Bottle-feeding lambs, reciting liturgies and creating plays from ancient myths are outside of the average American education. But for the students who attend World Without End Classical School, these activities are simply part of another day.
Located in a large white barn off a country road in Marion, World Without End hosts 27 students – ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade – throughout the week. Surrounded by a sheep pen, a lake and clumps of evergreens, the barn sits on the property of Steve Stasson, the head of school for World Without End.
Diana Verhagen, a board member and part-time kindergarten teacher at World Without End, explained the school was inspired by a community of families at the Church of the Ascension, an Anglican church in Marion.
Craving a holistic education for their children, these families decided to make their vision of a school centered around wonder, curiosity and character formation into a reality.
The project had a quick turnaround, Stasson said. After the families decided to create the school in the spring of 2025, Stasson used the summer to renovate the barn on his property. With the help of Keith Cocking, senior director of construction services at Taylor University, and Koert Verhagen, associate professor of philosophy and theology at Taylor University, Stasson transformed his barn into a schoolhouse, installing large windows, new flooring and bathroom.
The school joins a host of other educational institutions invested in reviving the classical education movement, Stasson said. This movement seeks to promote deep, holistic learning and virtue formation, saturating children in truth, goodness and beauty, he explained.
“Originally, education was less about giving information and more about (the) formation of human beings,” Stasson said. “And so that was, I think that was what was on my heart, as well as these folks at our church, a place where that was the priority – formation of virtuous human beings.”
Of course, traditional subjects, such as grammar, science and math are essential to a child’s education, Stasson said. However, character cultivation is another vital aspect and an often missing piece in modern schooling.
One piece of this virtue formation is building habits, Stasson explained. On the school’s main floor, a whiteboard lists habits the students work on daily, including gratitude, respect and self-control.
Another aspect of the school’s commitment to character cultivation is prayer.
The day opens and closes with the recitation of prayers, Scriptures and liturgies inspired by the Anglican Church’s Daily Office, Stasson said. Students also pray before lunch and share what they are grateful for.
“I think (prayer is) really important, because it roots the whole thing in worship and trying to (live) a godly life,” Stasson said. “So we're not doing the virtues just for their sake, but in order to glorify God.”
The school embraces the Charlotte Mason philosophy which emphasizes curiosity and student responsibility in education. Experiential, hands-on learning is a large part of the daily curriculum.
Because the school is located on Stasson’s farm, students participate in farm and nature activities throughout the week, such as hiking around the property, chopping wood and working in the garden. This spring, students witnessed the arrival of new life on the farm, watching the hatching of chicks in an incubator and the birth of lambs in the sheep pen behind the school.
Charisma Bray, the English Hall hall director at Taylor University, sends her two boys, Peri, 10, and Ames, 7, to World Without End. She discovered the classical school through the Verhagens and loved its non-traditional approach to education.
“(It) provides a wealth of experience that is not always present in other schools,” Bray said. “...(The kids) are getting to engage their bodies in learning, not just like their minds, which I appreciate.”
Students can choose to attend World Without End full-time (five days a week) or part-time (three or four days a week), Stasson said. This option gives families more flexibility and an opportunity to spend more time with their kids, Verhagen explained.
“One piece that is really just core to our vision as well is that parents are deeply invested in their children's education, and that children learn from their parents, whether or not parents realize that,” Verhagen said.
The school operates from 9 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays, Stasson said.
Students are separated into three learning groups: kindergarten, first through third grade and fourth through sixth grade, Verhagen said. For certain instruction times, learning groups sit in different areas across the barn, but also students have time to intermingle during farm activities, art lessons and choir.
“They're able to interact with students who are younger and older than them, which I think can be to their benefit,” Bray said. “There isn't so much isolation of ages. So you have older kids helping the younger kids.”
This year, Stasson serves as the lone full-time teacher. Seven part-time teachers come throughout the week, including parents and Taylor students like Hudson Bell and Bradyn Frame. To create more consistency for students, Stasson hopes to add two full-time teachers to the school’s staff for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Another goal for the upcoming year is lowering tuition through fundraising efforts, Stasson said. To make the school accessible to more families, the school hopes to raise awareness and garner financial support for its unique educational enterprise.
As of late February, World Without End is open for enrollment for the 2026-2027 academic year. To begin the application process, families can reach out through the school’s webpage, found at https://worldwithoutendclassic....
World Without End also has upcoming informational meetings for new families interested in attending. The next meeting will take place at the school on April 10 at 7 p.m., Stasson said.
Bray expressed gratitude for the school’s community and its mission to promote deep, holistic and virtue-centered learning.
“I think it's really beautiful to see other families who are committed to creating something really beautiful for their children where education isn't rote,” Bray said. “...It's nice to come together for a common and shared vision of what is good and true and beautiful, and try to impart that to your children. So that's inspiring and energizing.”
