Application Form

Accreditation through the Charlotte Mason Education Association (CMEA) is a structured recognition process that evaluates fidelity to Charlotte Mason philosophy in practice, governance, and culture. Accreditation is granted for a defined term and includes continued mentorship and review.

It includes:

• Philosophical self-study
• Documentation review (appropriate to homeschool or school context)
• Observations and interviews
• Ongoing reflection and renewal

Charlotte Mason–Specific Standards
Our accreditation criteria arise directly from Charlotte Mason’s writings and philosophy—not from generic school models retrofitted with CM language.

Living Education, Not Checklists
We evaluate practices, habits, atmosphere, and teacher formation—not merely documents and policies.

Voluntary and Supportive
CMEA accreditation is not regulatory. It is invitational, relational, and formative.

Respect for Authority Structures
We honor parental authority in homeschools and local governance in microschools, tutorials, co-ops, and small private schools.

Thoughtful Accountability
Accreditation provides real accountability while preserving freedom, conscience, and local context.

Each pathway reflects appropriate expectations for its educational setting.

• Recognized Charlotte Mason Homeschool
• Accredited Charlotte Mason Microschool, Tutorial, Co-op, or Private School
• Provisionally-Accredited Programs (for schools in development)

Accreditation is not about prestige—it is about stewarding a legacy. CMEA accreditation helps:

• Guard against philosophical drift
• Clarify what is and is not Charlotte Mason education
• Build trust with families and communities
• Encourage excellence without uniformity
• Strengthen the Charlotte Mason movement for future generations

CMEA affirms the following core convictions:

• Children are born persons created in God's image
• Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life
• Knowledge is relational, not utilitarian
• Habit formation is essential to character
• Living books are central to education
• Nature study, narration, and the arts are essential—not enrichment
• Teachers are guides, not lecturers
• Education is ultimately moral and spiritual, not merely academic

These convictions shape every standard, review, and accreditation decision.

The Charlotte Mason Education Association (CMEA) exists to preserve, articulate, and recognize faithful Charlotte Mason education for the good of children, families, and educational communities. This statement establishes the philosophical foundation upon which all CMEA recognition, accreditation, and guidance rest.

CMEA affirms that Charlotte Mason education is not a collection of techniques, curricula, or aesthetic preferences, but a coherent philosophy of education grounded in enduring ideas about the nature of the child, the purpose of education, and the formation of persons. Faithful practice requires ongoing study, thoughtful application, and humility before the ideas Charlotte Mason articulated and demonstrated.

CMEA recognizes Charlotte Mason’s own writings as the primary and authoritative source for understanding her educational philosophy. These include, but are not limited to:

·  The Home Education Series

·  The Parents’ Review journal

·  Programmes and syllabi of the Parents’ National Educational Union (PNEU)

Secondary interpretations, modern curricula, and contemporary applications are valued insofar as they remain consistent with these primary sources.

CMEA affirms Charlotte Mason’s foundational conviction that “children are born persons.” Each child possesses inherent dignity, moral capacity, and intellectual appetite. Education must therefore respect the child as a whole person—mind, body, and spirit—and avoid manipulation, coercion, or reduction to measurable outputs.

Faithful Charlotte Mason education honors the child through compassionate discipline, appropriate freedom, and a relational atmosphere marked by respect and trust.

CMEA affirms that education is the science of relations: the formation of meaningful relationships between the learner and the world of ideas, nature, knowledge, and human thought. The goal of education is not the accumulation of information or skills alone, but the cultivation of rich and lasting intellectual, moral, and spiritual relationships.

Faithful practice seeks breadth, balance, and depth, offering children a wide feast of ideas worthy of their attention.

CMEA affirms that education is nourished by living ideas, most often encountered through living books—books written by authors with firsthand knowledge, literary power, and passion for their subject. Living books invite attention, imagination, and moral engagement.

Faithful Charlotte Mason education resists reliance on textbooks, summaries, and fragmented materials that diminish intellectual vitality.

CMEA affirms narration as the central means by which students process, assimilate, and demonstrate knowledge. Through narration—oral, written, drawn, or otherwise expressed—students actively engage with ideas and make them their own.

Faithful practice treats narration not as an assessment tool alone, but as a formative habit of attention, articulation, and thought.

CMEA affirms the formative power of habit in shaping character and conduct. Education includes the intentional cultivation of good habits—attention, truthfulness, diligence, kindness—within a stable and orderly atmosphere.

Habit training is undertaken with gentleness, consistency, and respect for the child’s moral agency, avoiding both coercion and neglect.

CMEA affirms nature study as an essential element of Charlotte Mason education. Regular, direct engagement with the natural world fosters observation, wonder, humility, and relationship.

Faithful practice values firsthand encounters with nature over secondary representations and integrates outdoor study as a living discipline rather than an occasional activity.

CMEA affirms the central place of art, music, poetry, and literature in the formation of taste and imagination. Art study and music study are not enrichment, but essential components of a broad and humane education.

Faithful practice introduces students to works of lasting worth and allows sustained, attentive engagement without over-analysis or trivialization.

CMEA affirms assessment practices that align with Charlotte Mason’s emphasis on narration, reflection, and thoughtful examination. Examinations are understood as opportunities for recall, synthesis, and expression, not as instruments of pressure or ranking.

Faithful practice resists overreliance on standardized testing and outcome-driven models that distort educational aims.

CMEA affirms that faithful Charlotte Mason education requires teachers who are themselves formed by the philosophy they practice. Teachers bear responsibility for preparation, restraint, and continual growth in understanding.

Teaching is understood as a moral and intellectual vocation, requiring attentiveness to ideas, persons, and atmosphere.

CMEA recognizes that faithful Charlotte Mason education may be expressed in diverse cultural, institutional, and family contexts. Fidelity does not require uniformity of curriculum, schedule, or method, but adherence to core principles.

CMEA distinguishes between faithful variation, which applies principles thoughtfully, and philosophical departure, which undermines the coherence of Charlotte Mason education.

CMEA understands its role as one of stewardship rather than ownership. The Association exists to guard clarity, encourage careful practice, and resist drift as Charlotte Mason education continues to grow in popularity.

This statement serves as the enduring philosophical foundation for all CMEA recognition, accreditation, standards, and guidance.

Adopted by The Charlotte Mason Education Association as a public affirmation of commitment to faithful Charlotte Mason education.