The mission of the Great Hearts Institute is to deepen the understanding and enhance the practice of classical, liberal arts education among teachers and leaders at Great Hearts Academies and beyond for the sake of forming young minds and hearts into educated human beings. The Institute seeks to lead the national conversation to revive the tradition of great books education by building a vibrant community of classical educators, with Great Hearts providing the example of commitment to excellence in every K-12 classroom.

The Great Hearts National Symposium for Classical Education invites the classical education community broadly understood to join us at Symposium in Arizona each year. We encourage all who are interested in deepening their understanding of the classical, liberal arts, and dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 education in the United States, and around the world, to attend. Our chief focus is to host a conversation at Symposium that focuses on providing the best classroom education available through the discussion of the classical ideas that inspire us, and the pedagogy, curriculum, and educational accessibility that inform the best teaching practices at every grade level. The content of the sessions also goes beyond the classroom to include panels and workshops for school leaders, school operations managers, thought leaders in the classical education world from the perspective of higher education, as well as sponsors who work with and support classical educators.

You will need to fill out our registration form to gain access to the event. Please go to National Symposium Registration page to get started.

We have set up a room block at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel. Please click on this link to book your rooms: Symposium 2026 at Tempe Mission Palms

We are advising everyone to download the vFairs app on your smartphone or your computer as that will allow you to sign up for Symposium sessions and receive correspondence from the Great Hearts Institute Symposium organizers. You will only need access to the internet.

The platform is compatible with any computer or mobile device, and browser.

Once you download the app and once the program is up, you should be able to go in to sign up for sessions and create a personalized attendance schedule. If you have any trouble, you can contact us at symposuim@greathearts.institute and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

For all troubleshooting, please email symposium@classicaleducation.institute.

Please click on our Sponsorship tab to select the level that you are interested in sponsoring. We are also happy to tell you more about the sponsorships and the benefits offered at each level. To schedule an informational meeting about the sponsorship, please set up a time by emailing Carol.McNamara@greathearts.org.

Please email a written notification to symposium@greathearts.institute on any substitutions or cancellations so that we can work with you on it. Substitutions are acceptable. Our cancellation/refund policy is as follow:

If notified by January 2, 2026: Refund 100% minus $25 administrative fee
If notified between January 3-17, 2026: Refund 75%
If notified between January 18-February 8, 2026: Refund 50%
February 9, 2026, and later: No Refunds

We will livestream the Symposium but on a limited basis. Registration for the online Symposium will be promoted when it gets closer to the event dates.

Drop us an email at symposium@greathearts.institute and we will get back to you as soon as possible.