shooting, sewing.
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At 6 pm Retreat is played to end the day.
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*Our nickname. Mascot is "Smart Aleck."
Old's Cool "Back-to-Basics" Programs
OLD'S COOL BACK-TO-BASICS SUMMER CAMP
We've gotten many requests from parents who are looking for a summer camp program, so we're putting together a simple but rigorous curriculum which will essentially be the same as the first eight weeks of the Academy's regular schedule.
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Since we believe in the benefits of total immersion, we encourage students to board with us at the Academy for this two-month intensive. Students who wish to continue with the full one-year program are welcome to stay on and will be able to transition seamlessly.
Tuition for the eight-week summer program (July 1–September 1) is free, and will include the forty days of school, in addition to breakfast and lunch every day, as well as the course/shop materials and tool kit.
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Room/board is also included as part of this special summer program package.
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The complete curriculum for the summer camp can be downloaded here.
OLD'S COOL BACK-TO-BASICS AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM
Our “Basics” after-school program is a condensed version of our regular curriculum, aimed at introducing middle school students to the life-changing joys of a classical liberal arts and traditional crafts education.
Students meet once a week for eight weeks, from 3 - 5 pm. Sessions are 4 times per year starting February 1st, April 1st, July 1st (Junior Summer Camp), and September 1st. Enrollment is limited to ten students per session.
Since this is an old-school program, we’re going to dispense with cellphones and computers. All work/homework will be written in longhand in white-lined notebooks with Ticonderoga #2 pencils. The traditional crafts will also be back-to-basics, and technology-free.
SCHEDULE
First session starts February 1st and ends on March 30th. The second session starts on April 1st and ends on June 1st. And then July1st-August 31st; September 1st-November 31st.
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The two-hour classes will be filled with fun as follows:
At 3 pm – We’ll recite the “Pledge of Success.”
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From 3 - 3:30 pm – A student will introduce and play the music of the week. We’ll have that playing in the background for the rest of the day. Another student will introduce the Word of the Week (WoW) – an unusual or instructive vocabulary word that we’ll define and learn how to spell.
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From 3:30 - 4 pm – A student will read the week’s chosen poem out loud, and we’ll all discuss.
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At 4 pm – We will take a 5-minute break and either do a few jumping-jacks or a bunch of pushups.
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From 4:05 - 4:55 pm – Invigorated, students will either engage in a traditional skills activity such as baking bread or sewing beach totes, or fixing a bike. Or, anyone and everyone can play a game or two of One Up!*
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Five minutes before 5 pm – Class assignments for the following week, and then, “Dismissed!”
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Limited to ten students.
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You can download the reading list, the "Pledge of Success," and the rest of the curriculum here.
"I am not young enough to know everything."
– Oscar Wilde